Masai Ujiri Many Thanks

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All conferences have chairpersons, so does basketball.

Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors President is the newly minted chairman of the NBA’s Eastern Conference because his team won the Conference final by dunking the Milwaukee Bucks on May 25, 2016.

Bucks lost because of all the crazy folks on Yonge Street in Toronto, rooting for Ujiri’s team.  I was rather envious.  That’s why I say they were crazy.  I lived in Toronto for many years and experienced firsthand franchise loyalty. 

That’s just about it.  Basketball is not my strong point (too many stats to remember), but I know a lot about business conferences.  They are not the most exciting places to be because most of the time, the conference outcome is usually decided by top management, way in advance.  Conference chairmen are already in the know but mum’s the word.

Masai Ujiri is where he is this month, this year, this historic year for the Toronto Raptors because of how he conducted his team conference, not the NBA Eastern Conference.  By conference we mean players and staff.  Decisions were taken, chairs were rearranged, new chairs were ushered in, the table was changed from oblong to round to maintain eye contact, din from media commentators was blocked off and many other items on the agenda were taken care of.

One of the things that drive me crazy in business conferences is when the chair says: ‘What is the way forward?’

It is a redundant question because all roads lead to the biggest marketplace in the NBA, the Finals. From where I sit, team Masai Ujiri will come home loaded with baskets they slam dunked from the Golden State Warriors.

That’s another story but for now, we say e seun (thank you), as they say in Yoruba, Nigeria.  E seun Masai Ujiri e seun for bringing the NBA Eastern Conference championship to Toronto, through your conference skills.

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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