Former two-time Academic All-American and All-Pac-10 shooting guard Dan Grunfeld will return to The Farm as Stanford men’s basketball’s General Manager, as announced by Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men’s Basketball Kyle Smith. Grunfeld will also add responsibilities as assistant coach.

“Dan is the perfect fit to replace Eric Reveno as our general manager. We were so blessed to have the two years with Eric to get momentous energy infused into the program, and passing the baton to Dan seems like the logical transition for the next generation,” said Smith. “Dan has been successful in all his endeavors in life, and he has intense passion and love for Stanford. We are grateful that he has left the business world to help guide his beloved alma mater. He is the perfect bridge to the past that can lead us to where Stanford belongs.”

A former team captain for the Cardinal, Grunfeld was a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree in 2005 after leading the program in scoring with 17.9 points per game. Grunfeld scored 979 career points for the Cardinal, playing two seasons for Mike Montgomery and two for Trent Johnson, and he is one of four student-athletes in program history to be named a CSC Academic All-American twice, coming in 2005 and 2006. Additionally, he was a three-time selection to the Pac-10 All-Academic team.

As a player, Grunfeld helped lead Stanford to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT, the 2004 Pac-10 Championship as well as a No. 1 overall seed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament and four weeks as the AP and USA Today/ESPN top-ranked team in the nation.

“Dan was part of a special era of Stanford basketball, on a team that was the embodiment of the true Stanford student-athlete. Those teams understood how to win on the margins with intelligence, guile and toughness,” continued Smith. “Dan was a big part of that culture and has maintained that aura as he has moved through adulthood, where he has been tremendously successful.”

Following a standout career at Stanford, Grunfeld spent two summer leagues with the Indiana Pacers and one NBA training camp with the New York Knicks. He spent eight professional seasons overseas, playing in Germany, Spain, and Israel, winning a league championship with CB Valladolid in Spain in 2009 and playing in the EuroCup in two seasons with Hapoel Jerusalem from 2011-13.

Grunfeld earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford in 2017, and he spent four years operating at a high-growth startup in Silicon Valley, STRIVR, in enterprise sales and strategic development. In 2019, Grunfeld moved to Lightspeed Venture Partners, and he has spent the last five years as the Vice President of business development and partnerships. His role at Lightspeed was to accelerate startup growth and manage relationships with some of the most influential technology companies in the world.

“I have known Dan for more than two decades through the game of basketball. He grew up around the game, and he understands the management side of the sport like very few his age. He grew up in NBA locker rooms and understands the financial aspects of management through his own professional experiences,” finished Smith.

In addition to his successful career on the court and in the business world, Grunfeld authored the critically acclaimed By the Grace of the Game, a multigenerational story detailing his family history from the Holocaust to the NBA.

Grunfeld is the son of former NBA guard Ernie Grunfeld, a 1977 first-round pick who spent nine seasons as a player in the NBA. Dan Grunfeld follows in the footsteps of his father, who was the general manager of the New York Knicks (1993-99) and the Milwaukee Bucks (1999-03) before becoming the president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards (2003-19).