Sean Andrew Marks (born 23 August 1975) is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

of the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA). He was the first New Zealand-born player to play in the NBA. Marks won two championships with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

: one as a player in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and another as an assistant coach in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Basketball career

After attending

Rangitoto College Rangitoto College is a state coeducational secondary school, located on the North Shore City, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Serving years 9 to 13, Rangitoto has a school roll of as of making it the largest "brick-and-mortar" school in ...

in Auckland, Marks moved to the United States in 1992 to play for the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

where he majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, graduating with a BA degree in 1998. He was drafted 44th overall in the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, and was traded on draft night, alongside Charles Oakley, to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for

Marcus Camby Marcus Dion Camby (born March 22, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named Defensive Player of the Year during the 2006–07 NBA season, leading ...

. Marks would later play for the

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

and

. In 2000–01, Marks started the season with

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

of Poland, and in December 2000 had an unsuccessful ten-day contract (0 games) with the Seattle SuperSonics, returning to his Polish team until the season ended. In 2003–04, while with the Spurs, he did not play a single second due to

patella The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

tendonitis. In the next season, while playing for the Spurs, Marks averaged 10 minutes per game and produced an average of 3 points and 2 rebounds. That year the Spurs won the NBA championship by defeating the Detroit Pistons in seven games. Marks did not receive any playing time for the Spurs during the 2005 playoffs. Marks signed with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

on 27 July 2006, to a one-year contract, On 16 April 2008, during a win over the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in the Suns last regular-season game, Marks scored a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, along with 1 steal and 1 block. Marks later signed with the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

on 28 August 2008. On 21 October 2010, Marks was waived by 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 ...

after he had failed to suit up for a pre-season game because of a hamstring injury. He was signed by Portland in November after the retirement of Fabricio Oberto. On 24 February 2011, Marks was traded along with

Joel Przybilla Joel Przybilla (; born October 10, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played the center position for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Przybilla was born in Monticello, M ...

, Dante Cunningham and two future first-round draft picks to the Charlotte Bobcats for Gerald Wallace. The Bobcats waived Marks on March 3, 2011. Internationally, Marks represented

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He competed in the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, and was part of their fourth-place finish at the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was held by the FIBA, International Basketb ...

held in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, US.

Coaching and executive career

Marks retired in 2011. In 2012, he was named basketball operations assistant for the

and general manager for the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. He became an assistant coach with the Spurs in 2013. The Spurs went on to win the

2014 NBA Finals The 2014 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2013–14 NBA season, 2013–14 season and the conclusion of 2014 NBA Playoffs, the season's playoffs, played from June 5 to 15, 2014. It ...

after defeating the

in five games. It was Marks second championship and first as an assistant coach. At the start of the following season he returned to the front office, being named assistant general manager. On 18 February 2016, it was announced that the Brooklyn Nets named Marks as the new general manager for the team, and penned a 4-year contract. Marks told then-owner

Mikhail Prokhorov Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov (; born 3 May 1965) is a Russian-Israeli oligarch and politician. He was also an owner of the Brooklyn Nets. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Prokhorov obtained Russian state-owned metals assets at prices ...

that his vision for rebuilding a team that had collapsed to only 21 wins involved a process that would take several years to execute, and made clear that he was not interested in a repeat of Prokhorov's previous "win now" approach. Earlier, Prokhorov had acknowledged his previous free-spending strategy was not the best way in the long run to build a champion. During the third year of Marks' contract, the Nets appeared in the 2019 NBA Playoffs, making it their first appearance since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. On 19 May 2017, Marks was inducted into the Basketball New Zealand Hall of Fame. On 21 April 2019, Marks was suspended for Game 5 of the Nets' contest against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, due to entering the referees’ locker room after the Nets' Game 4 loss. He was subsequently fined $25,000.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , style="text-align:left;",

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, 8 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , .625 , , .000 , , .500 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 2.4 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .0 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 21 , , 6 , , 15.2 , , .432 , , .000 , , .588 , , 3.6 , , .4 , , .2 , , .5 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 0 , , 9.7 , , .373 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , † , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 23 , , 0 , , 10.6 , , .338 , , .000 , , .786 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .1 , , .5 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .521 , , .000 , , .583 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 3 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 19 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .535 , , .250 , , .632 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , .2 , , .5 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 60 , , 5 , , 14.0 , , .485 , , .200 , , .682 , , 3.1 , , .2 , , .1 , , .6 , , 3.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 0 , , 5.4 , , .500 , , .000 , , .400 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .0 , , .2 , , .7 , - , align="left" , , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 29 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .432 , , 1.000 , , .625 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 230 , , 11 , , 9.9 , , .448 , , .200 , , .665 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .4 , , 2.8

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="left" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .462 , , .000 , , .800 , , 4.0 , , .0 , , .6 , , .4 , , 3.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 13.8 , , .462 , , .000 , , .800 , , 3.3 , , .0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 2.7

Personal life

Marks and his wife Jennifer have four sons. The family resides in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

. Marks became an American citizen in 2007.Suns beat Magic for 2nd time, 110–106
/ref>

References

External links

New Zealand Pioneer – Sean Marks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Sean 1975 births Living people 2002 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Auckland Brooklyn Nets executives California Golden Bears men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Miami Heat players NBA players from New Zealand Naturalized citizens of the United States New Orleans Hornets players New York Knicks draft picks New Zealand basketball coaches New Zealand emigrants to the United States New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Canada New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Poland New Zealand expatriate basketball people in the United States New Zealand men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for New Zealand People educated at Rangitoto College People from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches San Antonio Spurs executives San Antonio Spurs players Śląsk Wrocław basketball players Toronto Raptors players