By: Quinisa Roberts
All stakes were high for the Golden State Warriors back in the 2019 Playoffs. The team was aiming to go for yet another championship run; which would complete their dreams for a threepeat. But odds were against them; the only non-American team with the proud We The North slogan were dominating them with a 3-2 lead in the NBA finals. Hopes had not vanished yet, with Oracle Arena sold out, the Bay Area team was prepared for the best and not even thinking of the worst. The building tower of hope was reaching its limit until the second half. Klay Thompson (½ of the Splash Brothers) left the game with a sprained achilles and Raptors’ stars Kyle Lowry & Pascal Siakam lead the Raptors in scoring with 26 points each in the 4th quarter. Left to only stand by himself, Kevin Durant, who was unavailable due to a calf injury in Game 5, where Stephen Curry scored 21 points in the second half, but the Raptors overcame his three pointer run.
All coming down to the 4th quarter, all of Oracle Arena was on its feet. But yet, we could tell what team still had gas in their tank after all these events. The Toronto Raptors confidently defeated the weakened Warriors with a nail biting 114-110 win which would give them their first ever NBA championship trophy, leaving Curry and the Warriors a lot to think about in the locker room. This was the last time we ever saw the Warriors in the NBA finals and the Playoffs.
Fast forward to now, the Warriors have a brand new stadium at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors were fortunate enough to grab NBA Draft pick number #7 and #14, which they retrieved Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, two young basketball players who are waiting to be formed into great basketball stars. In early August 2021, a familiar face joined the Warriors after 4 years, which was Andre Iguodala. The Bay Area welcomed him back with open arms, with him being the hot topic on major Bay Area sports websites for nearly a week.
Klay Thompson was seen on multiple Instagram stories practicing his iconic pull-ups, which has Dub Nation eagerly waiting to see him perform in a Warriors jersey again. Things have been difficult not only in the team, but in the association as well. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting many teams, a shortened season of 72 games (which was originally 82) was in play, and basketball legend and icon, Kobe Bryant’s unforeseen death back in January 2020 made the association closer than ever. Fans not just in the Bay Area, but all around the world are in desperate need for the new season to start. Could this be the start of a new beginning for the team?
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