Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh took an unconventional path from working at his family’s roadside hotels in Alberta to becoming one of only two Canadian general managers in the NBA. The 39-year-old Edmonton native was promoted to the Hawks’ top basketball role in April after spending nearly a decade with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors.
Saleh was born to Jordanian immigrants in Texas before his family moved to Alberta when he was an infant. They operated hotels in small towns including Lougheed, a village of fewer than 300 people, before settling in Edmonton during his high school years.
Despite playing on a provincial championship team at Ross Sheppard High School, Saleh couldn’t pursue college basketball due to family business responsibilities. He earned degrees in biology and history at the University of Alberta while initially planning to become a doctor.
“What’s crazy – and people are going to hate me – but I grew up a Lakers fan,” Saleh said. “This was before Kobe and Shaq too. This was Cedric Ceballos, Nick Van Exel and Vlade Divac and all those guys. My brothers were diehard Knicks fans, John Starks and all of that, but I was a Lakers fan for a good chunk of my childhood.”
Saleh studied NBA front office biographies and noticed many executives held law degrees. He enrolled at Thomas Jefferson School of Law before transferring to Tulane University, which offered a placement program with the Spurs.
“The CBA is essentially a book of laws that you break down, try and find loopholes in,” said Saleh. “Negotiations are critical for contracts, you’re working with agents all the time, and trying to figure that stuff out, so I was like, this makes a lot of sense.”
San Antonio offered Saleh $7 per hour, minimum wage in Texas, after his law school graduation. He spent four years with the organization learning under RC Buford and Gregg Popovich.
“RC Buford and Pop were amazing mentors of mine,” Saleh said. “They were phenomenal in my growth and development and then, after (four) years there, the Warriors ended up hitting me up.”
Saleh joined Golden State and developed a specialty creating detailed long-range roster forecasts based on salary cap projections. The Warriors won their fourth championship during his second season with the organization in 2021-22.
Chicago Bulls GM Marc Eversley praised Saleh’s rise as evidence of opportunities for Canadians in NBA front offices.
“Onsi shines a light on the success of Canadians in the front office,” Eversley said. “It’s a fantastic example of basketball vision and leadership.”
Atlanta was acknowledged as having one of the best offseasons in the league under Saleh’s leadership. The Hawks signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker, traded for Kristaps Porzingis, and made a potentially franchise-altering draft-night trade with New Orleans.