Tsai's Nets Purchase Official; New CEO David Levy Speaks

Joe Tsai officially completed the acquisition of full ownership of the Nets and Barclays Center this morning, making the Alibaba Group co-Founder and Owner of the WNBA Liberty the Governor of the Nets and Barclays Center Chair. Tsai also made the hiring of media veteran David Levy official this morning, naming the longtime Turner exec as CEO of the Nets and Barclays Center and President of the sports investment holding company J Tsai Sports. THE DAILY caught up with Levy and asked about his new role.

Q: What will your day-to-day schedule look like?
Levy: Primarily, my focus is going to be on the business of the Nets and the Barclays Center. I look forward to working with (Nets GM) Sean Marks and (coach) Kenny Atkinson and making sure that they have the necessary resources to make the basketball team a success. I’m also going to be looking for opportunities to build the global brand of the Brooklyn Nets, and I’m also going to be looking to expand and find new opportunities for J Tsai Sports.

Q: What do you mean when you say you want to build the global brand of the Brooklyn Nets?
Levy: In my 30+ years in working with Adam Silver and the NBA’s digital assets, I have an understanding of how to drive engagement and revenues and how to build out brands globally. The NBA is not just around sports. It’s around pop culture, fashion and music. Brooklyn is a city that embraces those things. It’s going to be key to market the arena, the team in those four areas and get the vibe of the city to really extend the Brooklyn brand, not just in Brooklyn but all over the world.

Q: Your role as President of J Tsai Sports seems unique. What opportunities do you see in that role?
Levy: I see opportunities in new tech, esports, sports betting. Joe and (J Tsai Sports CEO) Oliver Weisberg are both competitors. They both want to win. They want to build out J Tsai Sports into a real entity.

Q: Why did you take this job?
Levy: This role is unique in the sense that you have great leadership with Joe coming in and wanting to be competitive and win. You have a great culture that Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson have built. We had a great free agency. Then you have the opportunity to really have the best consumer experience in your arena. For me to manage all three of those and put it together is what I did at Turner. How do you get all the pieces to work together and how do you make this the best run business in all of sports.