Thousands of Golden State Warriors fans flocked to Market Street in San Francisco for the team’s NBA championship parade.
The Warriors clinched their fourth title in eight years and first since 2018 on Thursday, defeating the Boston Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals.
Blue and gold confetti — in addition to some other substances — wafted through the air throughout the afternoon, which both fans and players said felt more special than the previous three championships.
“More exciting,” Warriors fan Steve Shenouda said when asked to compare Monday’s parade to previous iterations. “A lot more people in the crowd. Everything is more exciting. … I think we needed to prove and remind everyone that we can win without (Kevin Durant).”
Guard Stephen Curry was named Finals MVP for the first time following the team’s 4-2 series win after averaging more than 30 points per game in the series.
Curry noted the team’s down years after its most recent championship in 2018.
During the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, the Warriors went a combined 54-83 due to a combination of injuries to stars like Curry and Klay Thompson and poor production from the role players forced to fill their absences.
With all of that on his mind, Curry collapsed on the court in tears at the end of Game 6.
“To know what we’ve all been through, what (Thompson) went through for almost three years, what we went through as a team to try to retool, regroup and rejuvenate … just taking snapshots of the last three years, all that came out when the final horn sounded,” he said.
The Warriors have now won seven NBA championships since the team’s founding in 1946.
Warriors forward Draymond Green — who has played on all four championship teams along with Curry, Thompson and Andre Iguodala — said it is difficult for any championship to feel better than the first, but seeing his teammates win their first in 2022 brings him the most joy.
“You feel it through those guys, that’s how you get that sensation again,” Green said.
“Thank you all,” he added, speaking to the Warriors fans in the audience, “and it’s always f–k everybody else, I love y’all.”