As the details of this sale take shape, Bay Area beat writer Tim Kawakami reports that it appears Joe Lacob will run the Golden State Warriors, with other investors taking secondary roles. But just who is this guy?
Who Is Joe Lacob, New Warriors Owner?
To that question, a note from Golden State beat writer Marcus Thompson. This comes from earlier in the week, when Larry Ellison was still considered the frontrunner to win the Warriors’ bidding process:
Lacob is part-owner of the Celtics and is a partner at the venture capitalist firm KPCB, which is based in Menlo Park. I remembered the name from when Matt Steinmetz reported back in June. But I never was able to confirm his involvement from people I trust, just Peter Guber. Didn’t matter anyway, right? This thing was destined for the top two seeds to meet in the finals: No. 1 Ellison vs. No. 2 Mastrov. Wrong. Of course, Tuesday is the day I confirmed he was in the mix. And boy is he in the mix.
It’s not that Lacob can outbid Ellison. It’s that Ellison “won’t overpay” as one person told me. Because of that Lacob is in the game.
Indeed, not only does Lacob have a history of involvement with the NBA, his track record in finance speaks to either remarkable foresight, amazing luck, and probably both. His venture capital firm, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, & Byers, is considered among the most successful in the world.
Among the investments headlining Lacob’s financial history, American Online, Amazon, Electronic Arts, and Sun Microsystems offer some pretty emphatic testaments to Lacob’s financial success. And again, this isn’t his first involvement with the NBA.
He’s owned a part of the Boston Celtics and even has a 2008 Championship ring to show for it. Will he be able to replicate that success with Golden State? It’ll take time before anyone can sure, but looking at this track record... Don’t bet against him.
Congrats, Warriors fans. You deserve it.
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