Warriors in 2021 a long way from Chris Webber, Don Nelson and Charles Barkley
SAN FRANCISCO >> Every 27 years or so I get reacquainted with covering the Warriors.
So here I am at Chase Center, a long way from the Coliseum Arena, and my first assignment covering the Warriors since May 3, 1994.
The Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder, which I believe back in the day were called the Seattle SuperSonics.
I’ve attended and watched the Warriors for years, but the last time I actually covered a game was because of a medical emergency that struck our beat writer with the Hayward Daily Review. It was Game 3 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Warriors, 5032 in the regular season, were already down 2-0 in a best-of-5 series to the Suns, who were 56-26.
Stephen Curry was 6 years old. His father Dell was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year for the Charlotte Hornets. The NBA was in its first year without Michael Jordan, who retired abruptly after the death of his father to play baseball. The Houston Rockets would eventually win the NBA title behind Hakeem Olajuwon.
But this game was all about Charles Barkley, Chris Webber and Don Nelson. It marked a day the Warriors faded into an abyss from which they would not return to the playoffs until 2006,
Barkley had the game of his life. Scored 38 points in the first half and finished with 56, the most he would ever score in a game whether it be regular-season
or postseason. The Suns won 140-133 before a crowd of 15,025.
Nelson at some point made the decision that Barkley didn’t need to be double-teamed, given the Suns’ other weapons that included Dan Majerle and Kevin Johnson.
And, oh, did Barkley make them pay. He hit 23 of 31 shots, three of four from 3-point land and had 14 rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes. Beat writers sat courtside in those days, and it was a treat to watch Barkley go off and taunt and talk trash to the Warriors throughout.
“They kind of forced the issue by not doubling me,” Barkley said. “I hope it’s not the last time I see single coverage. I kind of like it. It was a good workout.”
Webber was just 20 years old out of Michigan. He was the No. 1 pick of the Orlando Magic, but dealt immediately to the Warriors in exchange for Anfernee Hardaway, Webber was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, averaging 17.5 points per game
and playing out of position most of the team as a 6-foot-9 center. And Barkley left him spellbound.
“He was just incredible,” Webber said afterward. “He was taking bad shots and they were going in. He was taking double fadeaway shots and step-back 3-pointers. When he’s like that, you can triple-team him and it doesn’t mean anything.”
The future appeared bright for the Warriors. Chris Mullin had 30 points that night, Latrell Sprewell 27 and Tim Hardaway was due to come back in 1994-95 after being out with a knee injury.
The day after the Suns loss, Nelson met with beat writers at the Hyatt in Oakland. Nelson thought Webber could be a little tougher inside, but marveled at his all-around game. Said he was a better passer in particular than he had envisioned.
Webber, however, had other ideas. Nelson was famous for his verbal tongue-lashings of players, rookies in particular.
Webber didn’t like it. Nor did he like playing center. He exercised an option in his contract and essentially forced a trade out of town. He was dealt to the Washington Bullets in exchange for Tom Gugliotta and three first-round draft picks. (They turned out to be Todd Fuller, Antawn Jamison, and a pick traded for Larry Hughes.) Gugliotta played just 40 games for the Warriors, averaging 10.9 points per game, when he was dealt in-season to Minnesota in exchange for Donyell Marshall.
The Webber-Nelson clash wrecked the franchise. Webber’s career took off in Washington. The Warriors the following season were 26-56. Nelson resigned when the Warriors were 14-31 and was replaced by Bob Lanier.
It would be 12 years before the Warriors went to the playoffs again. Amazingly enough, it was under Nelson, who returned 2006-2007 and took the Warriors (42-40) to the Western Conference semifinals. There was even a reunion with Webber, who returned in 2007-08 with bad knees and played all of nine games after signing in January. At that point, Webber was 34 and he retired after the season.
Nelson even started Webber his first game back, where he got a warm ovation from the Coliseum crowd. Played him five minutes then took him out.
“He’s old,” Nelson said afterward. “He should stay warm.”
Six games into a season in which they are 5-1, I’m not expecting the kind of impact my last game had on the franchise.
But we won’t know for sure for another 27 years.