With the opening tip for the Portland Fire in its first season back in the WNBA less than nine months away, the club finally has its GM. Vanja Cernivec was announced on Monday as the Fire’s general manager. Originally from Slovenia, Cernivec comes comes to the Fire with wide-ranging experience both in the WNBA and internationally.
Cernivec was hired away from the Golden State Valkyries where she served as vice president of basketball operations. She brings to the Fire valuable experience helping guide an expansion franchise through its first season. At Golden State, Cernivec worked on day-to-day basketball operations, hired coaches, and led the scouting department through the 2024 expansion draft and the 2025 WNBA Draft.
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After her playing career ended, Cernivec worked with the NBA for six years on talent identification in Europe, Africa and Australia. She worked with the NBA Academy Women’s Program and was the technical director with NBA’s Basketball Without Borders.
In 2020-2022, Cernivec was an international scout for the Chicago Bulls, working on player evaluation in Europe, Africa and Australia.
Her final stop before the Valkyries was as the general manager of the London Lions. Her successful stint in England saw the Lions win two Women’s British Basketball League championships and their first EuroCup Women’s championship. Cernivec also oversaw youth development and the Lions’ youth academy.
Cernivec holds an M.S. in sports marketing and communications from the Euroleague Basketball Institute and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and she is conversant in six languages.
This important hire comes on heels of the club announcing it has reached a milestone surpassing 13,000 season membership deposits.
