The Warriors last night defeated the Cavaliers for their first NBA title since '75, and an editorial in the S.F. CHRONICLE writes the franchise for 40 years "occasionally teased -- and ultimately disappointed -- their remarkably loyal fan base," but this year's team was "so selfless, so stylish, so determined, so endearing ... it’s almost tempting to say it was worth the wait." Warriors fans were "so accustomed to deals gone foul that they booed" co-Owner Joe Lacob shortly after he traded G Monta Ellis in '12. Lacob was "doubted again last spring when he fired coach Mark Jackson after a second-round playoff loss." Jackson’s successor, Steve Kerr, "merely racked up the most wins for a rookie coach in league history." With the "pieces in place, everything came together for the Warriors this year." It took the "best team on the planet" to defeat LeBron James and the Cavaliers. But this team "also happened to be the most likable." The Warriors’ "patient fan base now will have to share their team with a nation that enjoys superbly executed basketball and admirable heroes" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17). In L.A., Mike Bresnahan writes for Kerr, it was an "unimaginable run in his first season as an NBA coach after ditching TV analyst headsets to turn the Warriors into a force at Oracle Arena (48-4) and, really, anywhere." For Warriors Exec Board member Jerry West, it was the "first championship he'd been part of since leaving the Lakers' front office" after the '00 season. For Warriors GM Bob Myers, it "meant the completion of a wildly successful transition from up-and-coming player agent" (L.A. TIMES, 6/17).
: In S.F., Bruce Jenkins writes the championship "honors the passionate fans who filled the Oakland Coliseum Arena, as it was once known, when the postseason was little more than a fantasy." It is a "tribute to those sellout crowds on weeknights with some deadbeat Eastern Conference team in town." Experts have "long been confounded by this fan base, a pillar of dedication through the worst of times, and now comes the reward." Kerr said, “I remember coming to Oracle as a player, year after year, playing against lousy teams and the fans were there every single year. Loud, supportive, passionate. So I could not be happier, because those fans support us through everything" (
S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17). In San Jose, Tim Kawakami writes last night was a "dividing line in Warriors history: The last day of the worst part of Warriors history and the first day of the new history of a new franchise, raised on a new foundation and now featuring a golden trophy" (
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/17).
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1975: In S.F., Sernoffsky, Fagan, Williams & Swan note the Warriors held a Game 6 watch part at Oracle Arena, and "a sold-out crowd at $15 a ticket screamed its lungs hoarse while the team methodically ground down the Cavaliers on wide screens with images streamed in live from Cleveland." The arena "felt more like a high-energy home game than a watch party." When the game ended, fireworks "shot from the arena’s roof and -- if possible -- even more ferocious aural bedlam erupted inside." After the game, hundreds "spilled out of doorways along Broadway to dance in the streets and hug each other, and all along the core avenues of the city center, fans honked their horns ceaselessly and screamed 'Warriors! Warriors! Warriors!' to the skies and to each other" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17).
A MIDWEST PRODUCT: In S.F., Al Saracevic writes of Cleveland, "For a community that has long endured barbs and insults, the Finals brought a nationwide audience to a city clearly on the upswing." Downtown Cleveland during the Finals was "brimming with local fans and visitors, sitting at outdoor cafes and drinking at bars." The city’s "quaint East Fourth Street restaurant district was buzzing, with an ESPN television crew beaming pictures of the scene across the world." Stores and vendors were "doing a brisk business selling the Cavs’ merchandise," and fans "couldn’t find a hotel room within a 40-mile radius." The Rock & Roll HOF "was packed all week" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17). Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Bill Livingston writes, "If you want a snapshot to remember from the NBA Finals, let it be of James, strong despite the burdens, putting on, game after game, possibly the most impressive body of work by a player on a losing team ever" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 6/17).
