Meet Shelly Wilkes, the woman helping shape the Lakeland Magic

Shelly Wilkes worked her way up through the Orlando Magic organization. She is shaping the Lakeland Magic and breaking barriers too.

When the Orlando Magic announced they were going to form the Lakeland Magic, three people sat at the dais to make the announcement.

There was Magic CEO Alex Martins. He was taking a personal ownership stake in the team and as the Magic’s business leader, he was the public face for the franchise that now fall under the same umbrella.

There was Robert Palmer. He was a key sponsor of the team. The owner of a mortgage lender company, RP Funding, and its sister company HomeValue.com, would soon take over the team’s jersey and the arena. Palmer is a Lakeland native and his partnership helped bring professional sports to this small town nearly halfway between Orlando and Tampa.

And then there was Shelly Wilkes. She was the no one knew. Martins and the newly formed Lakeland Magic were announcing her as the team’s president. She would become the first woman to be the president of a G-League team and the only woman in charge of an entire team in the league as a whole.

Wilkes started with the Orlando Magic in their ticket office. She worked her way up through the ticket office and jumped over to game operations, helping put together the entertainment and the presentation of games at the Amway Center.

She is as homegrown as an executive gets. Putting her in charge of the entire Lakeland operation was a natural fit. She was someone they knew.

Despina Barton of Spectrum Sports 360 reports on how Wilkes manages life with one of the most important jobs held by a woman in all of sports:

The G-League is meant to be a proving ground not just for growing players. It is also a proving ground for future coaches, referees and executives. It is a testing area for new rules too.

In this way, Wilkes is very much in line to continue her ascendancy in the NBA’s business infrastructure. The Magic clearly liked her enough to give her this huge role within its larger organization.

By all accounts, the first year for the Lakeland Magic has been a success — the season ends at the end of March. There is still a lot of learning about how to grow a team within the market. And growing a minor league team is still very difficult.

The Magic’s Tracy McGrady Night last Friday, which included Jonathan Isaac‘s first appearance with the team, drew only 1,154 fans. The following night the Magic brought in Orlando Magic entertainment personalities, including STUFF, and drew 1,167 fans.

There is still a lot of learning to go to create a fan base in the area. And then maybe to convert them into occasional trips to Orlando to see the parent club play.

The G-League experiment for the Magic is a continuing one. And it includes empowering Wilkes to do the job. There is definite faith in her.

Women are (too) slowly pushing their way into the sports world in new ways. Wilkes, as understated as she seems in the television package above, is part of that group.

So too is Magic Director of Player Development Becky Bonner. Bonner said earlier this year her ambition is to become a general manager one day. In all likelihood, that means one day she will run her own G-League team first.

For now, the Magic and president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman are letting her get her hands into everything behind the scenes with the Magic — from designing the layout of the player’s lounge to scouting players and teams.

Next: Orlando Magic Third Quarter MVP: Mario Hezonja

It is important that they are groundbreaking and doing things for themselves and for other woman breaking those barriers. But they are also more than capable for these jobs. It is great they have found a franchise to give them these opportunities and take this chance — even if it should not be a chance.

Eds. Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed Robert Palmer as an owner of the team.