Golden State Warriors' Bob Myers named 2014-2015 NBA Executive of the Year

After a stellar regular season in which Golden State earned the league's best record (67-15), Warriors General Manager Bob Myers has been named the 2014-15 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year, the NBA announced.

Myers, in his third season as general manager, presided over a roster that produced the most successful regular season in franchise history. The Warriors earned both a Pacific Division title and the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since the 1975-76 season.

After the Warriors went 51-31 in 2013-14 and made the playoffs for the second consecutive season, Myers made the risky move of hiring Steve Kerr, a head coach with no previous coaching experience. Golden State improved by 16 games, the highest increase in league history for a team that won at least 50 games the previous season, and Kerr set a record for victories by a first-year coach.

The Warriors led the NBA in several categories -- including scoring, field goal percentage, assists, opponents’ field goal percentage and defensive efficiency -- and their point differential of 10.1 was the eighth highest in NBA history.

Myers’ moves since the end of last season also included a long-term contract extension for guard Klay Thompson, who made his first All-Star team and averaged a career-high 21.7 points.

Without a selection in each of the last two drafts, Myers fortified Golden State’s roster through trades and free agency, acquiring Andre Iguodala in a three-team deal on July 10, 2013, and signing key contributors such as Leandro Barbosa, Shaun Livingston, and Marreese Speights over the past two summers.  Livingston added depth to the Warriors’ backcourt.

The Warriors also benefited this season from the improvement of Myers’ selections in the NBA Draft.

Forward Draymond Green, the 35th pick in 2012, went from being a key reserve to a full-time starter in his third season, finishing second in the voting for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Forward Harrison Barnes, the seventh pick in 2012, averaged a career-high 10.1 points and raised his field goal percentage from 39.9 last season to 48.2 this season, the biggest jump for any player who attempted at least 600 shots in each season.

Myers totaled 82 points and received 13 of 30 first-place votes from a panel of fellow team basketball executives throughout the NBA.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ David Griffin finished second with 69 points (eight first-place votes), and the Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Budenholzer was third with 36 points (four first-place votes).

Myers, who was named general manager in April 2012, is the second Warriors executive to win the award, joining Dick Vertlieb (1974-75).  He was a member of the 1995 NCAA champion UCLA basketball team.

ALL-TIME NBA BASKETBALL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

1972-73                                Joe Axelson, K.C./Omaha
1973-74                                 Eddie Donovan, Buffalo
1974-75                                 Dick Vertlieb, Golden State
1975-76                                 Jerry Colangelo, Phoenix
1976-77                                 Ray Patterson, Houston
1977-78                                 Angelo Drossos, San Antonio
1978-79                                 Bob Ferry, Washington
1979-80                                 Red Auerbach, Boston
1980-81                                 Jerry Colangelo, Phoenix
1981-82                                 Bob Ferry, Washington
1982-83                                 Zollie Volchok, Seattle
1983-84                                 Frank Layden, Utah
1984-85                                 Vince Boryla, Denver
1985-86                                 Stan Kasten, Atlanta
1986-87                                 Stan Kasten, Atlanta
1987-88                                 Jerry Krause, Chicago
1988-89                                 Jerry Colangelo, Phoenix
1989-90                                 Bob Bass, San Antonio
1990-91                                 Bucky Buckwalter, Portland
1991-92                                 Wayne Embry, Cleveland
   1992-93                                 Jerry Colangelo, Phoenix
1993-94                                 Bob Whitsitt, Seattle
1994-95                                 Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
1995-96                                 Jerry Krause, Chicago
1996-97                                 Bob Bass, Charlotte
1997-98                                 Wayne Embry, Cleveland
1998-99                                 Geoff Petrie, Sacramento
1999-00                                 John Gabriel, Orlando
2000-01                                 Geoff Petrie, Sacramento
2001-02                                 Rod Thorn, New Jersey
2002-03                                 Joe Dumars, Detroit
2003-04                                 Jerry West, Memphis
2004-05                                 Bryan Colangelo, Phoenix
2005-06                                 Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Clippers
2006-07                                 Bryan Colangelo, Toronto
2007-08                                 Danny Ainge, Boston
2008-09                                 Mark Warkentien, Denver
2009-10                                 John Hammond, Milwaukee
2010-11                                 Gar Forman, Chicago (tie)
                                                Pat Riley, Miami (tie)
2011-12                                 Larry Bird, Indiana
2012-13                                 Masai Ujiri, Denver
2013-14                                 R.C. Buford, San Antonio
2014-15                                 Bob Myers, Golden State

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services