Whether or not Bob Myers stays as the Warriors’ president of basketball operations, he wound up with an accidental reminder of how his journey with the franchise goes back to his teenage years.
Earlier this month, the Warriors hit him with a stealthy “This Is Your Life”-type surprise that in retrospect could serve as a either lovely parting gift or a tug at his heart to sign an extension and stay put.
Advertisement
This was the set-up: Myers consented to a Zoom interview with The Athletic on May 9, ostensibly to talk about Kevon Looney’s prolific rebounding totals (13.1 per game) during the NBA playoffs. But the Warriors had secretly arranged for Larry Smith — Myers’ childhood favorite player — to jump onto the call midstream, a blast from the 1980s crashing through the screen like the Kool-Aid Man.
There was a connection. When Looney grabbed 23 rebounds against the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, he became the first Warrior to grab that many boards in a postseason game since Smith had 23 against the Lakers on May 12, 1987.
And back in the day, Smith was Myers’ guy. In fact, he’s still Myers’ guy. Because the heady, hard-battling 6-foot-8 power forward has long served as a symbol for the selfless, relentless players the GM wants on his roster.
As a kid who grew up in Alamo, Calif., Myers and his dad would go to Warriors games and marvel at Smith’s grit. Smith’s board-crashing intensity and rugged hustle made him so popular with Golden State (and later with Houston) that local fan clubs arrived at games wearing hard hats in his honor.
Myers remains so enamored that even as he grew up to become the team’s top executive, he continued to evoke Smith as the embodiment of a winning mentality on the court.
Never mind that Smith averaged double-digit points only once during his nine seasons with the Warriors. Myers could look beyond that. As far back as 2012, shortly after the Warriors promoted him to general manager, Myers told Marcus Thompson II that Smith was his favorite because “he exuded effort.”
Smith remains the Warriors’ all-time leader with 2,709 offensive rebounds (offensive and defensive rebounds were first recorded in 1973-74). He ranks third on the Warriors’ total all-time rebounds list, trailing only Hall of Famers Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain.
Advertisement
Despite an easygoing and soft-spoken personality, Smith was nicknamed “Mr. Mean” while at Alcorn State. On this late-morning call, though, he was Mr. Congeniality. Smith, now 65, called in from Vicksburg, Miss., for a conversation between Games 4 and 5 of the Warriors’ eventual six-game loss to the Lakers.
This is how the surprise unveiling went.
(The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity)
Kevon Looney keeps joining elite company with his rebounding totals. In Game 1 of the Lakers series, he had 23 for the most by a Warrior in the playoffs since Larry Smith in 1987. What do you remember about Larry Smith? I know you’ve mentioned him in interviews several times over the years.
Myers: Yeah, he was unheralded and unappreciated but a very valuable type of player. The type that’s regarded highly by their teammates and who have that workman-like attitude. Larry was a guy that was easy to like. Like, when I was growing up, I loved the hard-hat section of the stadium at the Oakland Coliseum.
Having played a little bit of basketball (Myers played at UCLA from 1994-97), Looney and Larry Smith are the type of players that you love playing with because you can sense in them this desire to just help the team win. And scoring is clearly the sexy part of the game and the one that gets the most attention. But rebounding, creating extra possessions, including possessions on the defensive side, are a huge part of success as well. So if Looney could become the new Larry, that would be great. Looney’s the new Larry.
You said that Looney could be the new Larry. How do their skill sets compare and contrast?
Myers: I think they both took great pride in that part of the game. I think they both probably had teammates around them who garnered more attention. And both developed kind of cult following in a way that Looney is starting to garner. Both were excellent teammates. I don’t know Larry. As far as Looney goes, both seem pretty mild-mannered off the court. But on the court had this tenacity. So there’s a lot of calm. I think they would like each other if they met.
Advertisement
Well, this is your flashback moment because we have the man himself. “Mr. Mean” just joined this call to say hello and share his thoughts on Kevon Looney.
Myers: So nice to meet you, Larry. Thanks for coming on.
Smith: Hey, my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Myers: I want to hear from Larry. I haven’t gotten to hear his perspective on his career or what he thinks of Looney.
Larry: Well, I think Looney has worked very hard. He does all the little things that require winning. And I think he’s a definite asset because he does all those little things that don’t show up in the stat sheet.
Larry, is there anything, in particular, you remember about your 23-rebound game against the Lakers in 1987?
Smith: My approach was always to do the best I can and help this team to win. And that was pretty much how I looked at everything at the time. I knew what my role was with the team and what I’m asked to do.
What’s the difference between Larry Smith and Mr. Mean?
Smith: Um, that’s the question! (Laughter) Larry Smith is just a low-key, real nice guy. Mr. Mean is my work identity. Right before the game, I’d make the transition. You gotta get your mind right, you know? You know what you’re gonna do. You gotta set up your opponent. You have to try to do the best you can. And then compete as hard as you can and do all the little things that can help your team to win.
Bob, as somebody who watched from afar, Larry Smith, do you have questions that you’ve been dying to ask him?
Myers: It’s interesting. Not having heard Larry interviewed many times, just hearing him in the course of answering these questions, hearing him talk about winning, talk about the team, refrain from talking about himself – that tells you why he is who he is and why he was who he was on the court. That’s a humility that helps any team, especially now. We’re probably in a little bit more of an egocentric world than what Larry lived in. … To hear Larry say that he was just trying to win? I can hear Kevon answering the question the same way. So there’s a kinship there. I know if they met and spoke, they would both be speaking the same language.
Advertisement
Do you get a sense that Looney and Smith have similar personalities?
Myers: Both are real mellow off the court. Larry seems pretty low-key. Looney’s the same way. Not a huge speaker. I don’t know if Larry was like that in the locker room or what. But those guys form a culture. They help form a culture and I think you ask the coaches about Larry, my guess would be they love coaching him because he just wanted to help the team win.
So I just enjoyed hearing his answers. None of them surprise me. They’re all what I expected of him. And it’s why he was the player was, and why he was the person that he is. So it’s cool to hear, to hear him speak about it.
Larry, with elite rebounders, what’s the science part of it and what’s the art? What’s the part you can’t teach, like with Dennis Rodman and these other guys who had a gift for always being around the ball?
Smith: Well, it was just the willingness to do the job, basically. I always analyzed the guys on the floor. “Hey, all these shooters out here. I’m not going to get a whole lot of opportunities on the offensive side of the ball. So what can I do to help the team? What way can I choose to make an impact on the game?” And it was to get on the glass, rebound the basketball, play defense. And those are the things that I wanted to do. And that I was required to do. And I was able to do it for a long time.
Who were some of the opponents that you really like to bang in the paint with? Who were the really good challenges for you?
Smith: Oh, gosh! That’s a long list of guys because you know in our era, the bad part was that we had big challenges pretty much night in, night out. But the guys that were really challenging were guys like Buck Williams, Karl Malone, guys like that. Those guys were tough encounters – and very rewarding encounters. But enjoyed it. It was a fun time for me and I really accepted the challenge.
Bob mentioned that there was a hard hat section – “Larry’s Local 13.” Larry, in what ways did you consider that as a compliment? Because it sounds like you wanted to be just one of the lunchpail guys who just shut up and did your job. What did that group of hard hat fans mean to you?
Smith: Geez, I’m at a loss for words at this point. They meant so much to me. It just was an honor and a privilege for a group of individuals to come and share those things with me and to receive me that way. And I loved it. I loved them. I looked forward to coming to work every day and the excitement of being there and having those sections cheering me. It was just like a dream come true.
Bob, any last thoughts as we wrap up?
Myers: I’m thinking of the hard hats, and it was just great to hear Larry talk. It was great to meet you, Larry. I always admired you. Your humility, your work, your effort. And I think watching the playoffs lately, it’s a reminder that people love to watch effort. People really trying as hard as they can. That’s what I remember about watching you. You didn’t win every game, but you never left anything there. You left it all out there. You never didn’t give it all you could. And I think that’s such a nice thing to watch people do. So thanks for playing with the Warriors. Thanks for taking your time today. Thanks for being a fan. And if you ever want to come by and hang out or meet the guys, Raymond (Ridder, the Warriors’ vice president of communications) can get you connected. I don’t know where you livin’, but you’re one of the greats, man, so it’s nice to meet you.
Smith: Well, thanks for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity. And I definitely would love to visit in person because I always love the Warriors. That was my first team and my first love, as they say. And I always consider myself, always a Warrior. So, no matter what goes down, I’m always cheering for the Warriors, no matter who they’re playing or what’s going on. They are my team.
(Top photo of Larry Smith: Courtesy of the Golden State Warriors)
