[2] Zanik met player agent Mark Bartelstein, founder of Priority Sports and Entertainment, while volunteering as a coach of a sixth-grade basketball team.
Zanik's first job after college was Priority Sports and Entertainment (1998–2002) as VP of basketball operations where he managed European contract negotiations in the Chicago office.
Zanik brought in chef Anthony Zamora, one of three registered dietitians working for an NBA team, to the Zions Bank Basketball Campus training facility giving personalized meal plans upon request.
Shortly before the Jazz opened their 2023–24 training camp, Zanik's wife Gina urged him to schedule a physical, noticing that he felt more tired than usual.
After a wide search for a living donor, the husband of Gina's childhood best friend proved to be a match, and Zanik received the kidney on April 2, 2024.