Bob Myers

For other people named Robert Myers, see Robert Myers (disambiguation).
Bob Myers

Myers in 2011 interview.
Golden State Warriors
Position General manager
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1975-03-31) March 31, 1975
Danville, California
Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight 230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school Monte Vista (Danville, California)
College UCLA (1993–1997)
Position Forward
Number 24
Career highlights and awards
As player
As executive

Robert Michael "Bob" Myers (born March 31, 1975)[1] is the general manager for the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a former sports agent with Wasserman Media Group after interning with prominent agent Arn Tellem. Myers played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 1993 to 1997. He was a member of their 1995 NCAA championship team. He served as a radio commentator for UCLA basketball for two seasons until 2002.[2]

Early life

Myers was born in the San Francisco Bay Area in Danville, California,[3] where he attended high school at Monte Vista.[1][4] He lettered in basketball, but he did not imagine playing college basketball for an established program. Only a junior college showed interest in recruiting him. He wanted to continue playing an organized sport, and intended to follow his brother into rowing. In his senior year, he visited the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and intended to talk to their crew team coach. However, he ran into UCLA assistant basketball coach Steve Lavin, who suggested Myers try out for the basketball team.[5]

College career

Myers attended UCLA and majored in business and economics, making the Bruins basketball team under coach Jim Harrick as a walk-on in his freshman year in 1993.[6] Myers figured he would be a four-year practice player,[7] but he earned an athletic scholarship in 1994–95, when the Bruins won the national championship that season. He did not score until the final game of the regular season, and he only averaged 0.3 points that season.[8] However, he was on the commemorative cover of Sports Illustrated, lifting teammate Tyus Edney in the air after the point guard made a legendary baseline-to-baseline winning basket with 4.8 seconds remaining in the game against Missouri in the tournament. Additionally, Myers met President Bill Clinton in the White House, appeared with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, and rode with Mickey Mouse in a ticker tape parade at Disneyland.[6][5] He was called Forrest Gump by teammates for his apparent good fortune.[6][5][7]

Myers' playing time steadily increased. By his junior year, he had added 25 pounds (11 kg) of muscle over two years and stood at 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) and 230 pounds (100 kg).[9] Against Oregon State, Myers was the hero in the Bruins' 69–60 win after he established career highs in points (20) and minutes played (22). In his last season in 1996–97, UCLA advanced to the Elite Eight, and he even started a few games.[10] "That’s another thing that I thought that I would never do," Myers said. "It’s something that I will look back on and tell my kids and my grandkids: 'Yeah, I started a couple of games.'"[5] He did not go to Europe to play basketball after college, which he later called his biggest disappointment.[11]

Sports agent career

Myers was introduced to sports agent Arn Tellem by Harrick, and he began as an intern at Tellem and Associates in 1997 while completing his law degree at Loyola Law School.[6][4][11] Myers grew to be one of Tellem's top associates, and became an expert in contract negotiation and player recruitment.[6][11] In 2000, Tellem and Associates became SFX Sports, where Myers served as vice president.[4] Myers spent 14 years as an agent, the last five with Wasserman Media Group, and he negotiated contracts totaling more than $575 million.[6][11] He had 19 clients, including Brandon Roy, Tyreke Evans and Kendrick Perkins.[12]

Golden State Warriors

In April 2011, Myers was hired by the Golden State Warriors as an assistant general manager.[12] He was expected to apprentice under general manager Larry Riley for a few years. However, Myers was promoted after only 12 months.[6][12] Under Myers, the Warriors had a strong draft in 2012 and made key acquisitions in 2012–13, and they advanced to the second round of the playoffs before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in six games. It was the Warriors' best postseason finish in 36 years.[13] After the season, The Press Democrat wrote that Myers "made a bigger imprint than anyone else on this season's wonder team."[14]

After the 2014-15 regular season, Myers was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year after key decisions he made led to the Warriors having an NBA best 67-15 record, including hiring coach Steve Kerr and signing Klay Thompson to a contract extension after declining to trade him and other players in the offseason for Kevin Love.[15]

Personal life

Myers and his wife, Kristen, have two daughters, Kayla and Annabelle.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "1996-97 UCLA Men's Basketball Roster" (PDF). UCLABruins.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2015.
  2. Stewart, Larry (October 11, 2002). "Enberg's Heart Is With Angels". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011.
  3. Gonzalez, Antonio (May 20, 2013). "Warriors GM: 'Sense of desperation has passed'". Associated Press. Retrieved May 15, 2015. ...the native of nearby Danville...
  4. 1 2 3 4 "2012–13 Golden State Warriors Media Guide". gs-warriors.com. p. 10. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Warren, Justin (February 26, 1997). "Everybody loves Bob". The Daily Bruin. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bolch, Ben (December 22, 2012). "Bob Myers has had quite a hoop journey". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Wilner, Jon (January 9, 1997). "NEW STRUGGLES FOR MYERS : UCLA VS. STANFORD". Daily News. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 4, 2013.(subscription required)
  8. Rhode, Jim (March 4, 2013). "SPECIAL REPORT / Final Four / Seattle, 1995 : A SEASON ON THE BRINK OF A TITLE : GAME-BY-GAME WITH UCLA". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013.
  9. Wilner, Jon (February 10, 1996). "MYERS IS AS MYERS DOES UCLA WALK-ON PROVES HE'S NO DUNCE ON THE COURT". Daily News. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 4, 2013.(subscription required)
  10. Kawakami, Tim (March 4, 2013). "CRASH, BURN & SOAR : Bruins Lost a Coach, Lost Some Games, Then Gained Momentum and Respect Down the Stretch". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Simmons, Rusty (April 15, 2011). "About new Warriors assistant GM Bob Myers". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Amick, Sam (April 16, 2011). "Warriors' hiring of agent Myers reveals NBA's new 'mini-trend'". SI.com. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011.
  13. Thompson II, Marcus (May 20, 2013). "Golden State Warriors say playoff appearance was just the start". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013.
  14. Cohn, Lowell (May 20, 2013). "Warriors' superstar doesn't rebound or shoot". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013.
  15. Leung, Diamond (May 1, 2015). "Warriors: General manager Bob Myers named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015.
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