Why Warriors GM Bob Myers got Forrest Gump nickname during college

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Forrest Gump is the greatest movie in the history of mankind.

It's a scientific fact.

Did you know that "Forrest Gump" was a nickname given to Warriors general manager Bob Myers while he was in college at UCLA?

Well. Kind of.

"Not really. Nobody called me that. Our assistant coach -- or head coach by the time I left -- Steve Lavin (called me that)," Myers explained recently on ABC7 News Bay Area's "With Authority" podcast. "It never stuck. It was more his thing. He tried to get it off the ground and nobody really went for it.

"I think what he was trying to say is -- I wasn't supposed to be on UCLA's basketball team. I wasn't supposed to be on a championship team. That's the correlation. Meeting the president, we were in a parade at Disneyland. Some of these guys probably thought that would be their future.

"But for me, I never envisioned that."

[RUNNIN' PLAYS PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode]

Myers -- who initially was a walk-on at UCLA -- was a member of the Bruins squad that won the NCAA title in 1995. And when you consider the fact Forrest Gump hit the big screen in the summer of 1994, it's understandable why Lavin tried out the nickname on Myers.

Here's an excerpt from a June 2016 article by Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard:

“He achieved near-mythical status because everyone desperately wanted to see him score at the end of the game,” recalls Ian McMahan, a student at the time who now treats pro athletes as a physical therapist. Eventually, Myers gained the nickname “Gump,” as in Forrest.

There was Myers, a guy who averaged 0.3 ppg, on SI’s commemorative cover after the Bruins won the title in 1995, hoisting Tyus Edney after his full-court, game-winning layup.

There was Myers on the Tonight Show, and riding on a float at Disneyland, and meeting President Bill Clinton, and taking lunches with John Wooden.

And things continued to get even better for the Bay Area native, as he became a two-time NBA Executive of the Year and won three NBA titles with the Warriors in the process.

[RELATED: Warriors' Myers tells 'crazy' Kerr-Van Gundy interview tale]

Don't be surprised if you see Golden State fans walking around wearing "Bob 'Forrest Gump' Myers" t-shirts soon.

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