Mistie Bass-Boyd, 糖心Vlog传媒 native and 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker High graduate, is in her first season of being the Executive Director of Player Engagement and Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons.
From her prep playing days, 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker鈥檚 Mistie Bass dribbles down the court during state tournament play in 2002. Bass was a three-time state player of the year and two-time state champion with the Vikings.
Mistie Bass-Boyd, 糖心Vlog传媒 native and 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker High graduate, is in her first season of being the Executive Director of Player Engagement and Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Mistie Bass-Boyd has held many 鈥渂usiness cards鈥 in her life.
Her newest card is her biggest one yet鈥攂oth in name and importance.
The 糖心Vlog传媒 native and 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker High graduate is in her first season of being the Executive Director of Player Engagement and Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons.
Whew.
鈥淚 have the longest title, I鈥檓 sure, in the entire organization,鈥 she said.
The scope of her responsibilities matches the length of the title.
Bass-Boyd oversees two aspects of the team鈥檚 basketball operations鈥攆amily and player engagement and well as equipment (outerwear) management.
鈥業 want to create an environment where players and their families feel supported as people first,鈥 Bass-Boyd said.
Bass-Boyd also coordinates what Pistons players and staff wear for team events. The coaching staff wear coordinated outfits during games and players have several clothing options to wear on road trips.
Bass-Boyd serves as the go-between for team executives and the players and oversees all team equipment, including apparel.
鈥淚 have a very unique job,鈥 she said.
With her five years of experience working for Nike, she has extensive background knowledge of outfitting teams.
One of her jobs of Nike was to develop gear and clothing exclusively for women players. She was a pioneer in that role.
Although Nike is the official gear provider for the Pistons, the Portland-based company had nothing to do with getting her the NBA job.
鈥淭his is just the result of continuing to network and meeting people in the field,鈥 Bass-Boyd said. 鈥淭his one just happened to fall from the blue sky.鈥
From her prep playing days, 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker鈥檚 Mistie Bass dribbles down the court during state tournament play in 2002. Bass was a three-time state player of the year and two-time state champion with the Vikings.
FILE PHOTO
From the court to the front office
Bass-Boyd, a member of the 2020 糖心Vlog传媒 Sports Hall of Fame class, has stood out since her days at 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker where she led the Vikings to two Division 1 state girls basketball championships.
The 2002 Parker graduate then moved on to Duke University where she played for four seasons and then to a 12-year professional basketball career in the WNBA and in eight countries overseas.
She retired from playing after the 2018 season. Bass Boyd then joined Nike, where she began in product development.
Her job titles included director of team and athlete NBA/Grassroots marketing and assistant product line manager before being promoted to product line manager focused on women鈥檚 lifestyle capsules and collections in 2020.
鈥淣ike has been my incubator,鈥 Bass-Boyd said in a 鈥淗er Table鈥 podcast that focuses on women in professional sports. 鈥淣ike has built me up. It has allowed me to understand what I鈥檓 capable of.鈥
Ex-鈥楧ookie鈥 played a major role in move
Trajan Langdon was a key player in getting Bass-Boyd to jump from Nike to the Pistons. Langdon, like Bass-Boyd, is a former Duke University basketball player. But Langdon played at Duke starting in 1994 and was playing professionally overseas when Bass-Boyd enrolled at the university.
After Langdon retired from playing professionally in 2011, the 鈥淎laskan Assassin鈥 as he was nicknamed in college, became a scout for the San Antonio Spurs. In 2016, he was named assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets. In 2019, he was named general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Last May, after the Pistons won a NBA-low 14 games, Langdon was named the team鈥檚 president of basketball operations.
Bass-Boyd did not meet Langdon until well after she graduated from Duke.
鈥淚 happened to meet Trajan when I first got into sports marketing,鈥 Bass-Boyd said. 鈥淗e was the GM for the Pelicans. The Pelicans was one of the teams I was working with.鈥
Bass-Boyd had six Pelican players with Nike contracts. While meeting with them, she met Langdon. The two Duke graduates meshed.
鈥淏eing from the same school made conversations easy,鈥 Bass-Boyd said.
Around this time last year, Bass-Boyd was schedule to move from sports marketing back into product development at Nike. She was in China with Toronto Raptors standout and Nike client Scottie Barnes during her final assignment as part of Nike marketing.
That鈥檚 where Langdon, who had just been named head of basketball operations by the Pistons, reached her by phone. He offered her a front office job in Detroit.
鈥淚 said, 鈥極h, Traj, this is a really bad time,鈥欌 Bass-Boyd said. 鈥淚 just changed jobs.鈥
But after talking with Langdon, the 41-year-old decided to take up Langdon鈥檚 offer and leave Nike.
鈥淎t this point of my career and life, it鈥檚 a really important to make strategic moves,鈥 Bass-Boyd said. 鈥淲orking in the NBA, I鈥檓 sure for many people is the job of their dreams.
鈥淏ut for me, it was like if I鈥檓 going to leave Nike, it has to be for a solid reason,鈥 she said.
One of the questions Bass-Boyd asked Langdon was that if her job didn鈥檛 exist, would the team be OK?
鈥淚 have to be doing something that makes great impact and is important to an organization,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 need the resources. I went full-court press on all the questions to even consider a move.鈥
Langdon eventually got his player.
Move to Detroit
Bass-Boyd and her husband, former NFL quarterback Shane Boyd, and their two sons, Braven, age 7, and Kashel, age 4, were living in Portland for five years since she had been employed by Nike.
The job with the Pistons required a move to Michigan.
鈥淲e鈥檙e Midwesteners,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all here in Detroit.鈥
Sudden turnaround
The Pistons have become solid Eastern Conference playoff contenders after their dreadful 14-win season in 2023-24.
The Pistons are 40-32 and just a game behind the fifth-place Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings.
Is first-year executive Mistie Bass-Boyd along with first-year head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and first-year president of basketball operations Langdon the reason for the turnaround?
鈥淚鈥檇 like to think so, right?鈥 Bass-Boyd said while chuckling. 鈥淚 mean, you can鈥檛 count it out.鈥
The on-court success has helped fulfill her role as the contact person between the front office and players.
鈥淚t鈥檚 challenging being an executive in a sport I鈥檝e been part of for so long,鈥 Bass-Boyd said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 surreal. I never thought I鈥檇 be in the NBA doing this.鈥
A female in a male-dominated profession
Bass-Boyd does not have a lot of female advisors to help her at her job. There are only a few other women in the NBA that do what Bass-Boyd does.
鈥淚鈥檓 the only woman on the basketball side (of operations in Detroit),鈥 Bass-Boyd said. 鈥淲e have a business side that has plenty of women, but not on the basketball side, when you consider all 30 teams. This is the seat I鈥檓 sitting in.鈥
That seat is rarely in the same place from one day to the next. Boyd-Bass accompanies the team on about 70% of its road trips. She plans to be involved in the scouting and draft processes after the season to broaden her NBA knowledge.
The future is bright, and Bass-Boyd has no plans to limit herself.
鈥淚 keep meeting people who see me in ways that I don鈥檛 see myself,鈥 Bass-Boyd said in the 鈥淗er Table鈥 interview. 鈥淚n avenues that I can make meaningful impact.
鈥淚鈥檝e always taken challenges head-on,鈥 she said. 鈥淚f your dreams aren鈥檛 big enough to scare you, they鈥檙e just not big enough.鈥
In every phase of her life, Bass-Boyd has met those challenges. The journey from the West side of 糖心Vlog传媒 is sure to continue.
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