Alton Byrd

Alton Byrd

Long Island Nets
Position	Vice President of Business Operations
Personal information
Born	(1958-03-11) March 11, 1958 San Francisco, California
Nationality	American / British
Listed height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Career information
High school	Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, California)
College	Columbia (1976–1979)
NBA draft	1979: 10th round, 186th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career	1979–1997
Career history
1979–1982	Crystal Palace
1983–1987	Murray International
1987–1978	Manchester Eagles
1988–1989	Glasgow Rangers
1990–1992	Kingston Kings
1992–1994	Guildford Kings
1994–1997	Crystal Palace
Career highlights and awards
5× Scottish League champion Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (1979) 3× All-Ivy League (1977–1979)

Joseph Alton Byrd (born March 11, 1958 in San Francisco, California) is an American basketball player who also holds British citizenship. He is the Vice President of Business Operations for the Long Island Nets.

He grew up in the San Francisco area, where he was a high school basketball star. He continued to be a basketball star at Columbia University, where he was one of the best point guards in the country in spite of his small stature. His height was usually officially listed as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m). He holds the school records for career assists (526) and assists in a single season (210).

After receiving his bachelor's degree from Columbia College in 1979, he attended the Boston Celtics rookie camp, along with a similarly named fellow draftee, Larry Bird. Larry Bird made the team. Alton Byrd, suffering with a foot injury, did not, so he accepted a job offer in London, England. It seemed that his basketball career was over.

Professional basketball was still in its infancy in Britain when he began playing ball with Crystal Palace of the British league just for the exercise and the fun of it. However, he soon blossomed into a major star: thanks to his exciting style of play and his compelling personality, he became the most famous basketball player in Britain. During his rookie season, he led Palace to a 50–5 record. He later started for teams in Glasgow, Manchester, Guildford and Kingston. In 1984 he became a British citizen and made his debut for England.

Off the court, he pursued a variety of broadcasting and business ventures, including a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live dedicated to American sports. From 1997 to 1998, he was the general manager of the London Monarchs of NFL Europe, while there he guided the team to rebrand to London Monarchs. In 1999, he returned to the United States to be a Vice President of the Sacramento Kings. He then founded a management consulting company, Clear Focus Communications. In September 2013, the Atlanta Dream hired him as the Chief Revenue Officer. On March 24, 2016, the Brooklyn Nets hired Alton Byrd as the Vice President of Business Operations.

References

• "From Columbia to Britain's "Mr Basketball" to the NBA". February 2001. Archived from the original on 2007-04-09. Retrieved 2011-11-13.