Golden State Warriors Win Brian McIntyre Media Relations Award…Again!
The Golden State Warriors have once again won the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s Brian McIntyre Media Relations Award.
Widely regarded as the best team in the NBA for the past three years or so, the Golden State Warriors have consequently garnered a great deal of attention both nationally and worldwide. Since rising to the top of the league, the Bay Area has without a doubt become a media hub in the basketball world.
And much like the team, the Golden State Warriors media relations staff has continually gone above and beyond expectations to achieve the highest possible level of excellence within their field, winning the 2017 Public Basketball Writers Association’s (PBWA) Brian McIntyre Media Relations Award.
Per the PBWA’s official release:
"“The Golden State Warriors have won the 2016-17 Brian McIntyre Media Relations Award, which is presented each season to an NBA media relations staff that best exemplifies standards of professionalism and excellence, the Professional Basketball Writers Association announced today.The Warriors’ full-time basketball media relations staff consists of Vice President of Communications Raymond Ridder, Senior Director of Public Relations Dan Martinez, Director of Publications and Statistical Information Darryl Arata, Public Relations Manager Brett Winkler and Public Relations Assistant Matt de Nesnera.….Ridder, Martinez, Arata, Winkler, de Nesnera and Coach Steve Kerr foster an atmosphere of mutual respect with journalists. Their energetic work and their players’ professionalism facilitate accurate, in-depth coverage of the team.”"
This is the third time in the past four years that the Golden State media relations staff has won the Brian McIntyre Media Relations Award. They become the first franchise to have won the award in back-to-back seasons, as well as the only franchise to have won it four times (2010, 2014, 2016, 2017).
Additionally, Golden State is one of three franchises to have won the award more than once, the others being the Toronto Raptors (2) and the Indiana Pacers (2).
Golden State Warriors Vice President of Communications Raymond Ridder commented on how it felt receiving the award, humbly crediting others in the organization for helping him and his team be recognized as arguably the best media relations staff in the NBA.
"“It’s truly an honor to receive this award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association,” said Ridder. “There’s the old saying that you’re only as good as the people you work with, and that’s certainly true for us. We couldn’t do our job without the great team of Steve Kerr, Mike Brown, Bob Myers, Rick Welts and all the players and staff at the Warriors.”"
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The Brian McIntyre Media Relations Award is named after former longtime NBA public relations director Brian McIntyre. McIntyre joined the NBA in 1981, later being promoted to vice president of public relations in 1989 before becoming senior vice president of communications in 1997.
He was named senior communications advisor to former NBA commissioner David Stern in August 2010 before retiring in 2014. McIntyre was notably honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, receiving the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.