© Raj Mehta | 2017 Feb 15
With the final regular season game at Oracle Arena passing on Sunday, Tolbert and Lund brought on Golden State legend Tim Hardaway to talk about what the Warriors fanbase has meant to him, as well as share a couple of fond memories from back when Run-TMC was running rough-shot over the NBA.
While he played for five teams over the course of his NBA career, Hardaway says the six seasons he played in the Bay Area is something he will never forget.
“Coming here from El Paso, Texas,” Hardaway said, “I heard a lot of negative stuff about the Bay Area, but when you come to the Bay, you want to check it out and come to you’re own conclusion. Man, I had the best time of my life there playing for the Golden State Warriors for those six years. I met so many people there that I call friends.”
It’s no secret how impactful and die-hard the Warriors fan base has been, from the time of Wilt Chamberlain and Al Attles to the “super-team” era of today. While the notion of bandwagon fans may plague other teams that have achieved the success the Warriors have had these past five years, Hardaway thinks “Roaracle” has stayed true to it’s roots.
“I hear about these ‘fair-weather fans,’” Hardaway said. “People jumping on the bandwagon, this and that about Golden State Warrior fans. The fans have been there since day one! They were always there for us, no matter how we played. They’d tell us if we played bad, and they would cheer if we were out there doing what we were supposed to. But they were there from day one.
“They’re die-hard fans, and they know a lot about the game of basketball. They deserve all the recognition that they get because they were there since day one.”
Being a former teammate of Tolbert, Hardaway began to recall some fun stories from the past when they played together, and recalls a story from when they faced the Showtime Lakers in the playoffs.
“There’s a whole bunch of memories that jump out from Oracle Arena,” Hardaway said. “That one time we made the mistake of having Run DMC come in and introduce us, and try to make a mockery out of the playoffs. The Lakers took exception to that, and we really knew what playoff basketball was about. They put it on us that game. Magic (Johnson) was really mad, but I remember that… That was a bad idea. Wow.”
This Warriors team also know what playoff basketball is all about, and with this being the final playoffs at Oracle Arena, they hope to use that experience to make a run at their fourth title in five years.
To listen to the entire interview, click HERE: