A Brooklynite is at the top of the NBA — not as a player but as the deputy commissioner. And he's been making some high-profile appearances in the borough. Brooklyn reporter Jeanine Ramirez has the story.

"It's great to be back here in my hometown of Brooklyn to welcome the next generation of NBA players," NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said on the night of the NBA Draft in June at the Barclays Center.

As the deputy commissioner, Tatum announced every team's second round draft pick.

But it wasn't his only appearance at the Barclays Center; Tatum returned the next day in a cap and gown to give the keynote speech at graduation ceremonies for Brooklyn Technical High School, his alma mater.

"At Tech, I thought I wanted to be a doctor, and then I went off to Cornell University, and after organic chemistry I quickly changed my mind," Tatum told me.

Tatum switched his major to business management and marketing, got his master's degree in business from Harvard, and eventually landed at the NBA, combining two of his passions: business and sports.

In high school, Tatum helped Brooklyn Tech win the PSAL baseball championship in 1984, and he also was elected school vice president.

"Exceptional individual. He made his mark as a student, as an athlete, and as a leader," Matt Mandery, the former principal of the school, said about Tatum.

Tatum says he fit in among the school's diverse population. He's the son of two immigrants. His father was born on the island of Jamaica and served in the Air Force after moving to the U.S. He was stationed in Vietnam, where he met the woman who would become his wife. They made their home in East Flatbush, where Tatum attended public schools.

"What I found is that the more diverse a community is, the stronger it is, the more perspectives you get, the better decisions that you make, and we see that in the business world as well," Tatum reflected.

And those experiences have helped Tatum's success with the NBA, which is a global business. Games are broadcast in more than 200 countries and in more than 40 languages.

"I travel a ton. I carry my passport with me wherever I go. But I love it," Tatum said. "I get the opportunity to see how basketball impacts people's lives around the world so positively. This summer, we're playing a game in South Africa."

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