MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Basketball has always been part of the Chones family story. Racine native Jim Chones has two NBA championship rings, and his jersey hangs in the rafters at Fiserv Forum. But inside that same arena, his daughter Kareeda Chones-Aguam has spent nearly three decades building a legacy of her own.
Today, Kareeda Chones-Aguam is the Milwaukee Bucks Senior VP of Partner Strategy and Management — one of the organization's first women to hold that title.
"This will be the start of my 27th season," Chones-Aguam said.
Tonight we retired MU legend Jim Chones’ jersey!
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) February 19, 2025
Check out tonight’s ceremony#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/jM2o5w1kXk
Before building a career in basketball, she played it just down the road at Marquette (1994-98). After graduation, she spent her first year doing a little bit of everything — from administrative work to TV and radio. Then a new door opened.
"An opportunity at the Bucks came about for ticket sales, and back then 20-some years ago, I'd say a big majority of NBA executives started on the ticket sales side," Chones-Aguam said.
But the path forward wasn't a well-worn one.
Watch: How Kareeda Chones-Aguam built a legacy of her own with the Bucks
"There weren't a lot of women. There weren't a lot of women of color, so for me, it was like, wow, okay, I'm going to have to figure this out on my own. I was lucky that, you know, mom and dad had instilled believing in yourself, you can do anything, my dad's saying is 'You're a Chones, you can do anything,'" Chones-Aguam said.
Nearly three decades later, she leads one of the strongest partner strategy teams in the NBA.
"We've become one of the top teams in retaining our revenue for the past 10 years, because we understand we listen and we develop those relationships," Chones-Aguam said.
That growth has been staggering. When asked how much revenue has grown since she joined the organization 27 years ago, Chones-Aguam didn't hesitate.
"It's probably more than quadrupled," Chones-Aguam said.
And while the wins, the growth, and the success are part of her legacy, Chones-Aguam is also focused on the next generation.
"I think that's it. That you can do this too. Never let anyone tell you that you can't. Learn your craft, speak up for yourself, and you can do it," Chones-Aguam said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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