NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2020 – NBA team basketball executives have selected LA Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank as the winner of the 2019-20 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award, the NBA announced today. This is the first NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award for Frank, who has served in the Clippers’ front office since 2016 after spending 20 years in the NBA coaching ranks.
Frank received 10 of 29 first-place votes and earned 61 total points from a panel of team basketball executives throughout the NBA. Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti finished in second place with 41 points (four first-place votes), followed by Miami Heat President Pat Riley in third place with 39 points (four first-place votes).
Executives were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played through March 11. The seeding games, which were played July 30 – Aug. 14 as part of the season restart, did not count toward voting for the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award or the league’s other traditional end-of-season awards.
Frank assembled a roster that posted a 44-20 record in games played through March 11, the second-best mark in the Western Conference. Using 29 different starting lineups in 64 games during that period, the Clippers relied on their depth to earn a playoff berth for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
With Frank leading the Basketball Operations department, LA’s roster for the 2019-20 season took shape in July 2019 with the signing of two-time Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard as a free agent and the acquisition of six-time NBA All-Star Paul George in a trade with the Thunder.
In games played through March 11, Leonard averaged 26.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists and George averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Leonard, a two-time Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and George, a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection, helped the Clippers rank fifth in the NBA in defensive rating in games played through March 11 – up from a season-ending ranking of 19th last season.
Other moves last offseason included re-signing starting guard Patrick Beverley, starting center Ivica Zubac and forward JaMychal Green. Frank and the Clippers also moved to bolster the roster during the 2019-20 season, acquiring starting forward Marcus Morris Sr. from the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade on Feb. 6 and signing guard Reggie Jackson on Feb. 20 after he was waived by the Detroit Pistons.
Frank joined the Clippers as an assistant coach in 2014. He stayed in that role for two seasons before moving into the front office as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2016. Frank was promoted to President of Basketball Operations in August 2017. His NBA tenure includes head coaching stints with the Pistons and New Jersey Nets and assistant coaching roles with the Nets, Vancouver Grizzlies and Boston Celtics.
The voting results for the 2019-20 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP.
VOTING RESULTS: 2019-20 NBA BASKETBALL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD
| Executive (Team) | 1st Place Votes (5 PTS) | 2nd Place Votes (3 PTS) | 3rd Place Votes (1 PT) | Total Points |
| Lawrence Frank (LA Clippers) | 10 | 3 | 2 | 61 |
| Sam Presti (Oklahoma City) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 41 |
| Pat Riley (Miami) | 4 | 5 | 4 | 39 |
| Jon Horst (Milwaukee) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
| Masai Ujiri (Toronto) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
| Zach Kleiman (Memphis) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| Rob Pelinka (L.A. Lakers) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| Donn Nelson (Dallas) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Tim Connelly (Denver) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Danny Ainge (Boston) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Bob Myers (Golden State) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jeff Weltman (Orlando) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| David Griffin (New Orleans) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| James Jones (Phoenix) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Ed Stefanski (Detroit) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Dennis Lindsey (Utah) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kevin Pritchard (Indiana) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sean Marks (Brooklyn) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
