Durant star of new Warriors video.
OAKLAND » The Warriors previewed the official commemorative film of their NBA championship season Wednesday night at the Grand Lake Theater, and needless to say, there was no problem filling its 70-minute running time with highlights.
Simply entitled “Champions 2017,” fans in attendance cheered through many of the memorable moments from the Warriors’ historic run, but if there was a predominant theme beyond the all- encompassing significance of Kevin Durant’s addition to an already potent team, it’s that the quest wasn’t nearly the cruise the team’s 83-16 overall record would appear to indicate.
In fact, much attention is paid in the film to some of the team’s most trying moments — the season- opening home drubbing by San Antonio, the Christmas Day loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the late February knee injury to Durant and the health malady that knocked out coach Steve Kerr
for a significant stretch of the playoffs.
The tone really made it feel as if the season could have taken a sour turn at any one of those junctures. For instance, in an interview clip reflecting on the night of Durant’s injury in Washington, D.C., general manager Bob Myers offers a sobering remembrance.
“I went up to my wife and said, ‘ There it goes,’ “Myers says.
Such moments made for some decent drama, except for one not-so-small caveat — everyone knew how the six-month saga ended.
So no one choked on their popcorn or candy the team provided to those who turned out to watch.
There was plenty of booing whenever LeBron James appeared on screen, which was often, and most notably during the “Cleveland, this is for you” celebration after the Cavaliers won Game 7 at Oracle Arena the previous season.
That was a set- up, though, to a subsequent scene in which star guard Stephen Curry mutters, “We need to avenge ourselves.” The duration of the film then sets about telling just how they did it.
Narrated by former NFL receiver turned broadcaster Ahmad Rashad and scheduled for DVD release Thursday, the film is pretty standard fare as championship films go. There are some nice touches, however. For starters, the film is dedicated to the late beloved Warriors center Nate Thurmond, who died less than a month after Golden State lost the 2016 NBA Finals.
There are some wonderful clips that come back to life on film, such as Curry dumping a bucket of ice over the head of Klay Thompson during an interview after his 60-point game, and Curry breaking
down James during Game 2 of the Finals, neatly edited with film of radio broadcaster Tim Roye actually calling the play as it happened.
“What a move by Curry!” Roye shouts with gleeful ecstasy.
Durant and Curry get most of the screen time in the highlights, but there is also a nice segment featuring the three-headed center rotation of Zaza Pachulia, David West and JaVale McGee, and most of the key support players get at least a snippet of time on camera
here’s also a revealing interlude with interim head coach Mike Brown talking about stepping in for Kerr. He is captured on film saying, “I’m glad it didn’t happen at the beginning of the year because I didn’t have the right feel or vibe.”
There are a few fairly unforgivable omissions, however. It’s duly noted that the Warriors rallied from 25 points down to beat San Antonio in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, but there is no mention whatsoever of the injury to Spurs star Kawhi Leonard that helped facilitate the comeback, and the whole controversy involving Pachulia regarding Leonard’s injury is com- pletely ignored.
The film also concludes with forward Draymond Green accepting his award for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but there are far too few highlights of Green demonstrating how he won that award, and there were so many.
His game- ending backto- back block sequence against Atlanta was one of the high points of the season, but it was overlooked in the movie.
Fortunately, no big moment by Durant — particularly in the Finals — was missed. The film really drives home the point of how impactful he was to the Warriors’ ultimate success, and in a lot of ways, it’s really his film as much as it is the team’s. To wit, James is asked after Game 1 of the Finals about the one thought that stood out most to him. “K.D.,” James says. In one terrific clip, Durant is walking out of the arena after the title had been won. Clutching his MVP trophy, he says while walking past a camera, “This feels like a dream, only I’m wide awake.”
The film continues, but it would have been appropriate to end it right there.