Richard Cho (born August 10, 1965) is an American basketball executive who currently serves as the Vice President of Basketball Strategy of the
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
of the
National Basketball Association
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 S ...
. Prior to the Grizzlies, Cho was the general manager of the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
and the
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
, and the assistant general manager of the
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
.
Cho was the
first Asian American general manager in NBA history.
Education and early career
Born in
Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
,
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
to Alan (Aung Aung Cho) and Shirley Cho (Nwe Nwe Yi), Cho immigrated with his family to the United States in 1968.
[ They were sponsored by a family in ]Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
before moving to Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fe ...
. Cho's father worked the night shift at a convenience store to support the family. Cho graduated from Decatur High School and went on to Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked as an engineer at Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
from 1990 to 1995.[
]
Basketball executive
In 1995, he was hired as an intern for the Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
while finishing a J.D. degree from Pepperdine University School of Law
The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law (formerly Pepperdine University School of Law) is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris Doc ...
. In 1997, he earned the degree and was hired as the SuperSonics' director of basketball affairs. In 2000, he was promoted to assistant general manager.[ Between 2000 and 2008 the Sonics made the playoffs twice. The high point was the 2004-05 season when the team advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the only time since 1997-98. However it was followed by several more down seasons culminating in a record of 20-62 during the 2007-08 season, the worst in franchise history. In 2008, Cho relocated to Oklahoma City when the league allowed the team under new ownership to leave Seattle. The team was renamed the ]Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
.
The Thunder utilized Cho's background in both law and mathematics when negotiating trades, free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
signings, and interpreting the NBA's complex collective bargaining agreement
A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
.[ The Thunder entered the playoffs in 2009-10 with a record of 50-32.
In July 2010, Cho returned to the ]Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
, hired as the ninth general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
, replacing Kevin Pritchard
Kevin Lee Pritchard (born July 18, 1967) is an American basketball executive, and a former player and coach, who is currently the president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers. Pritchard played 4 seasons in the NBA as a player, and ...
, who was fired the previous month.[ Cho himself was fired less than a year after being hired. On June 14, 2011, the ]Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...
hired Cho as their new general manager, promoting previous GM Rod Higgins
Roderick Dwayne Higgins (born January 31, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who formerly served as president of basketball operations for the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets. He is also the father of fo ...
to president of basketball operations. The Hornets fired Cho on February 20, 2018. Cho was hired by the Grizzlies on April 17, 2019.
Personal life
Cho and his wife Julie Heintz-Cho have two young daughters. Cho met his wife while studying law at Pepperdine University School of Law
The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law (formerly Pepperdine University School of Law) is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris Doc ...
.
Cho's father, Alan, is a former journalist. His paternal grandfather, U Cho, was Burma's first education minister, while his maternal grandfather, Thant Gyi, was a former deputy education minister. Cho is the first cousin of Alex Wagner
Alexandra Swe Wagner (born November 27, 1977) is an American journalist. She is the host of both ''Alex Wagner Tonight ''on MSNBC and Netflix's '' The Mole'' reboot, as well as the author of ''FutureFace: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the ...
, television anchor and host of ''Now with Alex Wagner
''Now with Alex Wagner'' (stylized ''NOW'') is a political opinion program on MSNBC presented by progressive host Alex Wagner. The show debuted on November 14, 2011, and aired on weekdays at noon ET. Starting on January 13, 2014, ''Now'' aired at ...
'' on MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Rich
Living people
1965 births
Burmese emigrants to the United States
Charlotte Hornets executives
National Basketball Association general managers
People from Federal Way, Washington
Pepperdine University School of Law alumni
Portland Trail Blazers executives
Washington State University alumni