SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors fans swarmed Chase Center ahead of the NBA’s 77th season start Tuesday night to see their defending champions host the Los Angeles Lakers and take part in a Fan Fest at Thrive City, the plaza surrounding the arena.
The festival included live musical performances, games, photo ops, a special kids zone and an augmented reality exhibition and a free-to-all invitation to watch the Warriors celebrate their 2022 title in a special pregame ceremony on Thrive City’s 3,108-square-foot video board in the West Plaza.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver arrived in San Francisco for the pregame ceremony, during which the Dubs received their championship rings and unveiled their latest title banner — the fourth the team has earned since 2015.
Warriors co-executive chairmen Joe Lacob and Peter Guber joined Silver in presenting last season’s players with diamond-clad rings crafted by Jason of Beverly Hills.
As Golden State began its quest for what would be a fifth championship in nine seasons, head coach Steve Kerr told Associated Press the brewing competition was exciting.
“We’re back in it,” Kerr said. “But there’s a lot of teams that are right in it, and the league is super competitive. I think the West has gotten even stronger. There’s a lot of competition out there. And so, we’re one of the teams that is in the mix and that’s exciting. But we have to start over. It doesn’t just automatically happen from one year to the next, so we’ve got a lot of work.”