Kathy Behrens, who developed NBA Cares, plans to leave the league office after a 26-year run

Kathy Behrens started her high school basketball career at a time when her home state of New York had yet to even start a championship for girls. She played in college, long before the women’s game had the immense following it does now. And the WNBA had not even been dreamed of in those days.

Basketball became her life's work anyway.

Behrens — who became one of the highest-ranking women in the NBA office, holding her current title of President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs since 2015 — has decided to leave the league office after 26 years. Colleagues were informed on Tuesday, and she intends to depart at the end of the year.

“Last year I celebrated my 25th year at the NBA and my kids went off to college and I’ve spent the last year thinking about how it’s such a hard place to leave because it’s been just an incredible experience,” Behrens said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And the work is great and so meaningful. I love the people that I work with. But I had just started to think that it’s time to do some other things. It’s that time.”

Among her best-known accomplishments: She developed the wildly successful NBA Cares program, which has long been a top priority for the league in terms of community outreach, as well as oversaw the creations of the NBA Foundation and the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition during the pandemic.

Commissioner Adam Silver lauded Behrens on Tuesday for what he called “an extraordinary NBA career.”

“Kathy has supported generations of players in navigating the demands of their careers, developing interests beyond basketball and preparing for life after the game,” Silver said in a memo distributed to staff, a copy of which was obtained by the AP. “Throughout her career, Kathy has been a trusted colleague and friend and a passionate advocate for basketball’s ability to improve lives, and I am deeply grateful for everything Kathy has done for our leagues.”

In college, Behrens studied education but developed a fascination with politics and was president of Hartford’s student government. She figured that would be her career path.

After graduating, she worked for the United Way in New York as a fundraiser, then got asked to join Gov. Mario Cuomo’s administration. She worked for Cuomo for more than six years, and when he lost a bid for what would have been a fourth term in 1994 Behrens found herself looking for a new challenge.

She became executive director of a nonprofit program called New York Cares. In 1998, that organization worked with the NBA on events related to that year’s All-Star Game in New York. And a couple of years later, Behrens was asked to join the league office — which is when she started getting to know then-Commissioner David Stern.

“To me, David was sort of like the Mario Cuomo of the sports world,” Behrens said. “My final interview was with David, Adam and (then-deputy commissioner) Russ Granik. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I have always remained so grateful for the privilege to work around the game, to be connected to the game and contribute to the success and the growth that we’ve had.”

The name “NBA Cares” is a nod to New York Cares. Stern pushed for the name, and Behrens initially felt like it was too close to the name of her past employer. But in time, she, Stern and Silver realized it was the perfect moniker. The program officially launched in 2005, has seen NBA personnel give more than 6.5 million hours of their time to various causes and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars to groups that needed the support.

“It made sense and it clicked,” Behrens said. “We launched it and the enduring legacy of that is something I’m incredibly proud of.”

The decision to step away, she insists, was not easy. For a quarter-century or so now, Behrens has had a little tradition of standing with Dan Rube, one of the league’s executive vice presidents and general counsel, at an NBA Finals game. They always say the same thing, reminding each other to never take being part of the NBA for granted.

“It was a gift and it makes it hard to leave,” Behrens said. “But it’s time to give the gift to other people.”

See AP’s full NBA coverage here