If you’ve spent any time tracking the high-stakes intersection of NBA ownership and the venture capital world, you’ve likely seen the names Rich Kleiman and Joe Lacob pop up in the same orbit. Usually, it's during a mid-winter trade deadline frenzy or a summer free agency summit in the Hamptons. But if you think their relationship is just about a star player’s agent talking to a team owner, you’re kinda missing the forest for the trees.
Honestly, it's deeper. It is about a shared obsession with what Joe Lacob famously called being "light years" ahead of the rest of the NBA.
Lacob, the primary owner of the Golden State Warriors, didn't come from the traditional sports world. He’s a Kleiner Perkins guy—a venture capitalist who looks at a basketball team the same way a Silicon Valley shark looks at a Series A startup. Then you have Rich Kleiman, the co-founder of 35V (Thirty Five Ventures) and the long-time business partner of Kevin Durant. Kleiman didn't just want to be an agent; he wanted to build a media and investment empire.
When these two operate in the same space, the conversation isn't just about points per game. It’s about equity, media rights, and the future of sports entertainment.
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The Courtside Conversation Heard 'Round the World
Just recently—specifically in February 2025—the internet went into a collective meltdown. Why? Because Rich Kleiman was spotted sitting directly to the left of Joe Lacob at Chase Center during a Warriors-Suns game.
Now, in the NBA, seating charts are basically a form of high-level diplomacy. You don't just "happen" to sit next to the majority owner in the front row unless there’s something to talk about. At the time, rumors were swirling about the Warriors inquiring about Kevin Durant’s availability. Seeing Kleiman and Lacob huddled up at halftime and later spotted together in the Bridge Club—that exclusive, "if you have to ask, you can't get in" lounge under the arena—sent the trade machine into overdrive.
But look at the history. This isn't a new friendship.
Kleiman was the architect behind the "Hamptons Five" era. He was the one in the room when Lacob, Bob Myers, and the Warriors' brass convinced Durant to leave Oklahoma City in 2016. That move didn't just change the NBA hierarchy; it validated Lacob’s vision of the Warriors as a global tech-and-media brand rather than just a basketball team.
Why Rich Kleiman and Joe Lacob Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
They both treat sports as a platform for larger business ventures. Lacob has spent years trying to pivot the Warriors into Golden State Entertainment. He’s launching record labels and producing documentaries.
Kleiman did the exact same thing with Boardroom.
- Boardroom isn't just a blog; it’s a media company that covers the "business of the game."
- It’s where Kleiman and Durant house their 80+ investments in companies like Postmates, Coinbase, and Robinhood.
- They both saw the "player-as-platform" trend before everyone else.
Basically, if Lacob is the guy building the stadium-as-a-tech-hub, Kleiman is the guy building the athlete-as-a-venture-fund. They speak the same language. When they sit together, they aren't just talking about a pick-and-roll; they’re likely discussing the valuation of a new SaaS startup or the ROI on a WNBA expansion team like the Golden State Valkyries.
The "Light Years" Philosophy Meets the New Media Order
Lacob’s "light years" comment in 2016 was mocked by plenty of people. It sounded arrogant. But looking at the Warriors' valuation—which hit roughly $7.7 billion recently—it’s hard to argue with the results. He realized that to stay ahead, you have to be comfortable with disruption.
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Rich Kleiman is the king of disruption in the agency space. He moved away from the traditional "take a percentage of the contract" model to a "build a business alongside the talent" model.
There’s a clear mutual respect there. Even after Durant left for Brooklyn (and later Phoenix), the bridge between Kleiman and the Warriors' front office stayed intact. You don’t see that often in the NBA. Usually, when a superstar leaves, the relationship turns into a scorched-earth scenario. With Lacob and Kleiman, it’s always felt more like a professional "see you later" than a "goodbye."
What Most People Get Wrong About This Duo
The biggest misconception is that their relationship is purely transactional based on Kevin Durant’s jersey.
That’s a narrow way to look at it.
Lacob is a builder. He’s obsessed with the infrastructure of winning. Kleiman is a connector. He knows how to market the "cool" factor of that winning. They both understand that the NBA is moving toward a world where owners and agents aren't adversaries, but co-investors in the league's growth.
Think about the Jimmy Butler trade rumors that dominated the 2025 headlines. While everyone was looking at the salary cap, insiders were looking at how these moves fit into the long-term "Phase 3" plan Lacob mentioned years ago—turning the Warriors into a media technology company. Kleiman’s Boardroom is the perfect blueprint for what that kind of media arm looks like.
Lessons for the Modern Sports Business
If you’re looking at how the sports world is evolving, you have to watch these two. They represent the shift from "sports as a hobby for billionaires" to "sports as the centerpiece of a multi-industry conglomerate."
What can we actually learn from the way Rich Kleiman and Joe Lacob operate?
- Network is Equity: Your seat at the table (or courtside) is often more valuable than the contract you’re negotiating.
- Diversify Early: Don't just be a "basketball guy." Lacob is in life sciences and energy; Kleiman is in cannabis and fintech.
- Relationships Outlast Contracts: Players move, teams rebuild, but the business ties formed during championship runs are permanent.
The fact that these two were still chatting it up in the Bridge Club nearly a decade after their first big deal tells you everything you need to know. The NBA is a small circle, and the circle of people actually moving the needle is even smaller.
Actionable Next Steps:
To truly understand this dynamic, you should follow the trajectory of Golden State Entertainment and compare it to the growth of Boardroom. Watch for overlapping investments in the next round of "disruptor" companies. When you see the Warriors' logo and the 35V name on the same cap table for a new tech startup, you'll know that the courtside chat in 2025 was about a lot more than just a trade. Keep an eye on the 2026 expansion talks—that’s where the real power moves will happen next.