The keys to the kingdomFree Access

Monte McNair, an Oak Park native, is new GM of the Sacramento Kings




THE ROYAL ‘WE’—Monte McNair, 36, of Oak Park is the new general manager of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Courtesy of Sacramento Kings

THE ROYAL ‘WE’—Monte McNair, 36, of Oak Park is the new general manager of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Courtesy of Sacramento Kings

Monte McNair makes all the basketball decisions for the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings’ new general manager is also the commissioner . . . of his fantasy football league.

So, how’s his team doing in the league?

No, not the NBA franchise.

The other one.

“Frustratingly well,” younger brother Nolan McNair said with a laugh.

For the record, Monte McNair won the league last year.

Sacramento gave the fantasy football champion the keys to its proverbial kingdom at 500 David J Stern Walk, the palace devoted subjects call Golden 1 Center and dissidents dub Arco Arena III.

McNair spent the past 13 seasons working in the Houston Rockets’ front office, most recently as assistant general manager to Daryl Morey.

The 36-year-old McNair is now one of the youngest general managers in the NBA.

“We’re going to build a winning culture here where our players can grow, thrive in our aggressive system and compete hard every night,” said McNair, an Oak Park High graduate who earned a degree in computer science and played football at Princeton University. “To all loyal Kings’ fans, I want to become a team that consistently competes in the playoffs and ultimate contends for championships.

Follow sports editor Eliav Appelbaum on Twitter @EliavAppelbaum.

Follow sports editor Eliav Appelbaum on Twitter @EliavAppelbaum.

“I’m excited to get to work.”

McNair takes basketball seriously. That’s obvious.

He takes fantasy football seriously, too.

The McNair brothers didn’t like the rules of any existing league—so they created their own 16-team fantasy football league with friends from Oak Park and Princeton.

Monte McNair operates his football team with a private, intricate database that makes Skynet look like first-generation Pong.

“It’s hard to compete with that,” Nolan McNair said. “He puts analytics to that, and it actually works. It’s a fun, engaging league. Everyone’s giving him crap after he got the job. While he had the press conference, we were talking, ‘Should we tag him in the middle of it?’”

The floundering Chargers should hire the King as a consultant.

Monte McNair’s too busy steering Sacramento, which holds the No. 12 pick in the upcoming Nov. 18 NBA draft.

He has arguably the most daunting job in the NBA.

Among California teams, the Los Angeles Lakers just captured their 17th championship this week in the Orlando bubble; the dynastic Golden State Warriors seized three titles in five consecutive Finals appearances from 2015 to 2019, and they’re healthy again; and the Clippers still feature superstar Kawhi Leonard flanked by a talented supporting cast.

The Kings haven’t made the playoffs since 2006, a span of 14 seasons. That’s the longest active drought in the NBA.

“Our goal is to compete hard and start building these winning habits. We need to be more consistent,” McNair said. “We want to make the playoffs, but we have some work to do.”

The Acorn community is jubilant for McNair.

“ It’s pretty awesome,” said Casey Webb, Oak Park’s football head coach. “He’s got one of the most prestigious positions in all of sports. He’s literally making decisions that affect a multimillion-dollar corporation. . . . It’s nice to see great things happen to great people.”

“It couldn’t happen to a more deserving and better guy,” said Dustin Baxley, who played football and baseball alongside McNair at Oak Park. “He’s done all the right things and treated people right along the way.”

Baxley and McNair met as sixth grade students at Medea Creek Middle School.

McNair was a three-sport superstar with the Eagles. He manned point guard in basketball; dazzled at receiver, kicker, punter and defensive back in football; and he roamed center field in baseball.

Webb recalled McNair kicking a 50-yard field goal; making acrobatic catches on the gridiron; sinking three straight free throws with no time on the clock to send a basketball game into overtime against Harvard-Westlake; and stripping the ball from future NFL player Lorenzo Booker of St. Bonaventure.

Baxley, a financial advisor who lives in Oxnard, played linebacker for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s football team.

The friends were roommates in Sherman Oaks after college. Before the end of the lease, McNair shared some breaking news: He was moving to Houston to work for the Rockets.

They still talk all the time, but it was hard to see each other in person since they lived in different states. Baxley said he hopes to see his friend more often now that Monte’s closer to home.

“He’s probably one of the best men I know,” Baxley said. “He cares about family, and not just his family that he started and grown, but his brother and his parents and everybody that’s been close with him since middle school. He still cares about us and stays in touch with us today.”

Baxley grew up rooting for the Lakers.

Those days are over.

“I would have never said this in a million years: I hope the Kings can make a deep run and be a successful franchise going forward,” he said. “I hope he realizes how much everybody is proud and excited for him. There’s not a single person in the Conejo Valley that hasn’t heard the news that’s not totally excited.”

Nolan McNair is still soaking it all in.

“It’s a bit surreal, to be honest,” he said. “Reading all kinds of articles about your own brother, it doesn’t quite make sense, but it’s incredible really.”

The McNair brothers both started working at STATS LLC after graduating college. Nolan McNair, who lives in Torrance, spent a decade at the company. He’s worked with Sportradar the past two years in broadcast data engineering, which means he makes sure data is accurate for folks in analytics.

Like his brother, Nolan McNair was a three-sport standout at Oak Park as a football quarterback, soccer defender and baseball center fielder.

“I followed him in those footsteps, but I can’t follow them anymore. They’re too big at this point,” he said with a chuckle.

Nolan went on to play Division III college football at Bowdoin College in Maine.

After suffering his third ACL tear in his right knee in 18 months—an injury that effectively ended his college career—Nolan called his parents.

Monte called his brother 30 minutes later.

“Obviously, my parents let him know. Who knows what he was doing, it took him all of 30 seconds to get off the phone and give me a call,” Nolan said. “He knew I needed someone at that time.

“He’s a fantastic older brother.”

Their parents, Donna and Kevin, live in Camarillo.

Monte is beloved for more than his prowess in athletics.

He spoke with Oak Park football players on a Zoom call in June.

The big man on campus, and literally all of Ventura County, gave Webb rides home after Eagle football practices when Webb was a sophomore and Monte was a senior.

Monte McNair’s hiring impressed hoops experts locally and nationally. The general manager has a gift for analytics.

“His brain power in analytics is up there with the pure geeks,” Nolan said.

The newest King was involved in all aspects of player evaluation with the Rockets, including trades, free agency and the draft.

“He just worked hard his whole life, trying to be better,” Webb said. “Look where it led him to be.”

Yeah, he’s a fantasy football champion.

Oh, and he’s also general manager of the Sacramento Kings.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Monte McNair said, “both to lead an organization like the Kings and return to my home state.”

IN A NUTSHELL

Monte McNair, 36, was named general manager of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings last month. The Oak Park High graduate spent the previous 13 seasons working in the Houston Rockets’ front office.

A three-sport star in basketball, baseball and football at Oak Park, McNair went on to play football and study computer science at Princeton University.

McNair’s brother, Nolan, 34, played baseball, football and soccer at Oak Park. Nolan McNair played quarterback at Bowdoin College in Maine. Their parents, Donna and Kevin, live in Camarillo.

The Rockets have made the playoffs eight straight years. The Kings haven’t been to the postseason since 2006, the longest active drought in the NBA.