As Warriors co-Owners Peter Guber and Joe Lacob "prepare to celebrate their four-year anniversary, their efforts to salute the franchise’s history bear mention," according to Rusty Simmons of the S.F. CHRONICLE. They have "emphasized connecting with former players, honored formerly disgruntled Warriors greats Chris Mullin and Don Nelson and partnered with an archival service to hunt down memorabilia." Georgia-based Heritage Werks will "help the Warriors get back on target by creating an official authorized heritage program." The company will "identify artifacts from the past and unlock silos where historic information is stored and help fans relate to the Warriors’ heritage." The Warriors are going to "honor the 1975 championship team, offer bobbleheads" of Basketball HOFer Rick Barry, late NBAer Manute Bol and Basketball HOfer Šarūnas Marčiulionis and "add the Philadelphia Warriors’ championship banners" to the rafters at Oracle Arena. Lacob said, “Any great franchise has to have the ability to look back and say, 'What have those guys done in the past?’ Painting a future is probably the most important thing to me, but the Warriors really did have a great history, and a lot of people don’t remember it." Simmons notes the Warriors’ heritage "long predates the humiliation of going to the playoffs once in an 18-season span" from '94-95 to '11-12. In fact, it is a "rich history that includes being a charter member of the NBA in Philadelphia and winning the first championship" in '47, and drafting Basketball HOFer Wilt Chamberlain, who went on to score 100 points in a game and average 50 points in a season. The club wants the memorabilia to "tell the franchise’s story, possibly in a museum at the team’s planned arena in San Francisco" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/21).
BANK SHOT: The Warriors will partner with Esurance for the '14-15 season. The online insurance outfit will display its name on the top of each backboard frame during non-nationally televised Warriors regular season games at Oracle Arena. The signage location, approved by the NBA last season, is being utilized for the first time in team history for sponsorship purposes (THE DAILY).
