Hat's off to
NBA's No. 1 fan
By
Bob Young
If you've
been to many NBA playoff games, you've probably seen him sitting
in the front row.
If you've watched any
of those reports for fashion television programs from shows in
Milan or Paris, you might have spotted him near the runway.
If you've seen the
movie Charlie's Angels, you've even been inside his house.
And when you've laid
eyes on him, there's no mistaking Jimmy Goldstein, NBA super fan,
fashion aficionado and architectural visionary.
Goldstein is the guy
with shoulder-length gray hair and the bold, wide-brimmed hats,
wearing the $8,000 (give or take) outfits of leather that are
right out of Montana - designer Claude Montana that is, not to
mention Gaultier and Cavalli.
"He's just a classic
character," said Scott Williams, a veteran NBA player who
counts the Suns among his NBA stops and spent this season with
Cleveland.
"Did you know
he's got the original car that he bought, an old Rolls Royce?
It's like a 1953 or '55.
"He's got the
car, his outfits, the hat. He's eccentric."
Everybody in the NBA
"family" knows Goldstein, from Commissioner David Stern
down to most NBA assistant coaches and any player who has been
in the league for long.
"I've not only
seen him at the arena, I've been out to dinner with him many times,"
Williams said. "He's a great guy. He just loves hoops. He's
been following the league for something like 40 years, maybe 50.
"And he knows
the game. You've got to pick stuff up sitting over there for all
those great Lakers teams."
That would be on the
front row, where Goldstein has season tickets for the Lakers at
the Staples Center. He also has them for the Clippers, paying
about $2,000 a game for the Lakers seats and $750 a game for the
Clippers.
But don't get the idea
that he's a Lakers fan or a Clippers follower.
"It doesn't
bother me that the Lakers are not in the playoffs, because I've
never been a Lakers fan," Goldstein said. "I follow
every team."
A true NBA fan
Goldstein typically attends about 35 playoff games every year.
He also has attended the predraft camp in Chicago and preseason
games that have been played in Europe, and was courtside for a
recent Suns playoff game.
As Goldstein was holding
court with The Republic, former Suns star Tom Chambers walked
up.
"What's up, man?"
he asked Goldstein, pumping his hand, then turning his attention
to Goldstein's outfit. "Where do you get that stuff? I've
got to find out."
"Not in Phoenix,"
Goldstein cracked.
He attends fashion
shows in Milan and Paris twice each year, but that travel is nothing
like his NBA playoff itinerary.
"During the playoffs
every year, I try to go to a game every day," he said. "I'm
not sure what it's going to mean (without the Lakers) logistically
because this will be the first year that I haven't been going
back and forth to my home every few days for a game there.
"This playoff
season, I'll be on the road for over six straight weeks, so ask
me a month from now how I feel about it."
Goldstein smiles when
he says this, a sly look that tells you he'll feel just fine about
it.
Reportedly the son
of a Milwaukee department store owner, Goldstein said he began
watching NBA games as a 10-year-old.
At the tender age of
15 he was hired to keep game statistics by the Hawks, who played
in Milwaukee in the early 1950s before moving to St. Louis in
1955.
"Once
I did that and sat courtside for the games, I was totally hooked,"
he said. "My entire life has been devoted to professional
basketball since then. I have such a passion for the game. I think
there's more athleticism displayed in basketball than in any other
sport."
The man has means
Goldstein isn't shy when says his passion gets pretty doggone
expensive.
"But I try not
to think about the cost," he said. "It's worth it to
me."
He's secretive about
how he made his fortune, and insists he's not a billionaire, as
has been reported. A number of people within the NBA, including
Suns assistant coach Alvin Gentry, who got to know Goldstein well
while coaching the Clippers, told The Republic that Goldstein
started on his way to his fortune by investing in trailer parks.
"Um, property
investments is where I made most of my money," Goldstein
answers, the sly grin returning when he's asked whether the trailer
park story is true.
"I've been able
to do most of the things that I've wanted to do. And I'm not really
working to speak of. I'm just enjoying life to its maximum."
That life includes
a passion for architecture that matches his love of fashion and
hoops.
He describes his home
in the Hollywood Hills as "a world-famous architectural treasure."
It might sound like
braggadocio, but it's also true.
The opulent home, which
has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and several architectural
publications, was designed by John Lautner, a student of Frank
Lloyd Wright - whose architecture is yet another Goldstein love.
The home has been used
in several feature films, including Charlie's Angels.
"His house works
more than he does," Suns assistant coach Phil Weber said,
jokingly.
When Goldstein bought
the place, it was in disrepair, so he hired Lautner himself to
bring it back.
"Lautner was probably
the most successful disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright," Goldstein
said, "so a lot of the characteristics of the house have
a strong Frank Lloyd Wright influence.
"I did more than
restore it. Rather than try to bring it back to where it was,
I worked with Lautner while he was still alive to take it into
the future and do things that have never been done before.
"We haven't tried
to restore it, we've tried to do things that weren't in the original
plans. I'm still working on it, and on other buildings on the
property that he designed before he died."
The 3-acre estate has
tropical-jungle-like landscaping, and a "room of light"
designed by light artist James Turrell, all of which led one writer
for the London Telegraph to declare it "a high-tech lair
fit for a Bond villain."
No, just a really rich
basketball fanatic.
This time of year,
everything takes a back seat to the playoffs.
And Goldstein will
be paying special attention to the Suns, a team he said he loves
to watch.
"I think they're
more than a throwback," he said. "I think they're one
of the most exciting basketball teams I've ever watched. People
talk about the Lakers of the '80s being exciting, but to me Phoenix
is much more exciting than the Lakers were.
"Phoenix has fast
players at every position. The Lakers had Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar)
at center, so I think Phoenix surpasses the Lakers when it comes
to excitement. I'm really hoping they do well this year, because
I think it will have an impact on the other teams. I haven't been
happy with the slow-down emphasis in recent years."
Unlike some "super
fans," however, Goldstein is content to simply observe the
games and enjoy them without barking at referees or dogging players.
"He just likes
to watch good basketball," Gentry said. "He sits there
and doesn't bother anyone. He's just a fan of the sport and he
studies the game. Then he goes to where the good games are. He's
a pretty unique guy.
"It's kind of
hard not to notice when Jim is there."
jim@jamesfgoldstein.com