Koby Altman (born September 16, 1982) is the President of Basketball Operations of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA).

Early life

Altman was raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Altman received his bachelor's degree at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...

as a

Posse Foundation The Posse Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that partners with select colleges and universities in the United States to provide student scholarships and leadership training. Posse connects a network of more than 10,000 scholars and ...

Scholar, where he was a three-year starter at

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

for the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

. After graduation, he went into real estate investment sales for three years. He then went to the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

(UMass), earning a master's degree in sports management. During that time, he was an assistant coach at nearby

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

. After his graduation from UMass, Altman continued in college coaching for several years, first as a graduate assistant at

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

in 2009–10 and then as a full-time assistant at

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. He is Jewish.

NBA executive

Altman joined the Cavaliers front office in 2012, would gradually rise through the ranks, was part of the 2016 NBA Championship team as director of pro personnel, and became assistant general manager for the 2016–17 season before being promoted to GM on July 24, 2017. When he was hired as the Cavaliers' GM in 2017, he was just one of four African American GMs in the league and one of the few NBA GMs who is Jewish.

Cleveland Cavaliers

In his first major move as general manager, he acquired an unprotected 2018 first-round draft pick (through the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

), All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, rookie center

Ante Žižić Ante Toni Žižić (; born 4 January 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Euroleague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft. ...

, small forward

Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder (born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Technical ...

, and a 2020 second-round pick (through the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

) from the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in exchange for disgruntled star point guard

Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving (; lkt, Ȟéla, italic=no, ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected ...

. In September 2017, Altman's second major move came in the signing of three-time NBA Champion and multi-time All-Star guard

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA cham ...

. In February 2018, Altman made several trades during the trade deadline which all totaled saw Thomas,

Channing Frye Channing Thomas Frye (born May 17, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward- center, he played college basketball for the University of Arizona. He was drafted eighth overall by the New York Knicks in the 200 ...

, Crowder,

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being draft ...

Iman Shumpert Iman Asante Shumpert ( ; born June 26, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shumpert was selected by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pick ...

, and their 2018 first-round pick traded away. In return, the Cavaliers received

Rodney Hood Rodney Michael Hood (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Mississippi State and Duke befor ...

, George Hill,

Jordan Clarkson Jordan Taylor Clarkson (born June 7, 1992) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with Tulsa before transferring to Misso ...

, and

Larry Nance Jr. Larry Donnell Nance Jr. (born January 1, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wyoming Cowboys, where he was considered ...

Notable draft picks for the Cavaliers under Altman include the 2018 8th pick,

Collin Sexton Collin Darnell Sexton (born January 4, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide. In January 2017 Sexton was sel ...

, the 2019 5th pick,

Darius Garland Darius Kinnard Garland (born January 26, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Born in Gary, Ind ...

, the 2020 5th pick, Isaac Okoro, and the 2021 3rd pick,

Evan Mobley Evan Mobley (born June 18, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected third overall by the Cleve ...

Awards and honors

*2016

NBA champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Co ...

(as a member of the Cavaliers front office)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Koby 1982 births Living people African-American Jews African-American sports executives and administrators American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American sports executives and administrators Amherst Mammoths men's basketball coaches Basketball players from New York City Basketball coaches from New York (state) Cleveland Cavaliers executives Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Jewish men's basketball players Middlebury Panthers men's basketball players New Utrecht High School alumni Point guards Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Brooklyn Isenberg School of Management alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people