Joe Lacob: Warriors ‘light years ahead' of rest of NBA

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Last season, the Warriors won their first NBA title since 1975.

This year, they are 68-7, and need to win five of their final seven games to break the Bulls' record for most wins in a single season in NBA history.

According to majority owner Joe Lacob, the rest of the NBA should be concerned because the Warriors are built for long-term success.

“We’ve crushed them on the basketball court, and we’re going to for years because of the way we’ve built this team,” Lacob told Bruce Schoenfeld of the New York Times. “We’re light-years ahead of probably every other team in structure, in planning, in how we’re going to go about things."

Lacob and his investment group purchased the Warriors in 2010 for a then-record $450 million.

In January, Forbes estimated that the franchise is now worth $1.9 billion, the sixth most valuable NBA franchise.

This was all a part of Lacob's plan.

“The great, great venture capitalists who built company after company, that’s not an accident,” he said. “And none of this is an accident, either.”

Under Lacob's ownership, the Warriors traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut, drafted Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green, acquired Andre Iguodala in free agency, replaced Mark Jackson with Steve Kerr, and elevated 2015 NBA Executive of the Year, Bob Myers, to general manager.

"It’s not just Steph Curry," Lacob told Schoenfeld. “It’s architecting a team, a style of play, the way they all play together. It’s all extremely thought through.”

Curry just turned 28 years old, while Klay and Draymond just turned 26.

"We’re going to be a handful for the rest of the NBA to deal with for a long time," Lacob said.
 

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