The $10M Secret to Winning in Sports & Spirits | Gavin Maloof DSH #928

Summary

Digital Social Hour Podcast Summary
Episode: The $10M Secret to Winning in Sports & Spirits | Gavin Maloof DSH #928
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Gavin Maloof
Release Date: November 27, 2024

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Introduction

In episode #928 of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly welcomes Gavin Maloof, a prominent figure in both the liquor industry and professional sports ownership. The conversation delves into Maloof's dual passions—his award-winning tequila brand and his extensive experience managing sports franchises. Throughout the episode, Maloof shares personal anecdotes, business insights, and strategic approaches that have contributed to his success in these competitive fields.

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Award-Winning Tequila Brand

Launching and Achievements
Gavin Maloof discusses the inception of his tequila brand, highlighting its rapid growth and impressive accolades. "We've won close to 50 awards. Gold, silver, double gold. Platinum. Our reposado actually just won a platinum award. It's never been awarded. That’s best in show, and it's never had that. That means that our reposado is, like, the number one in the world.” (01:00)

Product Distinction
Maloof emphasizes the purity and quality of his tequila, noting the higher concentration of agave heart used in production. “We actually have more heart of the agave plants. Eight heart of the agave plants per bottle. And some of the competition, like Casamigos and Patron use like, two or three hearts of the agave plant.” (02:00)

Distribution and Reach
Despite being a relatively new brand, launched six years ago, Maloof has successfully secured placements in iconic locations such as Bellagio, Aria, and Peter Luger’s in Las Vegas. “We have a really huge footprint with Bellagio. We're in just about every account in Bellagio. We’re in Aria. Some accounts in Aria... Peter Luger's. We have a drink that's in Caesars that's very iconic.” (03:00)

Market Expansion
The brand is expanding its reach beyond the United States, entering eight countries including Japan and Egypt, and planning to make its way into Costco stores globally. “We're in 42 states and we're going into eight countries. We're going into Japan, we're going into Costco's in Japan and Costco.” (08:36)

Involvement in Professional Sports

Early Sports Ownership
Gavin Maloof reflects on his family's long-standing involvement in the liquor and beer industries, tracing back to their role as original distributors for Coors since 1937. This deep-rooted experience laid the foundation for his ventures into sports ownership. “We were Coors distributors 75 years. And we were also in the liquor business. We sold Jack Daniels, Bacardi, Robert Mondavi, Gallo.” (04:30)

Ownership of the Houston Rockets
At the young age of 24, Maloof became the youngest owner in the history of major professional sports by taking over the Houston Rockets after his father's passing. Under his ownership, the Rockets made an unprecedented run to the NBA Finals despite a losing regular-season record. “We had a losing record. We had a 40 and 42 record and went to the finals.” (09:37)

Expansion to Las Vegas Golden Knights
Maloof narrates the challenging yet rewarding process of establishing the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the city’s first NHL team. Collaborating with MGM and leveraging existing infrastructures like the new arena, Maloof and his partners navigated skepticism about hockey’s viability in a desert city. “We brought the team here. And we went back and forth to New York. It seemed like I was going every other week, possibly for four years.” (14:05)

Achievement of Championships
After decades in the sports industry, Maloof finally secured a championship with the Vegas Golden Knights, marking a significant milestone. “After the Rockets, we bought the Kings... and here we brought the team here... We finally got our first championship a couple years ago with the Vegas Golden Knights.” (12:33)

Strategic Insights on Team Building

Drafting vs. Trading
Maloof advocates for building a team through the draft rather than relying heavily on trades for high-profile players. “You want to build through the draft. You want a core players that you built through the draft. Yeah, that’s the ideal way.” (20:07)

Role of General Managers and Scouts
He underscores the importance of trusting general managers and scouts in talent acquisition, stating, “You really have to rely on the general manager, the person that’s picking the talent. That’s how your franchise is going to win or lose.” (00:10)

Analytics vs. Human Judgment
While acknowledging the rise of analytics in sports, Maloof emphasizes the irreplaceable value of human judgment in selecting and nurturing talent. “It's like you say analytics, but you really have to rely on the general manager, the person that's picking the talent.” (20:07)

Balancing Team Composition
Maloof explains the delicate balance between star players and role players, noting that a single great player can elevate the entire team. “Great is what you need. You need an all star. You need like maybe one or two all stars on the team and then maybe of a great role player.” (20:52)

Exploring Emerging Sports: Paddleball and Pickleball

Investment in Paddleball
Recognizing the rising popularity of paddleball, Maloof shares his involvement as a part-owner of the Las Vegas Smash, a successful paddleball team. “We’re part owner of the... Las Vegas Smash, which is paddleball... Just had our owner, Henry Strasser, and we just had an event in Miami where we won the championship again.” (21:46)

Comparing to Pickleball
He differentiates paddleball from pickleball, describing paddleball as “pickleball on steroids” and emphasizing its competitive nature. “Because it's pickleball’s game, but paddleball is a sport. It’s competitive, and some great athletes...” (24:36)

Challenges of Sports Management

Injury Impact on Teams
Maloof discusses the inevitability of injuries in sports, particularly in high-contact leagues like basketball and hockey. “Probably at one. At one point or another.” (30:52) He highlights how injuries can derail even the most promising teams, emphasizing the unpredictability and difficulty of maintaining a championship-contending roster.

Retention and Longevity of Players
Reflecting on player longevity, Maloof praises athletes like LeBron James for maintaining high performance into their 40s, while also noting the physical toll that sports can take. “LeBron's still top five in the league at 40. That’s crazy...” (32:28)

Personal Sports Experiences and Preferences

Early Sports Participation
Gavin shares his personal background in sports, from playing high school basketball and college football to hours of racquetball practice. “I played high school, not college, but I played basketball a little bit... I've played a lot of racquetball.” (07:59)

Favorite Sports and Activities
He reveals a preference for racquetball and expresses openness to trying new sports like paddleball. “I played a lot of racquetball. Yes, I will maybe even play it if you... I like being well rounded.” (22:58)

Final Thoughts and Business Promotions

Promoting the Tequila Brand
Towards the end of the conversation, Maloof provides details on where listeners can find his tequila products, including the official website and various retail locations. “You can go commissario.com. You can buy it at Lee's Liquor... but we're in 42 states and we're going into eight countries.” (34:19)

Closing Remarks
Sean Kelly wraps up the episode by highlighting the ease and smoothness of Maloof’s tequila, reinforcing the guest’s dual successes in sports and spirits. “That was the easiest shot I've ever had. Didn't need a chase or anything.” (34:43)

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Notable Quotes

• Gavin Maloof: “You have to rely on the general manager, the person that’s picking the talent. That’s how your franchise is going to win or lose.” (00:10)
• Gavin Maloof: “We've won close to 50 awards. Gold, silver, double gold. Platinum. Our reposado actually just won a platinum award.” (01:00)
• Gavin Maloof: “Great is what you need. You need an all star. You need like maybe one or two all stars on the team and then maybe of a great role player.” (20:52)
• Gavin Maloof: “We had a losing record... and went to the finals.” (09:37)
• Gavin Maloof: “Paddleball is pickleball on steroids, but it's a sport. It's competitive, and some great athletes.” (24:36)

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Conclusion

In this engaging episode of Digital Social Hour, Gavin Maloof offers a comprehensive look into his successful ventures in both the spirits industry and professional sports. His insights into team building, passion for quality in his tequila brand, and experiences navigating the complexities of sports management provide valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and sports enthusiasts alike. Listeners are encouraged to explore Maloof’s tequila products and follow his continued successes in expanding his sports franchises.

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Where to Find Gavin Maloof and His Tequila:

• Website: commissario.com
• Retail Locations: Lee's Liquor, Ralph’s (LA), and online via commissary.com
• International Availability: 42 U.S. states, Japan, Egypt, South America, Costco internationally

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Note: The timestamps in the summary refer to specific points in the transcript, aiding listeners in locating key discussions within the episode.

Transcript

[Gavin Maloof]

Basketball's big worldwide, you know, it's really incredibly big. And you can find a gem over there. Just a lot of scouting.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And it's like, you say analytics, but you really have to rely on the general manager, the person that's picking the talent. That's how your franchise is going to win or lose. It's him, the person picking the talent.

[Sean]

All right, guys, Gavin Maloof here. We're gonna start off with a shot. Let's do it.

[Gavin Maloof]

All right.

[Sean]

Call me Sario. Tequila brand you just invested in, right?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes, absolutely.

[Sean]

Thank you. Wow. I'm excited. You said it's better than 42. Let's see.

[Gavin Maloof]

We've won close to 50 awards. Gold, silver, double gold. Platinum. Our reposado actually just won a platinum award. It's never been awarded. That's best in show, and it's never had that. That means that our reposado is, like, the number one in the world.

[Sean]

Yeah. Wow. Cheers to that, man. Let's do it. Oh, my gosh. That was the smoothest shot I've ever had. Well done, man. Well done.

[Gavin Maloof]

It's. It's. It's really an incredible product of we. You'll notice how smooth it is. And even though we have the blanco, the reposado, this is the Anejo H2, two years in Oak casts. And then we have the extra naho, which is age seven years. And that's really incredible.

[Sean]

I mean, that for two years was incredible. It barely even tastes like. Like alcohol to me.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And, you know, it's just from the. Distilled in the highlands of Jalisco. And if there was a designation for organic in Mexico, we would be organic.

[Sean]

Really?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

So Mexico doesn't have organic products.

[Gavin Maloof]

They don't have. They don't. They don't have a designation. Organic. They don't have that title.

[Sean]

I didn't know that. So that's a us thing, then.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes, us. But if they did have one, we would be organic.

[Sean]

Nice.

[Gavin Maloof]

Because it's. It's just pure tequila. We. We actually have more heart of the agave plants. Eight heart of the agave plants per bottle. And some of the competition, like Casamigos and Patron use like, two or three hearts of the agave plant.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

So it's all. It's pure. There's nothing. There's no additives, no preservatives. Just pure tequila.

[Sean]

Incredible. When did this launch?

[Gavin Maloof]

We launched about six years ago. I mean, it's a relatively new brand. We haven't been around that that long. That's why we're trying to do these podcasts and obviously your great show. We appreciate you put me on. And we really want to get the word out because we say it's the best tequila no one's ever heard of. But here in Las Vegas, we have a really huge footprint with Bellagio. We're in just about every account in Bellagio. We're in Aria. Some accounts in Aria. Fountain blue.

[Sean]

Nice.

[Gavin Maloof]

So Peter Luger's. We have a drink that's in Caesars that's a very iconic. You know, Peter Luger's that I've heard of.

[Sean]

Yeah. I haven't been there yet.

[Gavin Maloof]

New York. And it's very iconic. It's at Caesars. It does. Incredible. We have a black cherry margarita that will change your life.

[Sean]

That sounds really good.

[Gavin Maloof]

I mean it is my all time favorite drink that I've ever had. And we. They sell like 10 to 15 cases a month.

[Sean]

Holy crap. With one drink just at Peter Luger's.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Wow. I gotta check that out. Are you guys in the Vegas Golden Knight Stadium?

[Gavin Maloof]

We're getting there. We're. We're. We're trying to work a deal with T Mobile and like I said, we, we're just kind of new on the scene.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

But we're, we're getting a lot of icon. We're Wolfgang Puck. We're in Spago at Bellagio. So we're iconic places and, and restaurants and it's just really have exploded.

[Sean]

And your family's been involved in the liquor space for quite some time, Right? Getting involved with Coors in 1937.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. Even probably. Yeah. I guess it's a 37. Yeah. Maybe 100 years.

[Sean]

Almost 100 years.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. We were actually. My family was. We're from New Mexico born. And I was born in Albuquerque. My grandfather started Coors and we were one of the nine states. There was nine and a half states, half of Texas, original distributors for Coors. So we were Coors distributors 75 years.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

And we were also in the liquor business. We sold Jack Daniels, Bacardi, Robert Mondavi, Gallo. So. So I have an extensive. I grew up in the liquor business. That's in the beer business. That's what I've done my whole life.

[Sean]

Yeah. And that industry, how's it doing lately? Because there is a movement towards sobriety with people my age.

[Gavin Maloof]

Is it.

[Sean]

I saw hard seltzer. Sales were down quite a bit actually.

[Gavin Maloof]

Really? Well, we, you know, we don't want people to overindulge. Drink responsible.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And we never promote doing shots. 10 million shots or that we, you know, we don't, we don't promote that. This, this is actually a. You can shoot this like we did, but it's a sipping tequila, so it's great on the rocks. Or like we say in the, in the liquor business, Sean, we don't care how you drink it. Just drink it.

[Sean]

Yeah, yeah. I was never patient enough for the sipping drinks.

[Gavin Maloof]

Okay, well then you could shoot it.

[Sean]

Yeah. I remember once I went to an event and what's that big brand that does the sipping shots? Do you know the name?

[Gavin Maloof]

The oh of Fireball?

[Sean]

No, it's like a really expensive alcohol. I'm blanking on the name, but. Oh, Jagermeister, something like that. And they were basically like pouring shots for everyone.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

And I just down mine. But you were supposed to sip it apparently for the whole night.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, I'll tell you one thing. Being in the liquor business all my life that like I've been in my family's been in. There's no right or wrong way to drink alcohol or to enjoy alcohol. Just however you like it. Yeah, there's no right or wrong way.

[Sean]

Absolutely.

[Gavin Maloof]

That's what we say.

[Sean]

Oh, it's Louis xiii.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, Louis xiii. Okay, watch this. So I had Louis XIII at my house. I've never opened the bottle. And then I had our extra ano. Which we should bring him a bottle.

[Sean]

Remind me, that's a seven year one. Seven.

[Gavin Maloof]

Seven year old. It'll change your life. So I did a taste test with my girlfriend and I, we did a taste test with Louis XIII versus our extraneo, the seven year. And I. I gotta tell you, I couldn't even drink the Louis.

[Sean]

Whoa, Are you serious?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, it was harsh.

[Sean]

It was that different.

[Gavin Maloof]

But, but ours is so smooth and so great that the extra, it's. It's styled after a lot of the great cognacs and brandies. See, See, brown spirits worldwide is like the number one liquor in the world is Johnny Walker. That's the really liquor in the entire world.

[Sean]

Not, not maybe in terms of sales by like dollar amount sales.

[Gavin Maloof]

I would say sales of maybe dollar wise as well, because it's an expensive item. So Luis Coda, one of our founders, and then Steve Rice is our main, main owner. But he styled this after all the great cognacs and brandies. That's why you see the color of it, that the anejo and then the extra anejo and then our reposado was as well. And that's kind of how he styled this tequila. So sometimes you try it it tastes like tequila, but it's something like when people try it, they go, wow.

[Sean]

Yeah. That didn't taste like any liquor to me, man. I'm very impressed.

[Gavin Maloof]

Impressive, isn't it?

[Sean]

I don't drink often because of the taste. Usually.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. You know, Sean, I. I was never really a tequila drinker until I got involved. I got involved with Commissarial probably two and a half years ago. Two, three years ago. But I. I've always been. I always liked rum.

[Sean]

I was like, you're a rum guy.

[Gavin Maloof]

Rum. Yeah.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

Rum runner.

[Sean]

Wow. Those are a rare breed, man.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, I like rum, but I still like it, but. But now I find myself drinking these margaritas.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And even like Bellagio. We have the black cherry margarita at the sports book at Bellagio. And. Wow, is it good?

[Sean]

I gotta try that out.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And then we also have. We're with Kroger now. We're just kind of getting the ball rolling. But we're actually in 42 states, going in eight countries. We're going in Japan, we're going into Costco's in Japan and Costco.

[Sean]

Nice.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes, yes. It's just, you know, it's all coming. This is like a big freight train crushing it.

[Sean]

Is this your main focus right now?

[Gavin Maloof]

It is, it's. It's my main focus. Yes. And. And we also have a brand that my family owns called Drink Aid. And it's. It's a hangover prevention.

[Sean]

I've seen that.

[Gavin Maloof]

Gift shots.

[Sean]

Yeah. It's in grocery stores, right? Yes, I see it at the checkout.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

That's you.

[Gavin Maloof]

That's ours.

[Sean]

Wow. So that's like the hangover prevention. Oh, prevention. So you drink it before.

[Gavin Maloof]

You could drink it before, you can drink it during, you can drink it after. But if you have a hard night, you should try a drinking. You'll be fine in the morning. But we're in a lot of the gift shops, a lot of the casino gift shops and.

[Sean]

Nice. Still involved with professional sports too?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, we, we, we. Well, we've been in sports our whole life. Yeah, we still in the Houston Rockets. And I was the youngest owner in the history of major professional sports.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

24 years old.

[Sean]

Holy crap.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. When we own the Rockets, we had Moses Malone, Calvin Murphy, Robert Reed, Rudy Tomjanovich. You know, that was our. When we went to the Watch as we went to the. I was 24 years old. Unfortunately, my father passed away and I took over the team and we went to the finals against the Celtics. We ran into a guy maybe you had never Heard of him? Larry Bird?

[Sean]

I've heard of him.

[Gavin Maloof]

You've heard of him? Yeah, well, we ran into him. So we. We lost in the finals, but we had a losing record. We had a 40 and 42 record and went to the finals.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

And I don't know if it's ever happened.

[Sean]

No, definitely not.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, we had a losing record. And so.

[Sean]

So you were like an eight seed.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

So you beat the one seed in the first round, and we beat the Lakers. Oh, is that with Magic Johnson?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. You know that? Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah, I know. NBA.

[Gavin Maloof]

So. So watch this. So we. When we. We played the Lakers in 1980. I hate to date myself, but I guess I will. 1980. So magic is a great guy. Back then it was a two out of three miniseries. So we won one game at home. Then we had two games in Los Angeles, and I was in the stands, and we played the Magic. So we were up by one point. So Magic dribbles around and he throws up a hook shot from like, 5ft and gets all air, which probably never happened in his life.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

Air ball. We win the. We win the game, we win the series. So I run down the court, and I'm 24 years old. I might look a little younger than you.

[Sean]

I'm 27, so.

[Gavin Maloof]

27? You look like you're about 15, but that's okay. It's good to look young.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

So I run down the court. The security guard stops me, says, where are you going? Says, well, I want to get back into the locker room. I want to congratulate my players. She said, well, you can't get back in there. What do you mean I can't? I said, it's my team. I want to go back and congratulate my players. She says, yeah, and I'm the president. And she kicked me out of the building.

[Sean]

What?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. Because I didn't think to have a pass, a security pass, or what do you call it?

[Sean]

Oh, a media pass or media pass.

[Gavin Maloof]

I didn't think the hell, you know, I just went there by myself.

[Sean]

What, they didn't recognize you? No, Because I feel like if Mark Cuban was like, yeah, let me get in the locker room right now. They would let him buy.

[Gavin Maloof]

They would let him buy. Yeah, they would. But back then, it was a different story. So I got kicked out of the building.

[Sean]

Wow. Your own team.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, because I looked like you.

[Sean]

You know, you couldn't even celebrate with the team.

[Gavin Maloof]

No, I couldn't. And then that was it.

[Sean]

That's crazy. Wow. And you finally got your first championship a couple years ago with the Vegas Golden Knights, right?

[Gavin Maloof]

We did, yeah, with the Golden Knights. And we. So after the Rockets, we bought the Kings, Sacramento Kings. And then the day we sold it, we went to see Gary Bettman from the NHL, the commissioner of the NHL. And we asked him. We knew that MGM was building an arena here in Las Vegas. And they said, hey, my brother Joe says, why don't you ask. Let's ask Gary Bettman if expansion team, we can put one in Las Vegas. So Joe and I, the day we sold the Kings, we went that same day, because it's just down the street. NHL and NBA down the street. And we went and saw Gary, and we asked him, gary, what about a team in Las Vegas? And he didn't say yes, but he didn't say no. And that was the key because Gary's a straight shooter. So I knew we had a shot at it. So then we. Joe and I went and we met with some of the executives here at mgm, and also we met with Bill Hornbuckle was all for it. And next thing you know, we went and saw Bill Foley. He's a great guy. And one thing led to another, and here we brought the team here.

[Sean]

Here we are. It must have been a tough process, moving cities, right? A lot of meetings and money.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, we didn't move because we were an expansion team. So we did. We didn't move from another city, but this was. This was an expansion team. It actually took us four years.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

To bring the team here. And we went back and forth to New York. It seemed like I was going every other week, possibly for four years.

[Sean]

That's where the NHL is, New York.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. That's the main office. Joe and I would fly back and forth to Vegas. But. But remember one thing. You know, a lot of people didn't think the team would ever work here. And I. And I've always advocated having a team in Las Vegas. I said, well, why wouldn't a team work here? You know, a lot of people said, well, there's too much going on. There's all the shows and there's concerts and. And then you have an arena, but, you know, we need the dates for concerts. And I said, well, you know, you got 42. 42, 41 home dates, and you have preseason, so you have a lot of dates to fill the arena. And I said, people are people. They want us. We wanted our own team. You know, I've been here in Las Vegas for 35 years.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And the only thing that was Missing in this city was we didn't have our own team. Right. It's like having a city without a soul.

[Sean]

For real, sports are a big part of that feeling of a city.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes, yes. But nobody thought it would work because, you know that hockey in the desert was. How does that work? It's too hot in Las Vegas. They said, well, you know that we happen to be in an arena, so it's going to be okay. The ice isn't going to melt.

[Sean]

Yeah. That's a good point, though. I don't know any ice hockey rinks in Vegas. It's probably not many of them.

[Gavin Maloof]

No, no. So that's kind of the. The objections that we had.

[Sean]

Yeah. How good did that feel to win? Because you were in professional sports for what, 30 years before that?

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, actually, it took me 44 years to win this ring.

[Sean]

44 years?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

Since the. Since the rockets. I was 1978 with the Rockets. So however many years.

[Sean]

I guess 44 years.

[Gavin Maloof]

Something like 44 years.

[Sean]

Some owners never get it right.

[Gavin Maloof]

Never.

[Sean]

Because when you're in a smaller market, your odds are way less.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, that used to be a lot of the. The. That was part of the. The conversation was. And I think being in the NBA, as long as I was, it was always we wanted parity within the markets. You know, you didn't want all the players going to the large markets and forgetting the small markets.

[Sean]

Right.

[Gavin Maloof]

So. So it was kind of. Because we were in Sacramento, we were in a small market. So I think it's good parity in the leagues because you want. Where each team has a chance to win the title. If you're in a small market or big market, you don't want just the big markets winning all the time. You have to spread it around. I think it's good for sports. It's good for the teams. It's good for the morale of the city. It's good for the community. We were so proud to bring this. This team to the community.

[Sean]

Absolutely. Yeah. Because the NBA back in the day, it was always, you know, Chicago, New York, Miami and la.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

So do you think right now it's. It's more even where smaller markets have the same opportunity?

[Gavin Maloof]

I think so. I think so, Yes. I believe it's. They have a. Just as much opportunities. It's a year. A lot of comes down to drafting. Depends on who you pick and where you pick.

[Sean]

The warriors did well with that.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, the draft thing.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes, they did.

[Sean]

They got Steph, Clay and Draymond all from draft.

[Gavin Maloof]

Right. Yeah. I hate to tell you, but we could have had Steph Curry.

[Sean]

What, you passed on Steph?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, but I didn't make the decision.

[Sean]

Did you?

[Gavin Maloof]

We had, but we had Tyreek Evans.

[Sean]

Okay, remember Tyreek? I heard of him. I don't remember him, like, playing.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, he was rookie of the year.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

So the, the year he was six, six, six point guard.

[Sean]

And he got injured.

[Gavin Maloof]

He got injured. But, but he won the rookie of the Year that year. But he, he was a great player, but he didn't have the shot that Steph had.

[Sean]

Oh, so you picked him over Steph?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So what pick did you have? What number was six and Steph was still there?

[Gavin Maloof]

Seven. He was. Oh, yeah.

[Sean]

Wow. Damn. Do you think about that?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, I think a little bit about it, but I, I, I wasn't really the one that made the final decision.

[Sean]

So how much say did you have in that draft process?

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, we learned long ago, actually we, we helped bring, help promote the summer league here, NBA summer league. And we learned long ago when we would sit with our, our scouts that we didn't know much about basketball. Even though I played a little bit. You know, I've played high school, not college, but I played basketball a little bit. We've all played it, my brothers. But we say to the, one of the top scouts, one of our scouts, God, that guy can play in the NBC. Oh, no, he's no good. He doesn't have a shot. And so you, you as an owner, you don't want to, you don't want your, your player judgment to, to overshadow what, what you're paying these scouts for. That's why you have the scouts.

[Sean]

Right.

[Gavin Maloof]

That's the way you get in trouble. The owner knows too much these days.

[Sean]

There's so much analytics too. They have it, they're probably using AI honestly, with certain teams to find players.

[Gavin Maloof]

Probably. Yeah, yeah. Like a lot of analytics. And, but you know, back then it was, you know, you get in, get on the plane and you go to New Zealand. You look at a player there in some small town and, you know, we, we had Peja Stojakovic and Vladi Divots from Serbia. You know, you found. We had kind of an international team. We had Hito Turkoglu from Turkey. You know, he was the first Turkish player.

[Sean]

Wow. And that seems to be the new kind of trend I noticed with the top teams. They'll source from Europe and get like one good player over there, and no one's heard of them, but they end up being really good.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, you Know, you've. Basketball's big, worldwide, you know, it's. It's really incredibly big. And you can find a gym over there. Just. This is a lot of scouting.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And it's like you say analytics, but you really have to rely on the general manager, the person that's picking the talent. That's how your franchise is going to win or lose. It's him, the person picking the talent. Think about it. You don't. You can win through free agents. You know, that's a good way to win. But really, you want to build through the draft. You want a core players that you built through the draft. Yeah, that's the ideal way. But there's different ways to win and.

[Sean]

That'S too slow for most people. Right. Because the fans are up their ass. So they're just like, we need to win this year. So let me trade for three old players.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And in basketball, you never do this. You never trade one, three, two or three good players for a great player.

[Sean]

You don't do that.

[Gavin Maloof]

No, no. Great is what you need. You need. You need an all star. You need like maybe one or two all stars on the team and then maybe of a great role player. But you can't replace great. You could have two or three good, very good players, really good players, but they don't replace great. Because a person that's great is going to make the people around them great.

[Sean]

Interesting. But can you go from good to great just training over time or. No?

[Gavin Maloof]

You can. I think some people, some players can. Depends on how hard they work. I mean, they have that work ethic in them. And if they, they really take it, they. They can make themselves better. And then, you know, on the contrary, a great player that doesn't do anything will still have the talent, but he, he won't maximize his potential.

[Sean]

That makes sense. Any sports you got your eye on now? Pickleball is pretty hot right now.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, yeah, that. You mentioned that. Actually we're part owner of the. This team called the Las Vegas Smash, which is paddleball.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

Paddle ball, which is on fire.

[Sean]

Really? Paddle balls on fire?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I haven't seen it.

[Gavin Maloof]

Just had our owner, Henry Strasser, and we just had a, an event in Miami where we won the championship again. Or we won a tournament, but we had 800,000 viewers on YouTube.

[Sean]

What, for paddle ball?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Holy crap.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And I don't know if you ever. Have you seen it?

[Sean]

No. I don't even know how it's played. I heard of it.

[Gavin Maloof]

It's like tennis on Steroids. It's played within three walls and it's like racquetball in tennis. And it's very exciting. I mean, they're great athletes. It's very popular in Argentina and Venezuela and Mexico and Europe. It's very popular and it's really a great sport. You should check it out sometime.

[Sean]

I will.

[Gavin Maloof]

I will maybe even play it if you. I don't know if you're a tennis player.

[Sean]

Are you supp. Play tennis?

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, you did?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

Because a lot of tennis players going into paddleball.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

There's paddleball courts here that you might really.

[Sean]

I'll check it out.

[Gavin Maloof]

You'd be a great, great workout for you and.

[Sean]

Yeah, I'm super competitive.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah. I like.

[Gavin Maloof]

You didn't play basketball. You're tall.

[Sean]

I play basketball. Yeah. I got a game tonight, but I like being well rounded because a lot of people put all their equity in one sport and then you see them play something else and they're just terrible. Oh, but I could play, like, decent at everything, so.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, if you play tennis, you can play this paddle ball and you hit it off the back wall. Because I played a lot of racquetball. Yeah, that's what I got. My shoulders are messed up, but. But I played a lot of racquetball. But it's. It's like racquetball. You hit the ball off the back wall and. And the service. It's not small, but you have long rallies. You should check it out and take it off the sidewalls.

[Sean]

Yeah, I'll be decent at it. I think I was a wall ball champ in elementary school.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, really?

[Sean]

You ever play wall ball?

[Gavin Maloof]

Is that like a handball?

[Sean]

Kind of. You throw it at the wall and then if it hits your body, you got to run to the wall and tag it. And if someone throws the ball before you tag it, you're out.

[Gavin Maloof]

No, I've never.

[Sean]

You never played that? Oh, man. No, I've never heard that was a fun game. You. Did you play kickball?

[Gavin Maloof]

No, I never played kick what.

[Sean]

What did you play growing up?

[Gavin Maloof]

Football.

[Sean]

Okay, right in, like, elementary, you were playing football?

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, yeah.

[Sean]

That's a contact sport.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. What's the little guys? What do they call them? Well, I forget the name, but Little League. Little League from football.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

You know, they had a name.

[Sean]

I used to watch Little League baseball thing every year.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, you did?

[Sean]

On tv? Yeah. That was fun to watch. Yeah. I love sports, man. So you see that sport as like the next big thing, though?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes, I do. Yes. Because it's it's pickleball on steroids. But pickleball's. Well, we say pickleball is a game, but paddleball is a sport, Okay? I mean, it's competitive, and some great athletes, like I said, a lot of tennis players are playing, because once you're through with tennis, you know what, you can't play competitive tennis. What do you do to kind of stay in shape? And it's really a lot of fun.

[Sean]

I'll check it out. Pickleball is fun to play, but watching, it's not that interesting for some reason, to me.

[Gavin Maloof]

No, but it's. It's really popular. I mean, it blew up. But see, paddleball is huge worldwide. It's just now getting in the States. In the United states, and there's 10 teams, and we have the Las Vegas Smash, which we won the title when. We won. When we won the championship for the. The Knights. The next day, we won the championship for the paddle.

[Sean]

Oh, wow. So now you're just racking in these trophies. Let's go.

[Gavin Maloof]

44 years, it only took me.

[Sean]

Did you ever think that you just not win after 40 years?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

That's a long time.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

I mean, that's double my age. That's. That's crazy.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. And you know, Sean, what's. What's crazy is it's. It's so difficult to win a championship. I mean, it's literally impossible. I mean, almost impossible.

[Sean]

Yeah. Because you're facing the best people in the world.

[Gavin Maloof]

Best people in the world. You got 31 other teams to compete against. Everything has to go right. You know, you have to.

[Sean]

It's no injuries.

[Gavin Maloof]

No injuries. Yeah.

[Sean]

I noticed the teams I got injured in the playoffs, they'll lose even though they're better.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

It comes down to that, right?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. Did you have the Chiefs. Did you like the Chiefs for the super bowl, or did you.

[Sean]

I had the Chiefs. I didn't bet on it, but, yeah, it's hard to bet against Mahomes, man.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Like, he's got three already. At his age. He might. He might pass Brady if he wins a couple more.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Which I never thought Brady would be past this. This soon, at least.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. He's. He's something else. Mahomes. He's. He's. How do you beat him? And even the Niners looked great last night. Yeah, they look great, too, but, yeah.

[Sean]

There'S a lot of good teams. How are you feeling about our team this year?

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, I hope we do. We hope we do better. I mean, we had a tough game, but I like the coach.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And Mark's a great friend of mine, so I love Mark and he'll get it going. It just.

[Sean]

It's just football's ruthless. The turnovers for coaches in the NFL must be the highest in any league, Right?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

It seems like every year there's like five or 10 of them getting fired.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. Because it's this, like you said, this. The fans, they get, you know, they want to win now.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

You know, you don't blame them, but it's. You have to. Like I said, you know, they got him in the draft. Mahomes.

[Sean]

Right.

[Gavin Maloof]

Nobody ever thought he would.

[Sean]

Wow. They got Mahomes.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. I mean, you know the Chiefs, that they drafted him, right?

[Sean]

I don't know.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, they. They drafted Mahomes of Texas Tech. So, I mean, who. Who would have thought he would be what he is? Yeah, he's fantastic. But there's some good quarterbacks coming up. I think this Caleb Williams, he's looks pretty good.

[Sean]

He looks good. Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

But he's still a rookie, you know, kind of tempered a little bit. Takes a while. Takes a while to get acclimated even. Like I was telling my friends the other night with Aaron Rodgers. Good, good guy. But it's going to take him a little while too. You know, these. He played really good for a few minutes, but it's. Takes time.

[Sean]

Yeah. I'm a hopeful jets and Giants fan. Oh, I grew up in Jersey, so.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, you did?

[Sean]

Yeah. Try to root for the local teams because we didn't. Jersey didn't have a football team and we lost the Nets, so they went to Brooklyn.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

So we didn't really. I don't think Jersey has any. Oh, Devils.

[Gavin Maloof]

The Devils.

[Sean]

Devils. But that's.

[Gavin Maloof]

They won a lot of titles back when.

[Sean]

Devils. Yeah. I caught the tail end of that. Oh, I think I might have remembered one with Martin Brodur as goalie. Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

Something else.

[Sean]

He was beast.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah. Hockey's fun to watch in person.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. You know, the. The knock on hockey has always been. It's not a TV sport because it's hard to see the puck. That was the. The knock on it. But I think now with. With the NHL going to the ESPN and TNT and all these major sports networks, it's really helped ratings, it's helped viewership.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And now people are starting to understand the game more. That's was the knock. You couldn't see the puck.

[Sean]

Yeah. How's hockey doing? Like viewership wise?

[Gavin Maloof]

Great.

[Sean]

It's doing good.

[Gavin Maloof]

Doing really well.

[Sean]

Nice. Because it's Probably. I'd assume basketball and football are like, the top two. And then.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

Is baseball ahead of hockey?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

So baseball and then hockey's fourth. Nice. Is it big in other countries?

[Gavin Maloof]

Hockey?

[Sean]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

You know, like in. In Finland and Russia and. And some of the eastern countries here, obviously of Canada. It's the national sport of Canada.

[Sean]

Was it in the World cup or the Olympics that just happened? Hockey?

[Gavin Maloof]

No, because now. Because this was the Summer Olympics.

[Sean]

Oh, summer. Oh, gosh. It's in the winter.

[Gavin Maloof]

That was. That was the. That's the Winter Olympics. It is, yes.

[Sean]

Got it. And how does the US do normally in that?

[Gavin Maloof]

They do well. Yeah, the US does well.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah. We barely won the Summer Olympics this year.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

We tied in medals with China.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

China's catching up, man.

[Gavin Maloof]

I know they got some athletes over there.

[Sean]

They just have sheer numbers, you know what I mean? They got so many damn people. I think that makes up for the athleticism.

[Gavin Maloof]

Sooner or later they got to have someone. Someone's got to pop out and do something great.

[Sean]

Yeah. And they're genetically, you know, programming some of those kids. Yeah, yeah. They have like some 7 foot female basketball player I keep seeing.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, yeah, I saw that.

[Sean]

Wow. Yeah. Yao Ming was apparently a program, too.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And then we. We played against y. Me.

[Sean]

Oh, yeah. How was that? He probably went off, right?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, yeah, he did.

[Sean]

He couldn't stay healthy, though. Man. When you're that tall, you just get injured your feet.

[Gavin Maloof]

A lot of times they get that plantar fasciitis, their feet, or they break bones in their feet.

[Sean]

Yeah. You see it with Christophe Porzingis. He keeps getting injured.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And Wemby's been staying healthy, but, yeah, it seems like if you're like 7ft, you just get like. Zion Williamson keeps getting injured, too.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. It's just too much weight on your feet.

[Sean]

Yeah. It's a tough sport, man. Basketball.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, God.

[Sean]

What percentage of your roster would get injured on a yearly basis?

[Gavin Maloof]

All of them.

[Sean]

Really?

[Gavin Maloof]

Probably at one. At one point or another.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

They'd have, you know, some kind of. Some form of injury.

[Sean]

That's crazy.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. You'd have a lot of ankles. You know, a lot of ankles. Knees sometimes. But foot. A lot of foot. Foot injuries.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

And not too many shoulder. I don't think. Too many shoulder injuries.

[Sean]

Yeah. Mainly lower body. Right?

[Gavin Maloof]

Lower body, yeah.

[Sean]

What about hockey? How common are injuries in hockey?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, yeah. Shoulders, shoulders, hip flexors.

[Sean]

So that's more upper body injuries. Hockey.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And then. Yeah, then you get some. Some ankle. But you Know, some knees, but upper body, because you're using your shoulders.

[Sean]

They take some nasty hits in hockey.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, my God.

[Sean]

Holy crap.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. And I know I just had a shoulder. Well, I'm getting a shoulder replacement on this, but I had this one.

[Sean]

Damn. From your football days, you're still.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, no, I think it was from racquetball.

[Sean]

Oh, racquetball.

[Gavin Maloof]

I don't know. Yeah, I mean, I used to play hours and hours of racquetball.

[Sean]

Damn.

[Gavin Maloof]

I mean, I was. That was my best sport.

[Sean]

Racquetball.

[Gavin Maloof]

Very. I'm not big or anything, but I played football. I played college football, but small college. But I like. I love racquetball. We used to play hours and hours.

[Sean]

I gotta check that sport out too.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You like the racket sports, huh?

[Gavin Maloof]

I did. And my. My sister played professional. Not professionals, college. Tennis. Mexico.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Gavin Maloof]

She had a scholarship, so. And my brother Joe plays tennis.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, so he's, you know, we like tennis quite a bit.

[Sean]

They've done longevity studies on every sport. And racket sports athletes live the longest.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, is that right?

[Sean]

Yeah, it's something to do with the brain and body connection or something.

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, here's what I don't understand, because I don't know how these pro tennis players, how their shoulders, how they hold up.

[Sean]

It's insane. A five set match for three hours, and then they played in two days after that, another five set match.

[Gavin Maloof]

And their legs, too. I mean, yeah, I guess it's youth.

[Sean]

I guess, but they must have some crazy recovery protocol. But even djokovic is pushing 40 now. Right. And he's still playing at a very high level.

[Gavin Maloof]

It's amazing. They're just. Their bodies. Everyone's. Everyone's body is different for a different sport.

[Sean]

Yeah. I mean, LeBron's still top five in the league at 40. That's crazy, right? He was playing while you were at the Kings, probably.

[Gavin Maloof]

No, we. He played. His first game was against the U.S. oh, yeah. His very first professional game.

[Sean]

Wow. Was there a lot of hype for that game?

[Gavin Maloof]

There was a lot of hype, yeah. And we. We beat him that game. Cleveland. But you could just tell he was.

[Sean]

He was different.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, he different. And Kobe, you know, we. Very close to Kobe, even though he killed us a couple times. Yeah.

[Sean]

You guys in the west had a tough. I always thought the west was way better than the East.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes.

[Sean]

You guys had to go through Kobe, you had to go through LeBron or LeBron's in the East. The Spurs.

[Gavin Maloof]

The Spurs, Yeah. They always, always.

[Sean]

They had A dynasty.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah. Duncan and.

[Sean]

Yeah, they had, like, five championships in 20 years.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

That's crazy.

[Gavin Maloof]

They might be good again with this wimby, I guess.

[Sean]

Yeah. If they could develop him and add on one or two more pieces.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah, he's. He's good, too.

[Sean]

Do you still root for the Kings?

[Gavin Maloof]

Yes. Oh, yeah.

[Sean]

That's your team.

[Gavin Maloof]

Oh, yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah, they're looking decent.

[Gavin Maloof]

They're pretty good. Good team.

[Sean]

Yeah. I think they need one. One or two more pieces, but, yeah.

[Gavin Maloof]

I think the coach is pretty good.

[Sean]

I love the coach.

[Gavin Maloof]

He's been to the championship. He's won it, Right?

[Sean]

Yeah. So that's important, man.

[Gavin Maloof]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Well, Gavin, it's been awesome. Where can people find you and find the liquor?

[Gavin Maloof]

Well, you can go commissario.com. you can buy it at Lee's Liquor. If you're in LA, you can buy it at Ralph's or just online, commissary.com but we're in 42 states and we're going into eight countries. We're going into Egypt, Going to duty free in Egypt and South America and like I said, Japan, and this is really blown up. But have them try it.

[Sean]

Oh, please try. Guys, that was the easiest shot I've ever had. Didn't need a chase or anything. So. Yeah, we'll link below. Thanks for coming on, man, and thank you.

[Gavin Maloof]

Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

[Sean]

Absolutely. Thanks for watching, guys. See you tomorrow.