The Philadelphia 76ers have hired Mike Gansey to be their new President of Basketball Operations, a source confirmed to PHLY. The news was first reported by ESPN.
Gansey comes to the Sixers from the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he has been the team’s General Manager, operating under Koby Altman, the Cavs’ President of Basketball Operations, since 2022.
Gansey held a series of roles within the Cavs’ basketball operations department in his 15 years with the organization, beginning as a basketball operations seasonal assistant back in 2011. Gansey eventually ran the Cavaliers’ G-League team, the Cleveland Charge, before being promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017, and finally being promoted once again to the team’s General Manager in 2022.
Gansey played college basketball with St. Bonaventure in 2001-02 and 2002-03, before transferring to West Virginia for his final two years. Gansey averaged 16.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a senior, helping the Mountaineers reach the Sweet 16, where they lost to the second-seeded Texas Longhorns.
Gansey will work alongside of Bob Myers, who is the President of Sports for HBSE, the Sixers’ parent company. Myers joined the organization just prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, after having previously advised Josh Harris during the coaching search for the Washington Commanders. Before that Myers was a long-time executive with the Golden State Warriors, initially hired as the Assistant General Manager back in 2011, before being promoted to the team’s General Manager less than a year later.
The Warriors, led by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, won four titles (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022) during Myers’ time with the club, with Myers being named the NBA Executive of the Year twice (2015 and 2017) for his efforts. Myers stepped down as the General Manager of the Warriors in 2023.
“I won’t be on a day-to-day level. But on the high-level decision making — being here at the draft, being here leading up to the trade deadline, being available for free agency discussions, free agency meetings — I’m gonna be involved at that level,” Myers said earlier this month when asked about his role. “I will be communicating with [the hire] daily.”
The next immediate decision that Myers and Gansey will have to make is what to do with the 22nd pick in next month’s NBA draft, which the Sixers acquired at the trade deadline when they sent Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Coming from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the 29th pick in the draft, Gansey will have already done a lot of the legwork required to make a selection.
Beyond that, there is still some uncertainty over what the staff will look like under Gansey. Jameer Nelson, the top internal candidate for the Sixers’ vacant President of Basketball Operations role, has been with the organization since October 2020. Nelson initially joined as a scout, then was promoted to be the General Manager of the Blue Coats in 2023, before finally becoming the Assistant General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers for this past season. The Sixers also have Elton Brand, the General Manager under Daryl Morey, still with the organization.
Matt Lloyd of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Nick U’Ren of the Phoenix Mercury were reportedly the other finalists for the Sixers’ open position, along with Nelson and Gansey.
