Bob Myers
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Robert Michael Myers (born March 31, 1975) is an American former
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
executive who was the
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
for the
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) from 2012 to 2023. During his tenure, he was twice named
NBA Executive of the Year The NBA Executive of the Year is an annual award in the National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager (basketball), general manager, president of basketball/business operatio ...
while leading the Warriors to four
NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
s. Myers is currently an NBA analyst for ''
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
''. Myers played
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
for the
UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...
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. He was a
sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...
with
Wasserman Media Group Wasserman Group is a sports marketing and talent management company based in Los Angeles. Casey Wasserman, grandson of media mogul Lew Wasserman, founded the company in 1998 and acts as its chief executive. History In 2002, Wasserman acquired ...
after interning with agent Arn Tellem.


Early life

Myers grew up in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
in
Danville, California The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...
, where he attended Monte Vista High School. At Monte Vista, he lettered in basketball, but he did not imagine playing
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
for an established program. Only a
junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
showed interest in recruiting him. He wanted to continue playing an organized sport, and intended to follow his brother into
rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
. In his senior year, he visited the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA) and intended to talk to their crew team coach. However, he ran into UCLA assistant basketball coach
Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head ...
, who suggested Myers try out for the
basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
.


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. Myers figured he would be a four-year practice player, but he earned an
athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...
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. However, he was on the commemorative cover of ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'', lifting teammate Tyus Edney in the air after the
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
made a legendary baseline-to-baseline winning basket with 4.8 seconds remaining in the game against
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
in the tournament. Additionally, Myers met President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, appeared with
Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'', and rode with
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
in a ticker tape parade at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
. He was called
Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...
by teammates for his apparent good fortune. Myers' playing time steadily increased. By his junior year, he had added of muscle over two years and stood at and . 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). During his final season in 1996–97, UCLA advanced to the
Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...
, Myers started in four games. "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.'" He did not go to Europe to play basketball after college, which he later called his biggest disappointment.


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
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
degree at
Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...
. Myers grew to be one of Tellem's top associates, and became an expert in contract negotiation and player recruitment. In 2000, Tellem and Associates became SFX Sports, where Myers served as vice president. Myers spent 14 years as an agent, the last five with
Wasserman Media Group Wasserman Group is a sports marketing and talent management company based in Los Angeles. Casey Wasserman, grandson of media mogul Lew Wasserman, founded the company in 1998 and acts as its chief executive. History In 2002, Wasserman acquired ...
, and he negotiated contracts totaling more than $575 million. He had 19 clients, including Brandon Roy,
Tyreke Evans Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Broncos de Caracas of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). After playing college basketball for the Memphis Tigers men's ...
, and Kendrick Perkins.


Golden State Warriors

In April 2011, Myers was hired by the
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
as an assistant
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
. He was expected to apprentice under general manager Larry Riley for a few years. However, on April 24, 2012, Myers was promoted to general manager after only 11 months. 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 The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
in six games. It was the Warriors' best postseason finish in 36 years. After the season, ''
The Press Democrat ''The Press Democrat'', with the largest circulation in California's North Bay, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California. History The newspaper was founded in 1897 by Ernest L. Finley, Grant Richards, and Charles O. Dunbar, w ...
'' wrote that Myers "made a bigger imprint than anyone else on this season's wonder team." After the 2014–15 regular season, Myers was named the
NBA Executive of the Year The NBA Executive of the Year is an annual award in the National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager (basketball), general manager, president of basketball/business operatio ...
after key decisions he made led to the Warriors having an NBA best 67–15 record, including hiring coach
Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the United States men's national ...
and signing
Klay Thompson Klay Alexander Thompson (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played his first 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where Thompson ...
to a contract extension after declining to trade him and other players in the offseason for Kevin Love. Myers and the Warriors won the
2015 NBA Finals The 2015 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors ...
after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. The Warriors came short of back-to-back titles in the 2015–16 season despite having an NBA-record 73–9 regular season, losing to the Cavaliers in seven games. Prior to 2016–17, the Warriors added president of basketball operations to Myers' title, which reported directly to majority owner Joe Lacob. Myers was again named NBA Executive of the Year after signing
Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Durant has won two List of NBA champions, NBA champ ...
, David West, Zaza Pachulia, and JaVale McGee in the 2016 off-season. This was his second Executive of the Year title in three years as the Warriors once again had a league-best 67–15 record. The Warriors won the
2017 NBA Finals The 2017 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2016–17 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, and a rematch of the 2016 NBA Finals, the Western Conferenc ...
after avenging their loss to the Cavaliers, this time in five games. The title was the team's second in three years, which included the league's best postseason record of 16–1, and the best start to the postseason at 15–0. The Warriors won back-to-back titles in the 2017–18 season after defeating the Cavaliers in four games in the 2018 NBA Finals. The Warriors won again in the
2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 NBA season, 2021–22 season and conclusion of the 2022 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, ...
, defeating the Boston Celtics in six games. He stepped down as Warriors president and general manager in May 2023.


Post-executive career

Myers joined
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's ''
NBA Countdown ''NBA Countdown'', branded for sponsorship purposes as ''NBA Countdown Presented by DraftKings Sportsbook'' for ESPN editions and ''NBA Countdown Delivered by Papa John's'' for ABC editions respectively, is a pregame television show airing ...
'' as an analyst in August 2023. In January 2024, he was hired by the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL)'s
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
as an advisor and consultant to owner Josh Harris, who had acquired the team the previous year. Myers aided in searches that led to the hiring of general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn.


Personal life

Myers and his wife, Kristen, have three daughters.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Bob 1975 births Living people American men's basketball players American sports agents Forwards (basketball) Golden State Warriors executives Monte Vista High School (Danville, California) alumni NBA general managers People from Danville, California UCLA Bruins men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen