BY: Duane Watson

It’s clear that Marc Eversley, Assistant General Manager/Player Development for the Toronto Raptors, takes the lessons he’s learned throughout his life very seriously. “George Raveling, the Global Sports Marketing Director at Nike, always talked about the value of a relationship,” he says. “I’ve never seen it come to life more [than when I was at Nike], the value of an interaction with somebody, the value of going up and shaking someone’s hand and looking them in the eye. It can take you anywhere.”

Those very relationships took Eversley from his humble beginnings as the floor manager of Nike’s first Canadian retail outlet to the head office as Sports Marketing Manager, Basketball. In February of 2001, he moved down to Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon to become Sports Marketing Manager (NBA), negotiating endorsement deals for NBA players, including Steve Nash, Vince Carter and Gary Payton among others. Three years ago, a phone call from Jim Kelly, Toronto Raptors Director, Player Development, offered a chance for the Brampton native to come home and take on a new challenge with the team.

Eversley describes his job responsibilities as “fluid,” spending the majority of his time with the team at home and on the road; he doesn’t do the same thing every day. “Basically, I build relationships with our players,” he says. “The player development aspect of my title is really about helping them enhance their lives off the court, so when they get on the court they’re focused and ready to go. In terms of roster management, I’m always looking at ways to improve our team, whether it is trades, free agency or the draft, and I also do a little bit of scouting.”

Standing at 6’8″, 245 pounds, one might easily assume that Eversley is a professional basketball player, but he’ll be the first to tell you that his “baller” aspirations were short lived. “Somewhere along my sophomore year, I was like, ‘You’re good, but you’re not that good, and you’re probably not going to earn a living playing basketball, so you better start focusing on the books.” Graduating from Urbana University in Ohio, he recalls his clear career plans: “I wanted to work in sport, and I had two places I wanted to be: Nike, because they were the number one sports and fitness company in the world; or go home and start something new with a young budding franchise like the Toronto Raptors.” Obviously, Eversley’s clear focus in setting goals and pursuing them has been key to his success.

When asked about one day being the General Manager of an NBA franchise, Eversley is cautiously optimistic. “Working with Bryan Colangelo [Raptors President & GM], right now is an absolute dream,” he says. “He’s one of the youngest and brightest general managers in the league. I aspire to be similar to him and I aspire to run my own team one day. Is that next year, or five years from now? I don’t know, but it’s definitely a goal of mine. I’m focused today on doing my job to the best of my ability. Growing up in Toronto and watching the birth of the Raptors, every single time I drive up to this arena, I feel somewhat honoured that I’m part of this, but I would love to run my own team one day.”

Originally published in Sway Magazine, Spring 2009

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