Jordan Poole’s puppy stars in pre-game

Jordan Poole entered the Chase Center carrying a puppy, and the Golden State Warriors broke their losing streak. As far as we are concerned, that means someone needs to walk the tunnel carrying a puppy every game now. You don’t mess with success!

“Check it out,” said Poole. “New tunnel fit accessory?”

Sadly, this wasn’t Poole’s own puppy, so he wasn’t able to share the name of the dog. The Warriors were hosting fifteen puppies at the arena for the first day of Pet Adoption Week, in which fans got to play with the puppies and Donte DiVincenzo will match all adoption fees.

Details are still unavailable about how the puppies performed at the locker room combine. We’re still waiting for important statistics like height, weight, tail span, cuddliness, softness of fur, coldness of nose, and stayability, but according to our sources, they were all very good boys.

Thankfully, they’ve released footage for those of you who like to scout on video.

Obviously, those looking for a canine companion need to also consider the intangibles. Does my pet have that dawg in him? Will they bark at officials? Can this pooch play dead in crunch time? Will the puppy catch a tennis ball in its mouth better than James Wiseman can handle an entry pass? In a few years, what can this dog fetch on the open market? (Ideally that’s balls, newspapers, and chew toys)

(Those considering pet adoption should also consider a rescue dog.)

While the clip of Poole is endearing, it also explains why he had such a ruff performance Monday night. How is he supposed to focus on basketball when he was holding such a cute puppy just hours earlier? Maybe the puppy had curled up in his locker, or its paw got stuck in his shoe, or maybe it was taking a nap in one of his old jersey. Maybe it ate a hot dog! This might be why Poole started the second half against the Sacramento Kings - Steve Kerr needed to get the adorable furball out of his head before it derailed the entire bench.

All we know is that the Warriors lost five games in a row when they were bringing zero puppies to the games, and they are now undefeated when they do bring a puppy. The ball is in your court, Joe Lacob. Do you want to keep winning basketball games? Then let’s keep the puppy train rolling. He can even call it “Light Ears Ahead.”