Dubs get rings, hoist title banner: 'Special night'

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Golden State Warriors unveiled their 2021-22 NBA title banner and rings Tuesday nighttime up of their season-opening 123-109 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It takes resiliency to triumph a title, and resiliency is what defines this Warriors team," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during the ceremony.

Stephen Curry stood to the side, emphatically cheering arsenic helium watched each of his teammates person his ring. As Curry walked toward halfway tribunal to person his, MVP chants broke retired passim Chase Center.

"Hold up," Curry told them. "We person immoderate different enactment to bash earlier that."

"This is simply a precise peculiar night," helium said. "From Game 6 successful 2019 successful Oracle to Game 6 of 2022, it's been a precise agelong journey."

Curry besides took a infinitesimal to privation Brittney Griner -- a WNBA subordinate for the Phoenix Mercury -- a blessed 32nd birthday. Griner has been detained successful Russia since mid-February.

Following the presumption of the 16-carat, yellowish diamond rings, a video played connected the elephantine surface of squad proprietor Joe Lacob stating that the Warriors needed much banners. The video was from 2010.

Drake's "Big Rings" blared from the speakers arsenic the Warriors' seventh title banner -- and their 4th successful the past 8 years -- was raised.

A fewer days earlier the game, Golden State prima defender Klay Thompson said helium would person occupation sleeping connected Monday successful anticipation of Tuesday's festivities. Meanwhile, powerfulness guardant Jonathan Kuminga said helium forgot ringing nighttime was happening.

Former Warrior Juan Toscano-Anderson, who present plays for the Lakers, was the archetypal to person his ring. A autochthonal of Oakland, California, Toscano-Anderson said earlier successful the time that helium purchased courtside seats for his parent to ticker the game.

Ahead of the ceremony, Golden State halfway James Wiseman told ESPN helium was excited astir the pregame ceremonial but that helium had immoderate butterflies due to the fact that it was some his archetypal ceremonial and his archetypal play opener since his rookie twelvemonth successful 2020. After all, the squad inactive had a crippled to play.

"I'm thrilled with the win," Warriors manager Steve Kerr said aft the game. "Ring nighttime is ne'er an casual game, and the archetypal crippled of the play is usually filled with immoderate nerves aboriginal on.

"We're not wherever we request to be, but we took attraction of business."

The Warriors' triumph was fueled by 1 of their signature third-quarter onslaughts, outscoring the Lakers by 13 points that period. The Lakers were held to conscionable six tract goals and were forced into 7 turnovers successful the third, portion the Warriors scored 32 points and saw Curry travel alive.

After struggling aboriginal -- scoring conscionable 4 points successful the archetypal 4th -- Curry scored 29 points connected 9-of-15 successful the last 3 quarters of the game. He finished the nighttime with 33 points, the 2nd astir helium has scored successful a play opener (40 successful 2015).

In summation to Curry's beardown idiosyncratic performance, the Warriors' play opener displayed Golden State's immense depth. Kerr played an 11-man rotation, thing helium said pregame was a possibility.

Kerr said the extent is thing that reminds him of his 2014-15 roster, with a flimsy difference.

"[There were] stretches wherever of that play that [some] played precise constricted minutes oregon didn't play astatine all," Kerr said. "[This year's bench] reminds maine a batch of the endowment level. That squad was veteran, and this squad is young guys, but the endowment is truly obvious."

Curry agreed with Kerr, saying that's wherever the team's motto "Strength successful Numbers" comes from. He admitted it's not ever arsenic casual for players to follow that mindset arsenic they marque it seem. Still, they volition bash what is needed to execute their eventual goal: support their rubric and bent different banner astatine Chase Center.

"After tonight, the travel truly begins successful presumption of everybody's champion shot," Curry said. "You got immoderate truly talented teams that are going to beryllium gunning for you. You person to beryllium acceptable for it all. It's going to beryllium a truly agelong journey, but this is wherefore we play. We're competitive. This is wherefore we enactment arsenic hard arsenic we do. We can't conscionable beryllium determination and look astatine that ring."