OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 9: Festus Ezeli #31 of the Golden State Warriors rises for a dunk against Greg Stiemsma #34 of the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 9, 2013 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND (KCBS) — A rally was held at the Oakland City Center on Thursday as a sendoff to the Golden State Warriors, as they begin their run in the NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets.
Giant banners read “Oakland is Warriors’ Ground” at the rally, where team greats and fans alike celebrated their first postseason appearance by the Warriors since the “We Believe” team of 2007. It is only the second time the Warriors are in the playoffs in 19 seasons.
Adonal Foyle was an instrumental part of the “We Believe” team. “Everybody always doubts what we can do as a city, and time after time we’ve proven to them that we can do extraordinary things,” Foyle said.
Al Attles coached the Warriors to their NBA Championship in 1975. “I don’t like to compare teams, but in one way I do compare this team with our team that won the championship. It’s a team that believes in each other,” he said.
The Warriors have a 47-35 record and are the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
While the Warriors are planning to move to a proposed waterfront arena in San Francisco, Mayor Jean Quan said Thursday that she remains optimistic that Oakland will keep the team.
The team heads to Denver on Saturday for two games against the Nuggets, and will return to play the following Friday and Saturday at Oracle Arena.
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Jeffrey Schaub
Jeffrey Schaub is a Bay Area broadcast news veteran. From 1990 to 2010 Jeffrey served as a reporter and anchor at CBS5 KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Prior to that he was a radio news reporter in San Rafael, California and in Colorado. Jeffrey has cov...
