BY THE TIME Jabri Abdur-Rahim was born in 2002, his dad, Shareef, had already graced the cover of SLAM not once, but twice. The first time came in 1996 as part of the iconic rookie class cover that featured Shareef standing next to Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Steve Nash and several others. The second time, in 1999, he was featured solo off the heels of a season in which he averaged a career-best 23.0 points per game for the Vancouver Grizzlies. Jabri was born three years later, and by the time his dad’s 12-year NBA career finally came to an end, he was only 6 years old.
So no, he doesn’t recall much of his dad’s playing days. At least not to the extent that he could really describe the experience. But dad, the sports executive, he remembers and knows very well.
Shareef first became an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in 2008, and by 2010, he was the assistant general manager. In 2013 he was named general manager of the Kings’ G-League affiliate squad—the Reno Bighorns, who has since become the Stockton Kings. He then served as the NBA’s associate vice president of basketball operations before being named the president of the NBA’s G-League in 2018.
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