If former Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey were an NBA Jam video game character, the ball would burst into flames whenever he touched it. Early in his tenure as the Philadelphia 76ers vice president of basketball operations, Gansey is on fire.
On Friday, July 24, Akron native LeBron James announced he would sign with the 76ers in free agency, choosing Philly over his other top suitors, the Cavs, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors.
In late May, Gansey left his job with the Cavs to take control of the Sixers’ front office. Gansey and the 76ers winning the James sweepstakes occurred a little more than three weeks after they acquired 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics on July 1.
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Gansey, 43, and James, 41, had a history together long before they were with the Cavs in 2016, when James led the franchise to its only NBA title.
Their careers as high school basketball stars in Northeast Ohio overlapped. A photograph of them posing in their teenage years with other local standouts has been circulating online this summer.
Gansey played for Olmsted Falls and James for St. Vincent-St. Mary. As a senior, Gansey finished second in Ohio Mr. Basketball voting for the 2000-01 season. A sophomore then, James won the prestigious award for the first time (he captured it again in each of the next two years).
— Steven Gansey (@SGAN30) July 2, 2026
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Gansey played college basketball at West Virginia, helping the Mountaineers reach the Elite Eight as a junior and the Sweet 16 as a senior. He also played professionally overseas for three seasons and in the NBA G League for two seasons.
Of course, the Cavs drafted James first overall in 2003 out of St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Gansey joined the Cavs in 2011 as a basketball operations seasonal assistant. Later, he ascended to GM of the Cleveland Charge, the NBA G League affiliate of the Cavs. He was named Cavs assistant GM in July 2017 before becoming GM less than five years later.
The Cavs — and many of their fans — hoped James would reunite with an NBA front-office executive other than Gansey.
Cavs assistant GM Brandon Weems is a 2004 St. Vincent-St. Mary graduate. Weems played high school basketball with James, and the two Akron natives are close friends.
Instead, it will be Gansey and James joining forces again, this time in Philadelphia.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former Cavs GM Mike Gansey wins LeBron James sweepstakes with 76ers
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