Michael Jordan graciously congratulated Golden State after they reached 73 wins, but while dining with the Warriors’ team owner, MJ let Joe Lacob know that the regular season record was meaningless without a championship ring to show for it.
Joe Lacob-"I was having dinner with Michael Jordan and he said '73 don't mean a thing without a ring"
— 95.7 The GAME (@957thegame) February 7, 2017
(Jordan and his Chicago Bulls teammates famously rocked T-shirts with an unmistakable message throughout the 1996 NBA Playoffs, en route to the franchise’s fourth title: “72-10 don’t mean a thing without the ring.”)
Lacob says that despite the painful ending, he prefers to focus on the positives of the Dubs’ historic year.
Per 95.7 The Game (via CBS):
“On the collective bargaining agreement, I was on the labor committee and I was in New York having a bunch of dinners with Michael Jordan and other owners,” Lacob said, perhaps humble-bragging. “There were six of us. Actually, Dan was one of them, Dan Gilbert. Anyway, Michael Jordan — people are drinking and having a good time and all that, but there was a moment where he said, you know, ’73 don’t mean [blank].’ He did it, Michael Jordan did that. And I looked at him and I just decided not to make a big deal of it. I said, you know, you’re right, we didn’t win it, we had to get better.”
“I have to be honest: it’s painful more to the players, I don’t really think of it that way,” Lacob said. “I think that was one of the greatest years you could ever have in any sport. So many things went right. If you remember, all of the games that went our way. I mean, just amazing. It was an unbelievable year. When I wear golf, I wear a hat that says 73 on it. It’s sort of my little remembrance of it. Because I know people all say, ‘Oh, well you didn’t win the championship’ — all the talking heads. You know what, we didn’t. But it was still an incredible year and I will never forget it. And we should be very proud of it. And I think as time goes by, there will be more thinking about it. Because I don’t think it’s gonna be replicated very easily.”
