28 new york | february 17–march 1, 2020
theexpertisenorthemoney toruna highschool,butafterlooking
at thedonorlists at L.A.’stopprivatehighschools,they realizedsome
ofthoseparentshadoncebeenSierra Canyonelementary parents.
In2004,StevieWonder,whosedaughterwenttoSierra Canyon,
performeda three-hourbenefitconcert hostedbyfellowSierra Can-
yonparentHowieMandel.(Laterfund-raiserswere headlinedby
JamieFoxx,CedrictheEntertainer,andAnthony Anderson.)
Thenextyear, thehighschoolopenedwith 51 freshmanand,
accordingtoSkrumbis,threemandatesfromitsboard oftrustees:
First, it shouldhavegreatacademics;second,it neededa well-
roundedcommitmenttosportsandextracurriculars;andthird,
SkrumbisremembersGordonsaying,“Idon’t wantthistobea
schoolforrichwhiteJe wishkidsfromHiddenHills.” (Gordon
himselfis a Je wlivinginHiddenHills,theultraexclusive gated
community in the Valley.) Sierra Canyon has a strong academic
reputation, and several parents told me the school’s relative diver-
sity, at least compared with other L.A. private schools, was abig
factor in their decision to enroll their children. “Even thoughit’s
a lot of celebrity kids, at the same time it’s really diverse,” Cedric
the Entertainer, whose daughter is a student, told me.
Fulfilling the trustees’s second request was a challenge.Six boys
showed up to the school’s first football practice, while thestarting
center on its inaugural basketball team was five-foot-nine.(Harold
Yu, a transfer from China who starts at center today, is seven-foot-
three.) In 2010, the school still had no gym, and Jeff Feinberg, a rich
Jewish guy who lived in Hidden Hills, approached Skrumbis with
a proposition. Feinberg ran a hedge fund—the SEC hadrecently
accused two employees at the fund of operating a “bribery scheme”—
and, according to the Newark Star-Ledger, had considered buying
a stake in the Brooklyn Nets. Instead, he financed two traveling
youth basketball teams that allowed him to surround each of his
sons with some of the best middle-school-age basketball talent in
Southern California. Feinberg wanted the kids to be able to play
together year-round and pitched Skrumbis on the idea of enrolling
the members of Team Cali Style at Sierra Canyon. In exchange,
Feinberg offered to make a large donation to help build a gym.
The$7millionFeinbergFamilyPavilionopeneditsdoorsin
2013,andSierra Canyonquicklybecamea basketballpower-
house.Ir elandBaldwin,KimBasingerandAlecBaldwin’s daugh-
ter, attendedSierra Canyonintheearly 20 10s—sheleft inthe
middleofhersenioryeartopursuea modelingcareer—and
remembersa suddenshift. “Iwashere sincepreschool,andthe
sportsdidn’t pickupuntillater,”Baldwin,whoplayedvolleyball,
said.“Byhighschool,allthesamekidswerestillgoingtoschool
together,butsuddenlywewere seeingthesesix-foot-sixseventh-
graders.We were like,Whatthehell?”
WhentheTeamCaliStylegroupgraduatedin 2017 (alongwith
MarvinBagley, thetop-rankedhigh-schoolplayerinthecountry,
who had transferred to the school), Sierra Canyon welcomed five
notable transfers: three sons of former NBA players Scottie Pip-
pen, Kenyon Martin, and Tellis Frank, plus the nephew of former
Lakers point guard Derek Fisher and the son of a prominent NBA
agent. High-school basketball has come to be dominated by pri-
vate schools that suck in talent, both local and from across the
country; IMG, the professional sports agency, operates a boarding
school in Florida with a top basketball team. But the star power
at Sierra Canyon was unique—players with famous names, from
families already plugged into the city’s engine of celebrity. The
kids could also play ball. Sierra Canyon won back-to-back state
titles in 2018 and 2019, with NBA dads filling the Feinberg Family
Pavilion along with their famous friends: Kanye and Kim Kar-
dashian West, whose half-sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner were
Sierra Canyon cheerleaders, showed up to watch alongside Larsa
Pippen, Scottie’s wife and one of Kim’s best friends.From left, Ryan Rifkind, senior forward; Harold
Yu, junior center; Odom; and Metoyer.Zaire Wade,
senior guard.