Imagine you are an NBA owner with a G-League affiliate that needs a new assistant general manager and this resume comes across your desk. Bachelor’s degree in marine science, played in the NBA Celebrity Game, represented the Sacramento Kings at the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery and worked with the Sacramento Kings in the Social Responsibility Department.
Chances are you probably aren’t hiring that candidate as G-League assistant general manager. Not unless they also happen to be the owner’s kid. That is what happened to Anjali Ranadivé who, despite having no meaningful experience in basketball operations, fell upward into a front office role.
But wait, there’s more. Let’s say that the G-League general manager leaves after a season. Certainly, you wouldn’t simply elevate the unqualified assistant to the full-time role. Oh wait, that is exactly what Vivek Ranadivé did in naming his daughter general manager of the Stockton Kings.
More Kings: Basketball’s biggest winner took on the NBA’s most hapless franchise…and lost
Is having billions of dollars not enough? Do you really need to steal the job of a far more qualified candidate? There are countless women who have toiled away behind the scenes looking to move up the basketball front office career ladder. They don’t even get interviewed because the boss’ daughter wants to play basketball.
Make no mistake. That is precisely what is happening here. Before this, Anjali Ranadivé wanted to play pop star and daddy granted the wish with a career that made Brooke Hogan look like Kelly Osbourne. Wait, what does that even mean?
Anyway, papa even let his daughter perform at a Sacramento Kings game, something no paying ticket holder wanted or asked for. However, her music career fizzled out as her dad’s money couldn’t compensate for a total lack of talent and Anjali was then handed a job with the team behind the scenes.
At this time, we must mention Vivek Ranadivé’s total inability to judge talent or character. Don’t let one season of success with the Sacramento Kings fool you; he oversaw one of the worst decades of basketball imaginable. He is the person who fired Michael Malone, hired George Karl, hired Luke Walton, hired Vlade Divac as VP of basketball operations and was behind a slew of terrible draft picks—Nik Stauskas, Justin Jackson, Marvin Bagley and so on and so forth.
You know, this blatant act of NBA nepotism wouldn’t be so bad if the Kings had made any attempt whatsoever to at least justify naming Anjali Ranadivé as general manager. No one could be bothered to at least make up something as to why she deserves this role. Hell, they tried to bury the news in the same press release announcing Lindsey Harding as head coach.
In no way is this what is best for the Kings or those who take basketball seriously. You can claim general manager of a G-League franchise isn’t an important role, but it means something in a sport where opportunities are scarce. Simply handing one to your unqualified child is bullshit, plain and simple.
Perhaps the only solace we can take from this bout of nepotism is the fact Anjali Ranadivé now has to spend even more time in Stockton, one of the world’s truly awful places.
Keep Reading: The story of that one time an NBA arena was named after a massive scam
