Warriors Win First Title Since '75; Oakland Erupts In Celebration

The Warriors last night won their first championship since '75, beating the Cavaliers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals before a crowd of 20,562 at Quicken Loans Arena (Mult., 6/17). A sold-out Oracle Arena crowd "at $15 a ticket screamed its lungs out" during a watch party, which "felt more like a high-energy home game." After the game, Oakland "exploded into shouting." The celebration "soon spilled outside, where the delirious throngs laughed and danced to music pounding out of speakers well into the night" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17). In Cleveland, the Q was "electric and sheer pandemonium for two and a half quarters." But the "noise subsided when it became clear" that the Warriors "were not going to let up" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 6/17).

ESPN's Doris Burke introduced NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to present the Larry O'Brien Trophy, and Silver received a smattering of boos from the remaining crowd. Burke then spoke with Warriors co-Owner Peter Guber and asked, “What’s gone into this championship?” Guber: “The culture from top to bottom. … Forty years through the desert to now! It’s a long journey” (ABC, 6/16).

S.F. Chronicle, A1, “Golden Moment” … Oakland Tribune, A1, “Pure Joy” … Cleveland Plain Dealer, A1, “Not Enough Grit” … Akron Beacon Journal, A1 above the fold, “All Out” … Wall Street Journal, A1 above the fold, “Warriors Soar, Grabbing Their First NBA Championship In 40 Years” … N.Y. Times, A1 below the fold, “Golden Age For Golden State”

The team and the city of Oakland plan to hold a victory rally and parade Friday. The procession will begin on Broadway at 11th Street, "ending on Oak Street and proceeding to the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center." BART "will run extra trains for the event, and AC Transit will redirect some of its buses to accommodate the crowds" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17).