{"id":275651,"date":"2025-11-10T15:18:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T15:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/275651\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T15:18:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T15:18:18","slug":"how-could-you-have-more-fun-joe-lacob-peter-guber-and-15-years-owning-the-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/275651\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How could you have more fun?\u2019 Joe Lacob, Peter Guber, and 15 years owning the Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Oracle Arena fans booed so loudly, so relentlessly, that Joe Lacob couldn\u2019t get through his speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Days after signing off on the trade that sent out fan-favorite Monta Ellis for injured center Andrew Bogut, Lacob was trying to honor the Warriors\u2019 history by retiring Chris Mullin\u2019s jersey. The fans wouldn\u2019t let him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mullin himself grabbed the mic and tried to quell the mob, insisting \u201cit\u2019s going to work out just fine.\u201d The crowd was unmoved. Former Warriors legend Rick Barry, instead of lowering the temperature, castigated fans before adding that Lacob \u201cis going to change this franchise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lacob still calls the March 19, 2012, affair the \u201cworst day of my life.\u201d Revisiting that scene now, the attention shifts from the embarrassment of almost 20,000 people booing him to an undeniable fact.<\/p>\n

Listen toSection 415<\/p>\n

2 days ago<\/p>\n

Section 415: Making sense of the Warriors\u2019 uneven start<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

5 days ago<\/p>\n

Section 415: How Natalie Nakase turned the Valkyries into an immediate force <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Friday, Oct. 31<\/p>\n

Section 415: Tim Kawakami analyzes the 49ers, Giants, and Warriors <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mullin and Barry were right.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since Lacob and co-owner Peter Guber completed their purchase of the Warriors 15 years ago, on Nov. 12, 2010, the franchise has appeared in six NBA Finals and won four championships. They bought the team for $450 million, and it\u2019s now worth $11 billion, per Forbes\u2019 annual estimate. (opens in new tab)<\/a> Chase Center, the house that Steph Curry built and Lacob and Guber paid for, is a model for privately funded, mixed-use entertainment venues. The Valkyries \u2014 the world\u2019s most valuable women\u2019s sports franchise<\/a> \u2014 are a cherry on top of their portfolio.<\/p>\n

\"ARick Barry tells Warriors fans inside Oracle Arena to stop booing Lacob during a 2012 ceremony honoring Chris Mullin. | Source: Jeff Chiu\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been massive turnover at the NBA\u2019s ownership level over the past 15 years, thanks to skyrocketing franchise values, familial drama, and estate planning, among other reasons. Yet Lacob and Guber\u2019s partnership has remained ironclad despite their vastly different personalities and skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to build an enterprise,\u201d Guber, 83, told The Standard. \u201cThe idea that we have different points of view is an asset, not a liability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 69-year-old Lacob grew up dreaming of owning a team, and he still has dreams. Spoiler alert: none of them involve capitalizing on the fruits of the past 15 years by selling his majority stake in the team. He has never, \u201cnot once,\u201d considered that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, how could you have more fun than this?\u201d Lacob told The Standard. \u201cI can\u2019t believe these tech guys who make all these billions on AI or whatever it is, and then, I don\u2019t know, they go buy some island and live on an island. Who cares?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to live on some island. I want to do other fun stuff. And fun stuff to me is the world of sports. It\u2019s live entertainment. It\u2019s employing people. It\u2019s creating dreams and making dreams come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A remarkable partnership\u2019<\/p>\n

Coming to games since the 1980s and raising his family in the Bay Area, Lacob circled the Warriors as his holy grail franchise. But they weren\u2019t the first team he tried to buy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lacob met Guber in 2003, when a sports investment banker connected them with billionaire entrepreneur Frank McCourt to try to purchase the Angels from the Walt Disney Corporation. Lacob, who moved to Anaheim as a teenager and hawked peanuts in the stands, was intrigued. The trio advanced through the process and got \u201cvery far downstream,\u201d Lacob said, before McCourt proposed pursuing the Dodgers instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lacob\u2019s connection to the Angels made him initially hesitant, but Guber \u2014 the Hollywood executive \u2014 lived in Los Angeles and was warmer to the idea. They got to the goal line before the trio miscommunicated over how much money each of Lacob, Guber, and McCourt would put into the deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recalling the story, Lacob pinches his pointer finger and thumb together. They were this close to buying the Dodgers. It was a formative experience for Lacob. He says the failed attempt taught him who he could and couldn\u2019t work with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also learned how well he meshed with Guber, who possesses a vastly different skill set. Guber\u2019s easy charisma spills out through his metaphors and turns of phrases (\u201cOur attitude leads our aptitude\u201d; \u201cFeet, tongue, heart, and wallet going in the same direction\u201d). Lacob, meanwhile, is a direct conversationalist. Guber\u2019s a storyteller, Lacob an industrialist.<\/p>\n

So in 2010, when the Warriors came up for sale, Lacob\u2019s first call was to Guber. He didn\u2019t need the money necessarily, but he valued having a partner to collaborate with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TwoGuber and Lacob before a 2023 playoff game at Crypto.com Arena. | Source: Ronald Martinez\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to talk about Joe without talking about Peter Guber, too,\u201d former team president Rick Welts said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They complement each other, relying on mutual respect and their distinct areas of expertise to sort through differences of opinion.<\/p>\n

Lacob operates front-and-center, Guber more in the background. Lacob cut his cloth in Silicon Valley, Guber\u2019s films have earned dozens of Academy Award nominations. Lacob\u2019s more hands-on with basketball decisions. Guber, the entertainer, is known to spend hours reviewing the team\u2019s introductory videos that play before home tipoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeter\u2019s such a great person,\u201d Lacob said. \u201cAnd part of it is, just, we were very fortunate that we found each other in life. As he likes to say, two Jewish guys from Boston\u2026I can tell you that it\u2019s been a remarkable partnership.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fans at the top<\/p>\n

As the Warriors dynasty tore through the 2010s and extended into this decade with the 2022 championship, more than half of NBA teams \u2014 including storied franchises such as the Celtics and Lakers \u2014 have changed hands.<\/p>\n

At this level, business partnerships rarely last. Lacob and Guber have been an exception.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOwnership continuity is critically important, and we clearly see the benefits in San Francisco,\u201d NBA commissioner Adam Silver said via email.<\/p>\n

Lacob and Guber were in lockstep since Day 1. They believed successful franchises need active owners, that moving out of the oldest arena in the league was necessary, and that the Warriors \u2014 despite missing the playoffs in 16 of the prior 17 seasons \u2014 were actually a sleeping giant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think in that first meeting, I ever heard either one of them use the word, \u2018good,\u2019\u201d Welts said. \u201cThey only used the word, \u2018great.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AJoe Lacob takes his courtside seat ahead of a Warriors game against the Suns on Nov. 4. | Source: Amber Pietz\/The Standard<\/p>\n

The plans they initially pitched to Welts have been realized and then some. At the core of their success is a genuine passion. Every time Lacob walks into the $1.4 billion Chase Center, he feels a sense of pride.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s been the case even in the down years, even amid fan backlash. The morning after the 2012 Mullin jersey retirement debacle, Lacob joined a local radio show unprompted to explain his perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Said Welts: \u201cI don\u2019t know what other owner would\u2019ve jumped on talk radio the next morning to say, \u2018Look, I get it. This isn\u2019t good enough. I want to win as much as you do, and we\u2019re going to do it. I know why you\u2019re feeling this way. Bring it on.\u2019 And to me, that in a nutshell is who he is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some owners inherit their teams. Some are content to rake in revenue while neglecting their rosters. Some cycle through coaches and executives. Some are spread too thin with their other endeavors. Some hijack the basketball operations department. Some let their arenas fall apart or demand taxpayer money to build their next home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors owners, as Guber likes to say, have kept the main thing the main thing. That means pursuing championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Lakers sold for $10 billion, everyone looks at me,\u201d said Lacob, \u201c\u2018You could get more \u2014 [you have] 60% more revenues, you own your arena and they don\u2019t, you own the Valkyries and they don\u2019t.\u2019 I mean, arguably, we\u2019re worth 15, 18 billion. Just if you were to look at the metrics. I don\u2019t care. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s $25 billion. It doesn\u2019t matter to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Lacob\u2019s eyes, a courtside seat has a better view than any island could offer.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

Relaxed in a black Warriors hoodie, Lacob starts doing the math in his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greatest owner in NBA history was Jerry Buss,\u201d Lacob said. \u201cThirty-three years, 16 Finals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is the topic that gets the Warriors\u2019 CEO animated. Lacob always prefers looking ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To catch the hallowed Lakers owner, the Warriors would need to make 10 Finals trips in the next 18 seasons. Lacob realizes that more parity in the modern NBA, coupled with an apron system designed to dull the power of perennial top spenders (like the Warriors), adds to the challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Lacob can\u2019t help himself. He has the same kind of \u201cirrational confidence\u201d \u2014 Steph Curry\u2019s phrase \u2014 now as he had 15 years ago when he assumed the post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to continue our success post the Steph Curry era,\u201d Lacob said. \u201cHe has a lot to do with this, no question about it. There\u2019s a part of me that wants to be really successful on the second iteration, when Curry\u2019s gone. So that\u2019s something to think about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GoldenSteph Curry celebrates his first NBA championship in 2015 with Lacob and Guber. | Source: Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

To be sure, none of the past 15 years \u2014 not the championships, not the valuation, not even Chase Center \u2014 is possible without Curry. No matter how business-savvy Lacob is or how creative Guber might be, they struck gold by inheriting one of the greatest players ever.\u00a0The Warriors never had to do a capital call from investors to build the Chase Center, Lacob said, in large part because of the revenues generated from Curry\u2019s dynastic teams in the 2010s. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey thank me a lot,\u201d Curry said. \u201cI thank them, too. It\u2019s mutual. It\u2019s a mutual, obviously, admiration for what we\u2019ve all been able to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019d take a \u201clight-years (opens in new tab)<\/a>\u201d level of hubris to be confident in winning without Curry. But the blueprint of at least having a chance to be competitive is there, and Lacob has followed it. Under his governorship, the Warriors have spent by far the most money on payroll leaguewide, paying the luxury tax in nine of the past 11 seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And as Curry points out, one of Lacob\u2019s greatest strengths is surrounding himself with talented people. One of his first hires was Jerry West, a signal that the organization was serious about winning. He hired and promoted Bob Myers, greenlit the coaching change from Mark Jackson to Steve Kerr \u2014 against Curry\u2019s public wishes \u2014 and empowered dozens of business people who have helped build a culture beyond the court, including with a philanthropic arm, The Golden State Community Foundation (opens in new tab)<\/a>, that just surpassed $50 million in cumulative impact. (opens in new tab)<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Lacob and Valkyries president Jess Smith, GM Ohemaa Nyanin, and coach Natalie Nakase pose at the opening of the team\u2019s training facility. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Lacob is \u201cdefinitely interested\u201d in the idea of buying another franchise, maybe in MLB or the NHL, but has already passed up one lucrative opportunity. Back in 2012, as fans booed Lacob out of the Oracle Arena spotlight, the Dodgers were up for sale again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCourt, having won the 2004 bid for the team, was selling the franchise in a state of bankruptcy. Guber, part of the Guggenheim group that ultimately won the bid, gauged Lacob\u2019s interest in joining the consortium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was a chance to buy low on one of the most legendary franchises in sports. But Lacob knew that if he joined the Dodgers ownership group, Warriors fans would look at him differently because of the Giants\u2019 historic rivalry with Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The group with Guber ultimately purchased the Dodgers for a record $2.15 billion. The team\u2019s worth more than triple that now, and has collected three more World Series trophies. But Lacob insists money\u2019s not the main priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about winning,\u201d Lacob said. \u201cThis is about chasing dreams and making them happen. This is about employing a lot of people who love their jobs and love working here. This is about having a fan base that hopefully doesn\u2019t hate you. You know? Nobody likes that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,5552,590,85,17205,58049],"class_list":{"0":"post-275651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golden-state-warriors","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-steph-curry","14":"tag-steve-kerr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}