Warriors owner Joe Lacob reflects on time with Celtics, shares competitive desire ahead of NBA Finals

Celtics

Racob has been a co-owner of the Celtics since 2006-10.

Joe Racob has seen the Warriors team reach the NBA Finals six times since becoming the owner in 2010. However, the 2022 NBA Finals have different implications for him.

The Warriors’ majority owner will see his team play against the Celtics. The Celtics are a team that held a minority stake for four years before buying the Warriors. Originally from New Bedford, Racob became a co-investor with H. Irving Grossbeck in January 2006 and became a co-owner of the Celtics in collaboration with Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuka during his stay in Boston. rice field.

Racob’s time with the Celtics made the legendary franchise stand out again and won the NBA title in 2008. In Boston, which helped shape the success of the Golden State.

“It was very important,” Racob said. “I think I run any business in my life-in fact, I don’t think it even needs to be a business-you need a little experience, right? You need to be able to do pattern matching. What works And I need to see what doesn’t work. When I was setting up a company, I knew who was the right COO for a type of company and what kind of people I was hiring. May be …

“In this case, it’s the same. Boston was an experience for me as a limited partner to see how the NBA team was running in advance, directly and in action. Danny Ainge and I found out that people like Dock Rivers are coaches. By the way, somewhere in the championship, I’ve had a ring since 2008. I think it’s been 5 years, but it’s great on the basketball and business sides. It was an experience. I learned what I wanted to do in their way and maybe different. We built our own arena. They rented an arena. These are the basics you have to decide. But I felt it was important to have a unique arena, manage it, and earn money to support the team for the long-term stabilization of this franchise. “

Racob left the Celtics-owned group when he bought the Warriors for $ 450 million in July 2010 and was approved for sale by the NBA in November of that year. After the first two rocky seasons, Stephen Curry was promoted to star in 2013, and the Racobs Warriors played off.

The Racob and Warriors front offices have made a bold decision to dismiss head coach Mark Jackson following the 2014 playoffs, even after the team has seen consistent improvements over the three seasons. The Warriors abandoned Jackson for Steve Kerr and quickly earned a reward. Curry became an MVP and the Warriors won the title in 2015. This is one of the most dominant five-year extensions in NBA history, with the Golden State playing all five finals. Won the season and title three times.

Racob also led the decision to build a Chase Center in San Francisco in 2019 from the Warriors’ longtime home at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Warriors’ court success and new home make them the second most valuable team in the NBA, now worth $ 6.03 billion. According to Sportico..

Despite their success, the Warriors’ three titles aren’t enough.

“Boston was very important and those people were very helpful. They are friends to this day — but not very close friends,” Racob said. “I want to kill you right now. To be honest. I’m very competitive about this and I’m sure they are. It’s a court battle and it’s going to be a bit of a fight at the ownership level. We want to kill each other and win both teams, and they should. “

Racob’s warriors welcome the Celtics on Thursday for the first match of the two games in San Francisco, before the series moves to Boston for games 3 and 4 next week.