Last night, the Golden State Warriors held their final regular season game in East Oakland. I made a nostalgic return into the nosebleeds, high above the action, to take it all in. You see, the 200 sections are what made me into the gold-blooded fanatic I am today. That’s where the hearts of myself (and many others) were first sprinkled with wonder over professional basketball...Warriors basketball.
If you have never attended a Golden State Warriors game at Oracle Arena, you have missed out on a soul-altering experience. There’s a reason NBA players voted it the most feared arena in basketball.
The 53-year old relic of a stadium is nestled along the 880 freeway deep in the heart of “The Town”. When the Roaracle mob is really mobbin’, the atmosphere inside of the building is radically transformed into a boiling cauldron of furious exaltation. The fans fidget in their seats, thirsty for conquest, demanding the Dubs put a hurting on the out-of-town busters.
On the court, the players on both teams can feel that potential inferno building. The Dubs know they can harness that bubbling cacophony of sound and emotion and use it as a crippling psychological weapon on their foes. Their opponents feel that frothing energy threatening to swallow them alive. These invaders, fueled by competitive wrath and jealous disdain, seek to silence the whole building.
Last night I was there, in the dimly lit recesses of section 214, joining my fellow die-hards to finish off Roaracle’s final regular season campaign.
Stephen Curry, the man who harnesses Oracle’s powers like no other, had a wry smile on his face during warmups. He had a secret that he knew would push Oracle into a deeper level of excitement.
DUBS ARE WEARING THE WE BELIEVE JERSEYS pic.twitter.com/AxuQWMb2vj
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 8, 2019
O.M.G.
The fans strained out of their seats and shook the walls of the arena with their grateful cries for this brilliant homage to a time when the Warriors were desperate to figure out how to not be trash. Everyone in the crowd suddenly knew: there was no way we gonna close out regular season Oracle with a loss to Doc Rivers.
Draymond Green was supercharged by the energy bonanza and dominated. He had a beastly stat line of 10 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks in 29 minutes.
Only fitting Dray has a big dunk in the We Believe #23 jersey pic.twitter.com/OyenGDfJDk
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 8, 2019
Green was everywhere on the court, facilitating on offense and harassing on defense. If you wanted to give this gladiator the Warrior Wonder for his gritty brilliance, I would not begrudge you.
But if last night’s game was a going away party, I’d say Green was the DJ spinning the groove, while Curry was the MC rocking the house.
Listen to the Warriors faithful appreciate Curry’s conglomerate of crossovers before this twisting layup in traffic.
There goes that man pic.twitter.com/CzpbT3ERQt
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 8, 2019
And check out how Oracle exploded on a Curry dunk that didn’t even count!
Didn’t count but we see you Steph pic.twitter.com/3ohiq9I09z
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 8, 2019
It took at least 30 seconds before everyone came to the gradual realization that a whistle had already blown the play dead before the jam. The crowd actually burst into MVP chants for Steph while Damion Lee set up to take free throws. Who gets MVP chants on a dunk that doesn’t count?! Unheard of.
Steph closed his three quarters of work out in the way Oracle fans love the most: by way of a fancy, buzzer beating, disrespectful three-pointer.
Buckets pic.twitter.com/0nfJTFRC2u
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 8, 2019
Both Green and Steph were +35 plus/minus. I’m not sure who deserves this Warrior Wonder award the most, the players, or the fans?
Poll
Who was your Warrior Wonder vs the Clippers?
This poll is closed
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12%
Draymond Green
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37%
Steph Curry
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49%
Dub Nation