Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

John Calipari Sends Message About Thunder’s Executive After NBA Title

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 2:16 PM ET

The headlines and accolades following a championship in any sport typically go to the best players and coaches. Often, fans may forget or simply not understand the role played by those who work behind the scenes for a franchise.

On Tuesday, Arkansas men's basketball coach John Calipari paid compliments to Oklahoma City Thunder Vice President and Chief of Staff Glenn Wong, who is the son of a colleague who dates back to his days at UMass in the late 1980s.

Wong was in his first season in this role and his 12th year with Oklahoma City. His duties include "overseeing day-to-day operations, facilitating cross-discipline collaboration and managing the flow of information for staff and players," according to his Thunder bio.

Glenn Wong Vice President / Chief of Staff for the Thunder always looks after me at OKC games. His father was on the selection committee when I was hired in 1988 at Umass and built the sport management department into the gold standard nationally. Glenn Jr is just as talented pic.twitter.com/AAM4ysnvRy
— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) June 24, 2025

His father, also named Glenn Wong, is now a Distinguished Professor of Practice at Arizona State University. He spent 36 years as a member of the faculty in the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts' Isenberg School of Management.

Calipari began his tenure as the UMass head coach in 1988. In the 1991-92 season, the Minutemen made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. A Final Four appearance in the 1995-96 season elevated Calipari's profile, and he would go on to coach the New Jersey Nets from 1996 to 1999 before eventually returning to the college ranks in 2000 at the University of Memphis.

Calipari was presumably giving a shoutout to Wong, given his long relationship dating back to his earliest coaching days and because the Thunder secured the franchise's first-ever NBA title in a 103-91 Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: