Joseph Alton Byrd (born March 11, 1958) is an American-British former professional

basketball 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 h ...

player who is the Vice President of Business Operations for the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau Count ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He grew up in the San Francisco area, where he was a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

basketball star. He continued to be a basketball star at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he was one of the best point guards in the country in spite of his small stature. His height was usually officially listed as . He holds the school records for career

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s (526) and assists in a single season (210). After receiving his bachelor's degree from Columbia College in 1979, he attended the Boston Celtics rookie camp, but, suffering with a foot injury, he did not get a contract and joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

. During his rookie season, he led Palace to a 50–5 record. He later started for teams in Glasgow, Manchester, Guildford and Kingston. In 1984 he became a British citizen and made his debut for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Off the court, he pursued a variety of broadcasting and business ventures, including a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live dedicated to American sports. From 1997 to 1998, he was the general manager of the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were r ...

of NFL Europe, while there he guided the team to rebrand as the ''England'' Monarchs, before ultimately folding after a 1998 season that ended with a 3–7 record, after three straight 4–6 tallies. They were replaced by the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games ...

in 1999. In 1999, he returned to the United States to be a Vice President of the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. He then founded a management consulting company, Clear Focus Communications. In September 2013, the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real e ...

hired him as the Chief Revenue Officer. On March 24, 2016, 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 ...

hired Alton Byrd as the Vice President of Business Operations.

References

External links

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British Basketball League stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Alton 1958 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American expatriate basketball people in Scotland American football executives American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Francisco Boston Celtics draft picks British men's basketball players British Basketball League players British sports broadcasters Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Lions men's basketball players Point guards Sacramento Kings executives