Lon Scott Babby (born February 21, 1951) is an American lawyer and
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player agent who was named the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
President of Basketball Operations on Tuesday July 20, 2010. However, as of June 10, 2015, Babby has been moved to the team's senior adviser instead, and he stepped down from his position altogether a year later.
Career
After graduating from
Valley Stream South High School, Babby earned a
Bachelor of Arts in
political science from
Lehigh University in 1973 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Yale Law School in 1976. Early in his career, Babby represented
John Hinckley, Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...
, the man who tried to assassinate President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. His son is
Ken Babby, owner of two minor league baseball teams.
He is best known as an NBA
player agent, whose clients included
Tim Duncan,
Hedo Türkoğlu and
Ray Allen, as well as former Suns player
Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...
. Additionally, he has also represented
Major League Baseball clients, and has worked as an attorney for the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
's
Washington Redskins (1977–80) and MLB's
Baltimore Orioles (1979–94). He is also the father of businessman
Ken Babby, who is the current owner of the
Akron RubberDucks and
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp minor league baseball teams.
On July 20, 2010, Babby was named the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
President of Basketball Operations under team owner
Robert Sarver after
Steve Kerr
Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...
left his role as general manager in June 2010 and Sarver made the lambasted decision to make sign-and-trades to acquire
Josh Childress,
Hakim Warrick, and
Hedo Türkoğlu as the intended replacements for star power forward
Amar'e Stoudemire. Despite being named the President of Basketball Operations, he still had to respond to the actual general manager of the team throughout his tenure, which originally was
Lance Blanks before
Ryan McDonough took over in 2013. However, he was the key speaker for the franchise during press conferences early on in his tenure despite being second-in-command to Blanks. Fans of the franchise took notice to his nasally sounding voice during that period of time. Near the end of his tenure with the Suns, Babby was demoted to being a senior advisor for the franchise on June 10, 2015 due to McDonough's expanding coverage within the franchise. Babby ultimately stepped down from his position with the team altogether on May 5, 2016.
Babby has since worked with the Positive Coaching Alliance under their local board members as well as the Be A Leader Foundation in their board of directors and the Arizona Community Foundation after stepping down from the Suns. He has also been inducted into the George Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to the world of sports before his time with the Suns.
Lon Babby , Bender JCC
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References
External links
FOR SUNS PRESIDENT LON BABBY, FAMILY IS KEY
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babby, Lon
1951 births
Living people
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers
American sports agents
Baltimore Orioles personnel
Lehigh University alumni
Yale Law School alumni
Phoenix Suns executives
People from Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream South High School alumni
Washington Redskins personnel