About 
Pete

Throughout 42 years in the NBA, Pete Babcock has served as a volunteer scout, regional scout, assistant coach, director of scouting, director of player personnel, vice president of basketball operations, general manager, president and minority owner with eight different franchises……the New Orleans Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, San Diego Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

In addition to his franchise responsibilities, he has served on the Competition and Rules Committee and Steering Committee from 1984-2003 and directed the NBA Pre-Draft Camp from 1984-2007.  In 1996, he was appointed to the prestigious Senior National Team Committee, which selected the 1996 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team and coaching staff. For several years, he worked for the NBA office as a reviewer in evaluating officials and observers to continue to improve the game experience for all.

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During his tenure in Denver, where he ultimately became President and General Manager, the Nuggets had an overall record of 277-215, made the playoffs six out of six years, won two Midwest Division Championships, appeared in 45 playoff games and reached the Western Conference Finals in 1984-85. In Denver, he began the development of his “life experiences” program to provide players with exposure to areas outside of the game of basketball and initiated a number of unique programs to work on issues of gang violence, substance abuse, Special Olympics, annual Native American reservation visits, high school success seminars for at-risk students and coordinated with the District Attorney’s office and Governor’s office in programs to assist the youth of the city and state.

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Upon arriving in Atlanta in 1990, Babcock took three years to rebuild the team and hired Lenny Wilkens as head coach, resulting in the 1993-94 Central Division Championship and the best record in the Eastern Conference.  From 1990-1999, the team had an overall record of 406-300, made the playoffs eight out of nine seasons and appeared in 55 playoff games.

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After finishing the 1999 season only two games off the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks tore the team apart to rebuild again. Babcock left the Hawks in 2003 with a record of 527-507 with the Hawks and an overall record of 804-722 with 100 playoff games, 3 Division Championships, 1 Conference Finalist and 6 Conference semi-finalists.

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A political science major at Arizona State (1971), he earned his master’s degree from ASU in 1976. Instead of pursuing a political career, he began coaching and teaching at the high school level in Phoenix.

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 Actively involved in community-related matters, Babcock has worked with a wide variety of social programs, receiving the Sports Personality of the Year award from Special Olympics, the annual Golden Apple Award from the Atlanta Public School for his male mentoring programs in inner city grade schools and monthly success seminars for at risk high school students. The mayor of Atlanta acknowledged Babcock’s efforts throughout the community with the coveted Phoenix Award.

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In 1989, he testified in Congress in an effort to increase spending for substance abuse issues on behalf of the National Institute of Health and also was recognized in a White House ceremony by President Reagan for his work with Native American youth.

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During the Clinton-Gore administration, he was asked to assist in writing a position paper for the White House on “Building Character through Sport” and consulted with Vice President Al Gore on programs to reduce violence among our youth.

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In 2010, the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation honored him in Washington D.C. with the annual Hitchcock Humanitarian Award for his work throughout his career.

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Babcock has been a visiting professor at Emory University since 2004, teaching courses on “The History of the Game and the NBA” as well as “Civil Rights and the Game of Basketball”.

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In 2020, he was asked to write a chapter for a new textbook, “Black History 365”, covering the civil rights movement and the game of basketball.  The book is currently in use in many high schools throughout the United States.

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Pete Babcock was born on May 12, 1949, in Bangor, Maine. He and his wife Yo, of 54 years, have two daughters, Amy and Katie, and four grandchildren, Carson, Avery, Harper and Mila.