Rob Pelinka
Robert Todd Pelinka Jr. is an American basketball executive, lawyer, sports agent, and former college basketball player. He is currently the president of basketball operations and general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.
Before joining the Lakers, he was Kobe Bryant's agent and president and CEO of the Landmark Sports Agency, LLC. Pelinka has represented many players who have been top-14 picks since the 2003 NBA draft, including two at the 2010 NBA draft and second-overall 2011 NBA draft selection Derrick Williams. In the 2012 NBA draft, Pelinka represented Dion Waiters and Andre Drummond, who were selected 4th and 9th overall, respectively. Pelinka was formerly Kevin Durant's agent; he resigned as Carlos Boozer's agent following a controversy in which Boozer signed a contract with the Utah Jazz after allegedly promising to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Pelinka played basketball for Lake Forest High School, earning All-American honors. As a junior, he led Lake Forest High School to its first conference championship. Entering his senior season, Pelinka was overlooked by many Division I scouts and recruiters. However, his MVP performance in a four-game tournament, where he made all 42 of his free throws, and his impressive season statistics enabled him to become a highly recruited athlete by the end of his senior year. He was selected to several regional all-star lists and to play on several regional all-star teams as a senior.
He was recruited by the University of Michigan, where he has the distinction of being the only person in school history to have been a member of three National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four teams: the 1988–89 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Champion Wolverines basketball team as well as both the 1991–92 and the 1992–93 national championship runners-up, which were best remembered as the Fab Five teams. Pelinka holds a Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School and Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Pelinka was also named the 1993 NCAA Male Walter Byers Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Early life
Pelinka is the son of Robert Todd Pelinka Sr., a former high school basketball coach who taught him the fundamentals of basketball.High school career
Pelinka became a high school All-American basketball player at Lake Forest High School. Regarded as one of the best shooters in the Chicago area, alongside teammate Coley Brannon. the junior led Lake Forest to their first conference championship as an all-conference guard. However, the team lost in the first round of postseason play in 1987. Pelinka also played in the Chicago pro-amateur leagues where he played against local stars such as Mark Aguirre, Tim Hardaway, Kevin Duckworth and Kendall Gill.By his senior season, he was listed at, and moved to the point guard position from the shooting guard position in the absence of Douglass, who had graduated and joined future Big Ten opponent Wisconsin, as a starting point guard. As a senior, Pelinka was a preseason selection by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the top 50 Chicago metropolitan area high school basketball players and top five North Suburban players. However, he was not a national preseason top 500 pick by Street & Smith's basketball magazine, which may have been because his senior season marked the first season that the three-point shot was adopted by state high school associations and Pelinka was mainly a shooter. Furthermore, scouts such as Chicago-based David Kaplan, who questioned his true height and dribbling ability, doubted whether he was talented enough to play for either of his targeted colleges even in late December of his senior year despite his having had multiple 30-point efforts already.
During the four-game December 1987 Elgin tournament, in which he was named MVP, Pelinka made all 41 of his free throws and recorded a tournament record 139 points, including 45 in one game. Pelinka's streak of consecutive free throws made ended at 45, but later recounts showed he had 42 free throws in the tournament and 46 consecutive overall, which ranked fourth in Illinois high school basketball history at the time of his graduation. After his tournament performance, Pelinka responded through the press to a scout who felt he might be limited to Division II or mid-major programs such as William & Mary that since he was able to score 45 points against a player committed to play for DePaul, he could succeed at the Division I high-major level. He had only been recruited by William & Mary, Navy, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Ivy League schools before his tournament performance. Afterwards, at least three Big Ten Conference schools showed interest—Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin—although no scouts were allowed to attend any games before February 8.
By the beginning of February of his senior year, Pelinka was listed as one of the top ten Class AA basketball players in Illinois by Illinois High School Basketball magazine. By the time of the scouting deadline of February 8, when college scouts could start attending his games, Pelinka was averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds per game; Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and North Carolina showed interest in him. Even previously doubtful scout Kaplan noted that of the players who waited until the April signing period instead of signing in November, Pelinka was one of the best in the Chicago area.
At the conclusion of the season, Pelinka had a 30-point-per-game average that benefited from a 41% three-point shot percentage over the course of 208 attempts. Pelinka was named to the post- season All-Chicago area top 20 players by the Chicago Sun-Times. He was named among the 20 Class AA All-state players in a class that included Eric Anderson, LaPhonso Ellis, Acie Earl, and Deon Thomas. In addition to various all-star lists, Pelinka was selected to play for various regional all-star teams. He earned a coveted spot in the Schlitz League, teaming up with Maurice Cheeks for Luster Premium Hair Products.
Pelinka's final decision came down to a choice between Illinois and Michigan. Pelinka chose Michigan because of its academically stronger law school and business school. After selecting Michigan, he had notable performances in his regional all-star games, including a 27-point performance in the annual City-Suburban all-star game.
In January 2009, Pelinka was one of two players who did not attend the twentieth anniversary reunion of the 1989 championship team. In February, Matt Vogrich broke Pelinka's Lake Forest High School scoring record. Vogrich followed in Pelinka's footsteps, playing as a freshman for the Wolverines basketball team in the 2009–10 season.
College career
Freshman season (1988–1989)
As a guard, Pelinka became the first Michigan Wolverine to reach three NCAA Tournament Final Fours during his Michigan Wolverines career. He played in the 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, and 1992–93 seasons; the team reached the championship game of the Final Four in three out of four of those seasons. As a true freshman member of the 1988–89 National Champions, his teammates included Glen Rice, Terry Mills, Loy Vaught, Rumeal Robinson, Sean Higgins, Demetrius Calip, and Mark Hughes. As a redshirt member of the 1991–92 and 1992–93 national runners-up, his teammates included Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, and Eric Riley. He was one of several upperclassmen on the Fab Five teams and served as co-captain of the 1992–93 team. As a scholar, he was noted for having a grade point average that rivaled his scoring average.During Pelinka's freshman season, Michigan was picked by many to win the Big Ten Conference and was ranked number one in the nation, according to some preseason polls. He was the only true freshman to play in either of the first two games of the season. Pelinka's only start of the season came in the December 12, 1988 game against Holy Cross. This game followed the team's first loss of the season, which had come against Division II Alaska–Anchorage, after an 11–0 start and after which coach Bill Frieder benched three starters. Pelinka posted his season highs in points, rebounds and minutes in this game. During a practice, Pelinka was knocked unconscious and lost two teeth. As the team entered the March stretch run, Pelinka and Calip were the only reserve guards backing up Robinson and Higgins. The team went on to win the 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament against Seton Hall at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. When the team visited the White House, Pelinka held Rumeal Robinson's suit coat, while Robinson and United States President George H. W. Bush reenacted Robinson's game winning free throws.