Lives of Consequence
Chrysa Chin '84
Executive Vice President for Strategic Engagement and Development, National Basketball Players Association
For more than 25 years, Chrysa Chin ’84 has guided the personal and professional development of top NBA stars to help them reach their maximum potential on and off the court. In a 2014 profile, Sports Illustrated described Chin as “a trusted confidant and life coach to NBA players around the league. A teacher, mentor and friend, Chin has been a shoulder to lean on for rookies and veterans alike…someone they can trust when it comes to enduring the off-the-court rigors of the league.”
Currently the executive vice president for strategic engagement and development for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Chin leads the strategic engagement and development department, directing the implementation of player initiatives and developing innovative programs and resources designed to catalyze players’ growth and success on and off the court. She is also director of the NBPA Foundation, which “highlights and accelerates the real and collaborative work that players do worldwide to build their communities and create meaningful change.”
Chin previously served as vice president for player development for the NBA, where she was the first woman to hold a managerial position in the Player Development Department and the title of vice president. There, she oversaw the department’s daily communication with players and their family support networks, and played active roles with the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program, NBA/NBPA Player Assistance Program, USA Basketball and the WNBA. She worked on helping to launch the WNBA during its inaugural season.
Chin spearheaded the expansion of the league’s “20 & Under” program which supports rookie players to successfully adjust to their careers professional athletes. Her impressive resume boasts All-Stars such as Chris Paul, Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony — players who have fostered record-breaking careers and community-building foundations. Chin also co-founded the National Basketball Wives Association, which empowers players’ wives to take leadership roles in community development and philanthropy while raising funds for charitable initiatives. The association recognized Chin, who remains on its professional advisory board, for her leadership in 2008.
In 2004, Chin was commissioned by USA Basketball to work with the Men’s Senior National Team. Her guidance and player relation strategies assisted the players as they made the transition to international play. After capturing bronze at the 2004 Olympics, the team won gold at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 2010 and 2014 World Championships.
Known for her role at the NBA draft, where she is affectionately known as the “Hat Lady,” Chin hands the draftee the hat of their new team before they step on stage and meet the NBA commissioner.
Prior to the NBA in 1997, Chin worked as a consultant for Nike, Inc., and as manager and special assistant to the executive director of the NBPA. She has worked as a social worker and as a case manager on high profile litigation cases for the law firm of Chadbourne and Parke.
Chin now serves on the steering committee of the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists’ Athlete Development Summit, as well as several advisory boards. She has worked with UWANTGAME, a mentoring program for high school athletes, and in 2012, The Network Journal selected her as one of the “25 Most Influential African American Women In Business.”
At William Smith, Chin was an individual studies major and the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award. She received the William Smith Alumnae Association’s highest honor, the Alumna Achievement Award, in 2017.