This has been a frustrating season for Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who due in large part to various injuries to their former MVP are stuck in sixth place in the Western Conference at 35-33. And with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks hot on their heels, a top-six seed and automatic playoff spot is no guarantee.
Given the circumstances, you can’t fault Curry for thinking about the old times. During an appearance on the NBC Sports Bay Area Warriors podcast, “Dubs Talk,” on Monday, Curry said he hopes to play at Oracle Arena one more time before he retires.
“Of course we should play at least one more game before it’s all said and done back there,” Curry said. “Just to kind of relive the old days.
“I’d absolutely love it. I have been a big fan of ‘Let’s just have one regular season game over there,’ just to have a little flash to the past. The Oracle in Oakland is always a part of our history. It’s part of me and my experience and all the memories that it has.”
Oracle Arena, which opened in 1966, was the Warriors’ home from 1971-2019 (save for a one-season departure in 1997 to San Jose Arena while Oracle underwent renovations). Curry, who was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, spent the first 10 seasons of his career playing there, and helped create one of the best home-court advantages in all of sports. During their dominant run from 2014-19, when they went to five consecutive Finals and won three titles, the Warriors went 218-44 at Oracle between the regular season and the playoffs.
At the start of the 2019-20 season, the Warriors then moved across the water to San Francisco to play at the brand new Chase Center. While it’s a beautiful, state-of-the-art arena, and has also already seen a championship, it doesn’t have the same connection to the team as Oracle did. Perhaps that will come in time, but it’s clear from Curry’s comments that even he still feels a pull to the old building.
Whether the Warriors will actually play there or not remains to be seen, but it certainly is possible. Oracle is still standing, and there’s precedent for teams playing games outside of their usual home arena. It’s a common occurrence for preseason games, and the San Antonio Spurs showed this season by playing a regular-season game (coincidentally against the Warriors) at the old Alamodome for their 50th anniversary celebration.
