LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Indiana Pacers named Kelly Krauskopf as the franchise’s new assistant general manager on Monday, making her the first woman to hold the title with an NBA team since the 1970s.
Krauskopf, who has spent nearly 20 years as the chief of the Indiana Fever WNBA team, will take over in her new role on January 1.
“As the architect of one of the WNBA’s most successful franchises, Kelly is a true pioneer in our sport,” Pacers Sport & Entertainment owner Herb Simon said in a statement.
“I’ve worked with Kelly over the past two decades, so I know her tremendous basketball mind, strong work ethic and proven leadership skills will continue to be of great benefit to our organization.” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said Krauskopf’s decades-long involvement with basketball, which included building the Fever from scratch, made her a natural fit for the position.
“Kelly has played the game, worked in the WNBA league office, helped build and run the Fever franchise from its beginning and eventually built a championship team,” Pritchard said.
“She is very well respected in all basketball circles and she has great knowledge of our entire operation, so when we looked at this position, it made complete sense to just look in our own building,” he added.
Krauskopf is the first woman appointed to assistant GM since Nancy Leonard was hired to the same role by the Pacers in 1976.
Krauskopf meanwhile said her gender was irrelevant to her new job.
“My past experience has shown me that building winning teams and elite level culture is not based on gender – it is based on people and processes,” she said.
