The memorabilia has been bubble-wrapped—the autographed Willis Reed print, the kitschy poster from the 1978 Finals. A brawny typewriter, the Royal 440, rests on the radiator. An NBA staff guide, dated 1975-76, peeks out from a shelf.
And on the desk sits a yellowed Rolodex, jammed with four decades of key NBA figures. But the real power rests beside the Rolodex.
That's where the PC is. The one with the spreadsheet containing all those arena dates and television commitments and grudge matches. The one that dictates where every NBA team will play, and when.
For the last 30 years, Matt Winick has punched the keys on this PC (or one like it) and arranged all of those dates, color-coding for home games (blue) and away (red), agonizing over every six-game road trip and every back-to-back set, bracing for the complaints that were sure to follow.
"I tell the teams, 'Hey, that's the way the computer did it,'" Winick said from behind his desk. "But it was never the computer. I was the computer."
Officially, Winick has carried the title of senior vice president, but he is best known as the NBA's Scheduli ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Howard Beck
As NBA Schedule-Maker Departs, He Takes with Him an Era League Won’t See Again
August 21st, 2015 by Howard Beck Leave a reply »
Advertisement