SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Tens of thousands of fans poured onto the
streets of San Francisco on Monday to salute the victorious Golden State
Warriors as the team celebrated its fourth
NBA championship in eight seasons
with an open-top bus parade.
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A blizzard of blue and gold confetti billowed along
downtown San Francisco’s Market Street as buses carrying the Warriors players
and team staff made their way along the 2.3km-long parade route.
The Warriors clinched their seventh NBA crown on
Thursday after defeating the
Boston Celtics on the road in game six of the
finals to close out a 4–2 series victory.
The victory completed a triumphant return to the
pinnacle of the sport just two years after the Warriors finished the 2019–2020
season with the worst record in basketball.
Warriors talisman
Stephen Curry — wearing a gold
chain carrying his collection of NBA championship rings — led the festivities
as Golden State players sprayed hordes of fans with champagne in brilliant
sunshine.
“I had to bring the jewelry back out,” Curry said of
his ring-laden necklace.
“I don’t look at it during the year. Every so often
though you gotta remind yourself — we got four!”
Curry said the Warriors had been motivated to get
back in the winner’s circle after a painful defeat in the 2019 NBA Finals.
“I’d be lying if I said I knew we’d be champions
because it’s a lot of work — but sometimes you’ve got to manifest it,” Curry
said.
“We had some reverses, hit some road bumps, but
peaked at the right time and everybody, 1 through 16, our coaching staff,
everyone, played a significant part in this.”
An amazing year
The Warriors’ defensive star
Draymond Green paid tribute to the Warriors players and team personnel that
made the win possible.
“This has been an amazing year,” Green said. “I told
you no one could stop us from winning a championship. I warned you all.”
“I really love this group, and when I say this
group, I mean this entire group.”
“There were times in the past when we won a
championship and everything didn’t have to be aligned like we were just that
good.”
“But for this to work, every single person up here
had to be aligned. It’s just so special.”
“You talk about which championship means more, but
the reality is every single one of them has their own journey.”
“What you appreciate about the journey is the people
you go through it with. And what brings me the most joy is seeing the guys who
are winning it for the first time.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr meanwhile revealed he had
been inundated with messages of congratulations ranging from fellow NBA coaches
such as Gregg Popovich to former president Barack Obama.
“I got a text from
President Obama, which was pretty
cool. That was pretty special,” Kerr said.
“This is incredible. When we started camp I thought
we would be pretty good but I didn’t know we could win the whole thing.”
“To be sitting here enjoying the parade and feeling
the love of the whole Bay Area is pretty incredible.”
Kerr once again reserved special praise for Warriors
star Curry, the NBA Finals MVP.
“We’ve got a bunch of great guys who want to play
together,” said Kerr.
“And it starts with Steph. Everybody wants to play
with and for Steph, and we just had a great group of guys and that’s the key.”
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