This was no surprise — and a no-brainer.

Three weeks ago, Calida Taylor talked to The Arizona Republic about being a candidate in the second year of NBA TV’s “GM School Powered by SAP,” a reality show that put five contestants through a series of “high-pressure, analytics-focused challenges that mimic the every-day scenarios that a GM in the NBA has to face” to determine a winner.

The Phoenix resident couldn’t reveal if she won the competition, but the way she broke down the Phoenix Suns gave a clear indication she knew a great deal about the NBA.

“I feel like I performed to the best of my ability,” Taylor said before the first episode aired Oct. 1 on NBA TV. “There were definitely ups and downs as they’ll show on the show. We all are fierce competitors, but we did all get along. So I’m happy with the effort I put in.” 

So it wasn’t a surprise when Taylor was named the winner at the conclusion of the third and final episode that aired Thursday. 

“I’m a lawyer, so I don’t usually lack for words, but all I can think is that this is amazing,” said Taylor, a Chicago native who is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, at the conclusion of the show.  

The winning prize is still being determined as the show was filmed in February in Atlanta before COVID-19 reach the pandemic stage.

Last year’s winner, Matthew Ellis, an consultant at Boston Consulting Group, received a trip to NBA offices and met with league executives.  

This year, it came down Taylor and Kaan Erel, a business owner, as three judges — former NBA GMs Billy King and Wes Wilcox, and Atlanta Dream point guard Renee Montgomery — determined the winner.

“In the future, I’m going to continue to analyze the league, I’m going to put out content wherever I can and definitely continue to make connections with people in the league,” Taylor said. “Feels great to win GM School.”

Taylor won three challenges — general knowledge, hiring a coach and trades — but her handling of a face-to-face meeting with a player in the “trade rumor” challenge kept her from being eliminated in the final episode.

The player was NBA champion and former Arizona star Jason Terry, who was playing the role of someone who signed with the team two years ago and fits the team culture, but will be a free agent at the end of the season and whose agent is Erel.

The first thing Taylor did was stand up when Terry entered the room and greet him with handshake. Terry sits down and explains how his daughter heard about the trade rumors on social media as his family thought he was “going to retire” with this team.

Taylor’s response?

“Your name came up during a conversation,” Taylor said while looking at Terry. “Those conversations aren’t serious right now. You’re providing a ton of value this year. You’re holding up your end of the bargain and if things turn serious, best believe I’m calling Ryan so you don’t have to find this out from the media.”  

Terry’s post-meeting response?

“Gaining my trust right out the gate was so important,” said Terry as he felt she was being honest.

So Terry leaves the room after getting a text from Erel. He returns and said his agent told him he’s being shipped “out West.”

Terry wants to talk money ($40 million deal), too, but Taylor seamlessly addresses both issues.

“There’s clearly been a miscommunication,” said Taylor on the trade rumors. 

With a serious look, Taylor tells Terry she can’t talk about any deals and that “our team is going to get together and we’re going to circle back” on the situation.

Taylor concluded the meeting saying she hopes “everything is good” with Terry and his daughters. Terry brings up the $40 million deal again, but Taylor doesn’t budge.

“I can’t comment on those numbers,” she said with a smile as Terry exits the room.

The judges were watching from a different room. The way King and Montgomery were smiling and nodding showed Taylor was handling the situation to their liking. 

Taylor would’ve been eliminated had she lost that challenge to Ben Everett, an graduate assistant with the Baylor University men’s basketball team.

She didn’t and came out on top of the competition.

The final challenge was interviewing for a GM job. 

King asked Taylor the first, and perhaps most important, question: Why do you want to be an NBA GM?

“Being an NBA GM allows me to match my skills with my passion, but also presenting a job that I believe will be engaging and interesting to me moving forward.”

Wilcox asked about her team culture would be.

Hard work. Accountability.

For starters.

“I’m also very, very passionate about having accurate information and being able to process that information efficiently,” she said. “I want to see an organization that loves informational inputs. There’s only one champion.” 

Montgomery wondered how she plans to succeed in a male-dominated field after seeing what she saw as struggles to “command the room” in a mock press conference.

“I’ve taken that feedback to heart and I don’t think that will happen again,” Taylor responded.

King asked Taylor why that won’t happen again.

“Now it’s at the forefront,” Taylor said. “When I started the press conference, I was focusing on whether or not I knew my information. And now when I walk into a room, I’m focusing more on what am I presenting.” 

Taylor later said she wants to serve as an example to her daughter that she can do anything when addressing the idea of being the first NBA GM.

“Go get it,” Taylor said.

Then when King asked her what would it mean to her dad to become an NBA GM, Taylor got emotional and shed a tear.

Her dad died before she went to law school, something King didn’t know, but Taylor regained her composure and finished the interview with courage and poise. 

“He’d be through the roof,” she said.

Ball game.

The first challenge Taylor won tested the contestants’ “baseline knowledge of NBA analytics and collective bargaining knowledge,” as Wilcox explained.

Answering questions in 24 seconds, Taylor answered a question about mid-level exceptions.

Name the one that is not a mid-level exception.

• A: Non-taxpayer: $9.3 million
• B: Room: $4.8 million
• C: Taxpayer: $5.7 million
• D: Bi-annual: $3.6 million.

“That would be D, the bi-annual exception,” Taylor answers.

That would be correct.

Taylor and Erel tied for first place, but she won the tiebreaker on a coin flip that gave her the first pick in the next challenge to build a team through the draft.

They couldn’t pick NBA MVP winners.

So no LeBron James. No Giannis Antetokounmpo.

No Stephen Curry, James Harden or Russell Westbrook, either.

With 24 seconds to make a selection, Taylor chose Kawhi Leonard with the first overall pick. Her final roster in the 12-round draft?

1. Kawhi Leonard
2. Jayson Tatum
3. Trae Young
4. Khris Middleton
5. Joel Embiid
6. Kristaps Porzi??is
7. Chris Paul
8. De’Aaron Fox
9. John Collins
10. Duncan Robinson
11. DeMar DeRozan
12. Mitchell Robinson

FYI: Kaan chose Devin Booker in the 6th round and Aron Baynes in the 12th round.

Then they had to answer questions from the media about their draft picks.

Taylor was asked if Leonard’s clutch play overrode his injury issues. 

“I’m well aware of his injury history, not really concerned about it,” Taylor said.

She proceeded to point out Leonard winning two NBA titles, his scoring versatility  and defensive ability. She finished second in the competition to Everett. 

“I thought Calida was awesome in that she came in and was the one contestant who really tried to make a connection with us asking the questions,” said NBA TV analyst Sekou Smith.

Taylor and Everett were chosen as the top two for choosing as a head coach as all five contestants interviewed former NBA coach Sam Mitchell. 

Taylor won that challenge as King credited her for getting Mitchell to be comfortable and open up. Mitchell said he felt like Taylor was “a GM” of a team.

“I learned a lot from this challenge,” she said. “One of the most things is to be prepared, but then also project an aura of confidence.” 

Taylor fought off elimination and overcame an emotional interview to win the second “GM School.”

Not a surprise. 

Not a surprise at all.

This was a no-brainer.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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