Goodbyes are never easy. And the Golden State Warriors losing their final game at the Oracle Arena â to the Toronto Raptors in the championship-deciding match â is no exception.
Fans filled the arena on Oaklandâs turf one last time to celebrate the occasion, and for those who couldnât justify the record breaking ticket prices, Bay Area watch parties spilled into the streets for Game 6.
âIâve been coming to this stadium right here since the early ’80s and just to be able to experience the history of being here, itâs big, itâs epic,â said J-Diggs, a Bay Area rapper. âIâll be able to tell my grandkids the Warriors once played in Oakland.â
Golden State has called Oracle Arena home on and off since its opening in 1966, making it the oldest arena in the NBA.
Bay Area rapper J-Diggs said Warriors players have supported his music, and heâs at Oracle Arena to show them support for their final game in Oakland, California on June 13, 2019. (Audrey Garces/KQED)
Bam Bam the Yorkie rolls in to Oracle Arena in style on June 13, 2019. (Audrey Garces/KQED)
âThe Warriors haven’t given up,” said Beverly Green while watching the game at The Athletic Club Oakland. “I haven’t given up on them and they haven’t given up on themselves.”
Green and her friend, Cheryl Wade, said the last game at Oracle is heartbreaking and the team’s move to San Franciscoâs Chase Arena wonât draw the same crowd. Wade said she moved to Oakland in 1984 when tickets were cheap enough for her to attend games every season â a far cry from what fans fork out today.
“It really is heartbreaking because Oakland is so representative of who they are,” Green said. “It’s like we’re diverse, we’re powerful and we’re unified.”
But the arenaâs five-year streak of hosting the finals has come to an end.
During that time, the team took home the championship title in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Warriors fans left the arena disappointed that this year wonât be included on the list of victories, as they narrowly lost 114-110 to the Raptors.
Fans at The Athletic Club Oakland cheer as the Warriors score in Oakland, California on June 13, 2019. (Audrey Garces/KQED)
Young fans practice their skills before the game outside Oracle Arena on June 13, 2019. (Audrey Garces/KQED)
Some blame the series loss on Kevin Durant rupturing his achilles in Game 5 after playing on an injured calf, others say it was Klay Thompson exiting the court on crutches, and some call out Steph Curryâs missed 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, but nonetheless, many fans remain hopeful this wonât be the end of the teamâs momentum.
“Theyâre saying itâs too hard to maintain because they get tired, they have burnout. But they have smart ownership and theyâre gonna keep going,â said David Seaborgy, who rushed to Oracle Arena during the third quarter to celebrate an anticipated win. âI donât think this dynasty is over.”
It may be the end of “Roaracle” Arena, but it’s not the end for Dub Nation as the team will move to the Chase Center in San Franciscoâs Mission Bay next season.
âJust the sound of ‘WARRIORS’ and the unbelievable volume level that this crowd has,” said Bobby Colomby, who flew in from Los Angeles. “Iâve never experienced, I mean Iâve gone to a lot of basketballs game and Iâve never heard anything like this.â
Even as fans filed out of Oracle Arena in defeat, they echoed the halls chanting âWAAARRIORS,â for one last time.
Dub Nation drummers hype up fans before the game in Oakland, California on June 13, 2019. (Audrey Garces/KQED)
Monica Samayoa contributed to this report.
9(MDA1MjcyMDE0MDEyNzUzOTU1NTMzNmE5NQ010))
Copyright 2019 KQED