Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been named the 2018 Executive of the Year, the NBA revealed during its 2018 NBA Awards Show:
Morey is widely regarded as a forward-thinking, innovative executive. He’s extremely progressive in his acceptance and use of data and analytics. He co-founded the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Because of his analytic-driven approach to basketball, dubbed “Moreyball,” he favors a 3-point-heavy offense, one that attempted a league-leading 39.8 outside shots per game this season.
Morey beat out Kevin Pritchard of the Indiana Pacers and Bobby Webster of the Toronto Raptors for this award.
Morey made waves last offseason by acquiring point guard Chris Paul. There were questions about Paul’s fit next to Harden, but critics and worriers were quickly assuaged as the Rockets won 65 games – six more than any other team. He also re-signed James Harden and signed P.J. Tucker on a four-year deal worth nearly $32 million. That deal looks terrific in retrospect, after watching Tucker play a massive role for the Rockets as a small-ball big in the postseason.
For Morey’s savvy moves this season and last offseason, he has been named the 2018 NBA Executive of the Year.
