Michael Winger (born 1980) is an American basketball executive who is the president of

Monumental Basketball Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) is an American sports and venue management company founded by Ted Leonsis in June 2010. Monumental owns and operates the NHL team Washington Capitals, the NBA team Washington Wizards, the WNBA team Washi ...

, which manages the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

of the WNBA, and the

Capital City Go-Go The Capital City Go-Go are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Washington, D.C., and are affiliated with the Washington Wizards. The Go-Go play their home games at the CareFirst Arena. The team is owned by Monum ...

of the

NBA G-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. He is a former executive of the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

(2010–2017) and general manager of the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

(2017–2023).

Early life and career

Winger attended

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

and the

University of Toledo College of Law The University of Toledo College of Law is the law school at the University of Toledo, and is located on the university's main campus in a residential neighborhood in western Toledo, Ohio. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Associa ...

. As a visiting student at the University of Maryland's Francis King Carey School of Law his last year of school, Winger served as an apprentice to sports agent Ronald M. Shapiro. Winger supported Ron in the launch of SNI's (Shapiro Negotiations Institute) Sports Division and helped with research for Ron's book, ''Bullies, Tyrants, & Impossible People: How to Beat Them Without Joining Them''.

Executive career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2010–2017)

In 2005 and following law school and his work with Shapiro, Winger became the director of basketball operations and team counsel for 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

under

Danny Ferry Daniel John Willard Ferry (born October 17, 1966) is an American executive and former professional basketball player who played the forward position. Considered one of the most celebrated basketball players in the United States from the high sc ...

, who was general manager at the time. During his time with the Cavaliers, the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice, winning one of those series to advance to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

in 2007. Winger worked with

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

Mo Williams Maurice Williams (born December 19, 1982) is the head men's basketball coach at Jackson State University and a former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high scho ...

, and Ben Wallace while with the Cavaliers. In 2010, Winger became the assistant general manager and team counsel for the

under GM

Sam Presti Samuel Presti (born November, 1976) is an American basketball executive who is currently the executive vice president and general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has held the position since 20 ...

. During his tenure with the

, the team reached four Western Conference Finals which resulted in one

appearance in 2012. Winger worked with three future

NBA MVP The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Since the 2022–23 season, winners receive the Michael Jor ...

s in

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Durant has won two List of NBA champions, NBA champ ...

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is regarded by some as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA hist ...

, and

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member o ...

. Winger had many different responsibilities while with the Thunder, including selecting players in the draft, executing trades, and retaining and signing existing players and free agents. Some notable draft selections, include

Mitch McGary Mitchell Neil William McGary (born June 6, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Chesterton, Indiana, McGary declared for the NBA draft after completing his sophomore season for the 2013–14 Michigan Wolverines ...

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cal ...

Steven Adams Steven Funaki Paea He Ofa Ki Loa Adams (born 20 July 1993) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing one season with the Wellington Saints, in 2011, Adam ...

, Andre Roberson, and

Cameron Payne Cameron Payne (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Murray State and was selected 14th overall by the Oklahoma ...

Los Angeles Clippers (2017–2023)

On August 23, 2017, Winger was hired as the general manager of the

. The team reached the 2021 Western Conference Finals and achieved a winning record in every season under his tenure.

Monumental Basketball (2023–present)

On May 24, 2023, Winger was hired as president of Monumental Basketball, a division of

Monumental Sports & Entertainment Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) is an American sports management, sports and venue management company founded by Ted Leonsis in June 2010. Monumental owns and operates the NHL team Washington Capitals, the NBA team Washington Wizards, t ...

that manages the NBA's

as well as the

of the WNBA and the

of the

References

External links

Monumental Sports profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winger, Michael 1980 births American basketball people Basketball executives Living people Los Angeles Clippers executives Miami University alumni NBA general managers NBA team presidents Oklahoma City Thunder executives Sportspeople from Cleveland University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni University of Toledo College of Law alumni Washington Mystics executives Washington Wizards executives