On Tuesday, October 28, Kean Corporate Connect hosted Brooks Meek to talk about his experiences as the Senior Leader of NBA League Operations. Held at Hynes Hall, Game Behind the Game: NBA Leadership with Brooks Meek offered valuable insights on career navigation, global diplomacy, and the power of networking.
Meek has spent over two decades building an impressive career at the NBA. He shapes basketball strategy and major initiatives for the NBA, oversees the NBA All-Star, Draft Combine, Draft, and NBA Cup logistics, leads programs such as Future Basketball Operations Stars and Employee Engagement Council, and has launched global initiatives like NBA Academies and Basketball Without Borders.
But his journey, like his character, is multifaceted. Meek started out in Washington, D.C., as an intern for the President’s Council on Y2K under the Clinton administration. This early segue into public affairs at the White House laid the foundation for his later work in sports diplomacy. He stressed being open to this kind of flexibility.
Throughout the session, Meek returned to one central theme: networking. He urged students to think of their connections as a garden and each relationship as a seed that must be uniquely nurtured.
Like networks, he said, “they grow [depending on] the soil they're in, the water they get, the sunlight they receive. Every seed is different in the way that they receive water and receive sunlight, and what soil they grow in.”
Still, Meek stressed that performance matters just as much. He offers an example: “You could be the best person in the world, and I could really, really like you, but if you can’t shoot three pointers very well, I'm not going to hire you as my shooter.”
He also emphasized the importance of identifying core values—for him, empathy, family, competition, and learning—as a personal compass for career decisions. Using that navigation system, he said, “you will hopefully find people that align with your values.”
Now in his 22nd year with the NBA, Meek finds motivation in mentoring younger colleagues and supporting student athletes. He volunteers with Kean Athletics, offering mental health services rooted in his training as a licensed clinical social worker.
“I still shoot hoops as part of my self-care,” he shared. “I've done the same exact shooting workout since I was 10 years old. I just need a ball and a basket, so I can do it anywhere.”
The hosting organization, Kean Corporate Connect, is a student-led business club focused on bridging the gap between classroom learning and professional success.
Founded just last semester, the club is already making waves. The organization's robust executive board has already hosted speakers from finance, marketing, and sports, including the New York Jets.
Nicholas Velez, Vice President of Kean Corporate Connect and a senior majoring in Marketing, discussed the purpose of the event.
“The core of our club here is networking,” he said. “However we can bring someone in to help students build their network... whether it’s a small business or a giant business like the NBA, we’re all for it.”
Hamza Khalid, co-president pursuing a Master's in Business Administration, added, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. [My contacts] tell us the real truth about the job industry, which a lot of professors don’t really tell students about.”
By having established figures like Brooks Meek visit to share insights, Kean students not only have an opportunity to network with some of the top professionals in their industry, but also get to learn personally from their experiences—in other words, the game behind the game.
