Justin Zanik (left in the photo) is a particularly discreet man. Assistant GM in Utah from 2013 to 2016, then from 2017 to 2019 (after a short stint in the same role in Milwaukee), he has been GM ever since.
However, the former agent (1998-2013) is rarely talked about, leaving the light to Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations of the club since 2021, to Ryan Smith, the owner of the franchise, and to Will Hardy, the coach. He enjoys a shadow role, between contract negotiation, scouting and internal management.
Polycystic kidney disease already affected his father
However, ESPN devotes a long article to it, because Justin Zanik will undergo a kidney transplant this Tuesday, April 2. Last October, his wife insisted that he have a medical check-up. She found him tired and thin and, as she had to manage the numerous health problems of her children, she was understandably worried. The result ? Polycystic kidney disease, a disorder characterized by the formation of kidney cysts that cause both kidneys to enlarge and can lead to kidney failure. What happens to the leader of Jazz.
The disease is hereditary and Justin Zanik lived with this sword of Damocles hanging over his head because his father had already had to undergo a kidney transplant more than twenty years ago.
“I am someone who finds solutions by nature”he explains to ESPN. “My work with the Jazz, my role within my family – I was an agent [de joueurs] for 15 years so I fixed a lot of shit. I'm the one who's supposed to help. I'm the one who's supposed to take care of everything. So I really didn't know how to ask for help, but I still had to move past that point. I knew it. »
Justin Zanik had to break the news to Danny Ainge, Ryan Smith and Will Hardy. Being an NBA manager certainly allowed him to benefit from rapid access to advanced medical examinations, but obtaining a new kidney is more complicated. You must therefore register on the waiting list, hoping to find a kidney that will not be rejected by the recipient's body. For the file to move to the top of the pile, relatives must carry out tests to find out if they are compatible and then register as potential donors, as a “good Samaritan”.
His three children also affected
The system then locates the match and speeds up the process. This is what happened to Justin Zanik, many Jazz employees having taken the steps, but ultimately it was the husband of his wife's best friend who turned out to be compatible. Therefore allowing the transplant a few months after diagnosis.
But if the manager, so discreet, highlights his story today, it is because polycystic kidney disease is a hereditary disease, and that his three children also suffer from it.
The three teenagers, aged 12, 14 and 16, were diagnosed following in the footsteps of their father, and they will therefore have to undergo a transplant before they turn 30. It is therefore for them that Justin Zanik finally places himself in the light, to highlight the complex system of kidney transplants, and the needs.
“It’s incredibly unfair”explains Will Hardy. “Haven't they been through enough already?” But they handle it with such grace and positivity. They don't complain. They don't want people to feel sorry for themselves. I don’t know how they do it, it’s a remarkable force.”
