Show me the chemistry?
Even super-agents are entranced by the Warriors’ winning blend.
Bill Duffy, the NBA powerbroker who represents clients such as Yao Ming, Steve Nash and Andrew Wiggins, said Tuesday that the Warriors are the best blend of personalities he’s ever seen.
“It’s just unbelievable. I’ve been doing this for 35 years and I’ve never seen a team with the chemistry and the support, the humility, the fellowship,” Duffy said during a tech forum in Palo Alto, Calif.
“I mean, they are every adjective you can think of in the context of winning and positive spirit. And you see the results. It is truly amazing. It’s very unique.”
Duffy was part of a panel discussion sponsored by Sporple, a global sports management platform, that also featured Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and 49ers executive Paraag Marathe.
Sporple aims to be the LinkedIn for the sports world, so the panel was supposed to focus on the role data analytics play in sports.
Instead, all three speakers drifted toward the unquantifiable, with the Warriors serving as Exhibit A.
“On the court. Off the court. In the locker room. These guys are together and their families are together,” Duffy said during the discussion at the Patio Sports Bar.
Duffy, who played basketball at Santa Clara University, represents three Golden State players: Klay Thompson, Ian Clark and Festus Ezili.
All three of those clients played a major role in Game 2 as the Warriors came back for a 110-99 victory at Oracle Arena.
Duffy also lives in Walnut Creek, where he sees the way Steph Curry conducts himself with grace around town.
“Obviously, when you have a superstar like Steph Curry and he’s a good person, that kind of sets the trend,” Duffy said. “Steve Nash was like that in Phoenix.”
Duffy said he got a lesson in sports psychology while serving as Lott’s roommate back in the hard-hitting safety’s 49ers playing days. Duffy called Lott the “poster boy” for desire and preparation.
Lott, who also marveled over the Warriors’ personalities, said the key for talent evaluators “isn’t to find the next Ronnie Lott. I want people who can find me the next Shaun Livingston” —a reference to the selflessness of the Warriors backup point guard.
Lott also gave Curry the highest compliment a former 49er could give: He compared Curry’s will to that of Joe Montana.
“Steph Curry doesn’t want to be great,” Lott said. “He wants to be the greatest of all-time.”
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