The Warriors and the NBA took center stage at last night's ninth annual Sports Business Awards in N.Y. The Warriors won Sports Team of the Year, and co-Owner Joe Lacob won Sports Executive of the Year (not to mention the team's dominant on-court performance over the Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals). The NBA took home Best in Sports Social Media honors, and league partner Turner Sports was named Best in Sports Media. The '16 event included the highest number of nominees ever with 87. The night was sponsored by MGM Resorts Int'l, Coyne PR and Turnkey Intelligence/Search.
| CATEGORY |
WINNER |
| Sports Executive of the Year |
Warriors co-Owner Joe Lacob |
| Best in Sports Media |
Turner Sports |
| Sports League of the Year |
MLS |
| Sports Breakthrough of the Year |
The Players' Tribune |
| Best in Sports Social Media |
NBA |
| Sports Team of the Year |
Warriors |
| Best in Corporate Consulting, Marketing and Client Services |
WME-IMG |
| Sports Sponsor of the Year |
State Farm |
| Lifetime Achievement Award |
Bud Selig |
| Athletic Director of the Year |
Gene Smith |
| Sports Event of the Year |
'15 Belmont Stakes |
| Best in Digital Sports Media |
MLBAM |
| Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services |
CAA Sports |
| Best in Sports Technology |
NextVR |
| Best in Mobile Fan Experience |
Experience |
| Sports Facility of the Year |
Daytona Int'l Speedway |
| Best in Sports Event and Experiential Marketing |
LeadDog Marketing Group |
| Best in Talent Representation |
Octagon |
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SURPRISE PARTY: There were a number of surprises throughout the night -- and a number of winners drawing gasps from the audience upon announcement. Here are the most talked about: Octagon, winning an upset in Best Talent Representation; LeadDog Marketing, beating bigger shops in Event and Experiential Marketing; The Belmont Stakes topping favorite Super Bowl 50 for Event of the Year; The Players' Tribune winning Sports Breakthrough of the Year; and MLS taking home Sports League of the Year.
PLACING PRIORITY: The San Jose Mercury News noted both Lacob and Warriors President & COO Rick Welts missed last night's Thunder-Warriors Western Conference Finals Game 2 to attend the awards ceremony. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Times noted Lightning CEO Steve Griggs skipped the team's 4-2 loss to the Penguins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals to be at the ceremony. This year marked the first time the Lightning had been nominated for Sports Team of the Year.
WALKING THE RED CARPET: The pre-ceremony red carpet was the hot spot in the Broadway Lounge as group after group lined up for photos. CNBC conducted interviews with Welts, ISC’s Joie Chitwood III, NextVR’s Brad Allen and SBJ/SBD's Abraham Madkour, among others. The best line to reporters and photographers along the red carpet came from Fox Sports President Eric Shanks, who said, “Write down our names because nobody knows who we are.”
INSIDE THE PROCESS: Madkour touched on the selection process and introduced the 17 outside independent judges that helped pick the winners. The judges were: Lee Berke, LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media; Dockery Clark, BlueCap Marketing; Eric Fernandez, SportsDesk Media; Derrick Heggans, Team Turnaround; Steve Horowitz, Inner Circle Sports; Sue Hunt; Jeff Husvar, SportsPlus Properties; Steve Lauletta, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams; Ed O’Hara, SME; Vicky Picca, Fanatics; Geoff Reiss, Flattery; Shripal Shah, MOKO Social Media; Dan Shanoff, Monumental Sports Network/Monumental Sports & Entertainment; Dan Singer, McKinsey & Co.; Malcolm Turner, NBA D-League; Glenn Wong, Arizona State Univ.; and Dana Zimmer, Tribune Media (THE DAILY).
