Joi Garner serves as board member, executive vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary for THINK450, the National Basketball Players Association’s licensing and marketing subsidiary. She brings nearly twenty years of experience in sports and entertainment, a wealth of knowledge in strategic contract negotiations, content creation, event production and management, and an unparalleled work ethic to THINK450.
A Philadelphia native, Garner began her career at Violator Records and Management while simultaneously attending New York University in the mid-1990s. After graduating with a degree in communications, Garner began working at MediaLink Worldwide, a broadcast public relations firm. By 1999, Garner merged her passions for basketball and media and accepted a position with the National Basketball Association (NBA) as an international PR associate. In 2004, Garner returned to school to pursue a law degree to further expand her horizons and create more opportunities.
After earning a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Garner became a corporate attorney at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Following her tenure working in the Tokyo and New York offices of Morrison & Foerster, she returned to sports and media and joining the Sports & Entertainment group of Garvey Schubert Barer. The group represented the top female tennis icons, athletes, actors, rappers, and reality stars. While at Garvey Schubert Barer, Garner was named to Super Lawyers’ list of “Rising Stars,” in Sports & Entertainment in the New York Metro Area, a distinction reserved for the top 2.5 percent of young lawyers in their fields, and received the National Black Lawyer’s distinction of Top 40 Under 40. With a desire to marry her corporate and entertainment experiences, Garner took the position of associate general counsel at the New York Racing Association. While there, she was responsible for commercial and technical contracts, commercial litigation, sweepstakes and contests and acted as production counsel for NYRA’s television shows.
Garner’s current position as EVP, general counsel & corporate secretary of THINK450 is a culmination of her years of experience in sports and entertainment. With her considerable experience in media, basketball and stringent work ethic, she plays an integral part of THINK450’s management. Garner leads THINK450’s operations and corporate governance compliance. She was the lead negotiator on NBPA’s largest licensing deals, including those with Take-Two Interactive (NBA2K), Nike and Panini America. Garner was also instrumental to the NBPA’s partnerships with Anheuser-Busch as well as the NBPA’s social-justice initiatives (e.g., DoorDash’s #PayItForward challenge supporting Black-owned businesses and Kia Motors holiday campaign to provide much-needed relief to families impacted by the pandemic).
When Garner is not creating or executing strategic plans to further advance the work of THINK450 and amplify the voices of the 450 players in the NBA, she seeks to expand diversity in the sports, entertainment, legal and licensing pipelines. She enjoys arts and culture in New York City, traveling and spending time with friends, family and her labradoodle named Carrie.