After 47 seasons, Oracle Arena hosted its final regular season NBA game in an emotional victory for the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have played in the arena since 1971. Over the team’s nearly five-decade run at Oracle Arena, fans consistently packed the building even as the team struggled at times.
The arena was renovated in 1996, at a cost of $140 million to add more seats and new video boards among other amenities.
Prior to 2015, the Golden State won just one championship, in 1975. However, the series-clinching victory over the Washington Bullets came on the road. The series was not played in Oakland’s arena, due to scheduling conflicts.
The arena did host multiple notable eras of Warriors basketball. The “Run TMC” era with Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin put the Warriors on the map in 1989. The short but fulfilling era ended in 1991 when Richmond was traded to the Sacramento Kings.
The Warriors teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s featured talented players, even if the teams were not successful. Chris Webber, Jason Richardson, and Baron Davis played for the Warriors at various times as fans continued to show up despite an uncompetitive team.
Oracle Arena then became known to fans as “Roaracle” Arena in 2007, when the Warriors engineered the greatest upset in NBA playoff history.
As the eighth and last seed in the 2007 playoffs, the Warriors faced the No. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks. Golden State, led by Davis, Stephen Jackson, and Al Harrington, defeated the Mavericks in six games. On May 3, 2007, Oracle arena saw the Warriors win the series at home, resulting in a thrilling celebration for fans.
Oracle Arena and Warriors fans largely saw the team struggle over the next four years. However, the foundation for the future was being built, centered around a sharp-shooting guard from Davidson, Stephen Curry.
In 2013, Curry made his playoff debut as the Warriors won 47 games and secured the sixth seed in the playoffs. Golden State pulled off an upset of the Denver Nuggets in six games, clinching the series at Oracle Arena on May 2.
The Warriors would go on to lose in the second round to the San Antonio Spurs. But this time, with a foundation in place, the Warriors were built to contend for years to come.
The Warriors have made the playoffs each year since 2013, winning the franchise’s first championship in 40 years in 2015. While no championship can be downplayed, the Warriors won the series on the road, in Cleveland. Oracle Arena would have to wait two more years for its crowning moment.
In the 2017 NBA finals, the Warriors, led by Curry and new co-star Kevin Durant, defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. On June 12, the Warriors won 129-120 at Oracle Arena, securing the team’s first championship inside the storied building.
Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers meant the Warriors finished as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Golden State will have the home-court advantage at Oracle Arena throughout the playoffs. As such, the possibility exists that Oracle Arena will host one more championship before the Warriors depart.