One of the game's most respected executives for more than two decades, Donnie Walsh returned to his native Big Apple when he was named president, basketball operations of the Knickerbockers on Apr. 2, 2008. Now in his second season in
Walsh's first season in
It was a stunning, headline-making year. But Walsh knew it was only a first step.
"As a franchise, I think we have work to do in all the areas," says the 68-year old Walsh. "I think we have to get better in every area, including myself. This is a hard job, probably the hardest I've ever taken. It's not going to get better by itself. We just have to be better than we are right now."
Much has changed in
"I thought the support we got from the fans was unbelievable. We wouldn't have gotten that anywhere else," says Walsh. "I understand
Walsh joined the Knicks following a 24-year tenure with the Indiana Pacers, over which he built the Pacers into one of the NBA's elite franchises. Walsh is currently the League's longest-tenured basketball decision-maker.
"I consider it a privilege to be working with one of the charter teams in the NBA, and to come back to the city I call home," said Walsh upon his appointment. "
The Bronx native originally joined the Pacers as an assistant coach in 1984. He was promoted to general manager in 1986, to president of the Pacers Basketball Corporation (now Pacers Sports & Entertainment) in 1988 and, on Jul. 11, 2003, to chief executive officer and president. Under Walsh's leadership, the Pacers won four Central Division Championships, made six trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, and climaxed Walsh's tenure with the 2000 Eastern Conference Championship.
Over a 10-year period that concluded with the 2004-05 season, the Pacers had the best winning percentage (.602) of any team in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers won 50-plus games five times under Walsh's stewardship, and made the NBA Playoffs 16 times over a 17-year span from 1989-90 through 2005-06. Highlighting that stretch were six memorable Playoff series against the Knicks which the two teams split 3-3, including
"What you can't lose sight of is that it all revolves around the team itself. Your team is going to reflect your franchise," says Walsh. "We're in a professional sports world where, in order to be a successful company, you've got to be good. And the team's got to be good in two ways: It's got to be successful in wins and losses, and it's also got to be well-liked and well-identified by the fans."
In addition to his success with the NBA Pacers, Walsh oversaw major projects for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, including the opening of Conseco Fieldhouse in 1999 and the creation of the WNBA's Indiana Fever that same year. Considered one of the game's true showplaces, the state-of-the-art Fieldhouse owes much of its "retro" feel to Walsh's input and memories from his days as a fan at the Old Garden on
Walsh's basketball pedigree took firm root on the streets of New York City. An outstanding high school player at Fordham Prep, he scored a game-high 23 points to earn Most Valuable Player honors in the 1958 Herald Tribune High School All-Star Game at the Old Garden on Mar. 29, 1958. Walsh then played at the University of North Carolina under the legendary coaching duo of Frank McGuire and Dean Smith.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Walsh attended the North Carolina Law School and helped coach the Tar Heels' freshman team for two seasons. After graduating from law school and turning down offers from then-former Vice President Richard Nixon's law firm in New York City and the U.S. Justice Department's Honors programs, he took a graduate coaching position under Smith at
In 1977, Walsh was about to enter private law practice in
In 2000-01, Walsh earned recognition from Bloomberg News Service as the NBA's top basketball executive in a vote of the league's coaches. In June 2004, he was honored with the Indiana Pathfinder Award for his contributions to causes involving
Born in Manhattan on Mar. 1, 1941, Donnie was raised in the same neighborhood that Lou Gehrig lived in his final days, Riverdale. He and his wife Judy - both Big Apple natives - have five children and live in Indianapolis. They also are avid dog lovers.