Warriors’ Lacob impressed with Kings after playoff series originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Warriors owner Joe Lacob had a front-row seat watching his team battle the Sacramento Kings for seven games, a back-and-forth affair that ended up being the NBA’s most entertaining first-round playoff series.
Lacob, the Warriors’ owner for the last 13 years, left impressed with the Kings, an organization 90 miles north of Chase Center that experienced a breakout 2022-23 season.
“I think the Kings really deserve a lot of credit,” Lacob said Tuesday night on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Pregame Live” ahead of Golden State’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“I was incredibly impressed by the fans. They were incredibly loud. … The team played well. [Kings coach] Mike Brown, I love this guy. I sent him a note [Tuesday] morning because I missed him at the end of the game. I wanted to tell him how proud I was.”
Brown, of course, spent six seasons as the top assistant on Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s staff. He helped Lacob’s team win three championships over his tenure before being hired by Sacramento in May last year.
“They did a great job. They have a lot to be proud of,” Lacob said. “It’s really hard to lose a Game 7. [Brown] lost to one of the greatest players in the history of basketball [Steph Curry], having maybe his greatest game or one of his greatest games [50 points in Game 7]. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
The Kings are in a similar position to where the Warriors stood in the early 2010s, Lacob’s first few years running the show in the Bay Area. The 2012-13 Warriors, featuring a 24-year-old Curry and 22-year-old Klay Thompson, upset the No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets in six playoff games before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. Golden State had just one playoff appearance in its last 18 seasons before that run that began the dynasty in the Bay Area.
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Sacramento snapped a 17-year playoff drought by claiming the No. 3 playoff seed in the Western Conference. The Kings took the defending champion Warriors to Game 7.
“They’re going to be around for a while, I’m sure,” Lacob said. “They’ve got some great young players, a great coach and a great fan base. There’s a lot to look forward to there.”
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