Kerr, Curry reflect on Vancouver Grizzlies
“It was a real loss for the league when they decided to leave . ... It was a cool vibe there.” Steve Kerr, on the Vancouver Grizzlies
In 1999, on an off day with the Spurs in Vancouver, British Columbia, Steve Kerr convinced a half dozen teammates to join him on a seaplane. “I didn’t tell (head coach
Gregg Popovich) we were doing it,” Kerr said with a chuckle after Warriors practice Friday.
It is his fondest memory from what was once one of his favorite NBA cities. Now, 15 years after the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Kerr is bringing his Golden State team to Vancouver for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Toronto Raptors.
The game is part of the Raptors’ efforts to grow their brand throughout Canada. They routed the Clippers at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena in a preseason game last October, and they are fresh off their third straight training camp in the Vancouver area.
No current Warriors players have played in Vancouver. However, Stephen Curry grew familiar with the Vancouver Grizzlies when his father,
Dell, was with the Raptors the last three years the Grizzlies were in Canada.
“My dad was in Toronto, and that was kind of a cool vibe when (Vancouver) came through the Air Canada Centre,” said Curry, who was 13 when the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis. “That kind of took on a life of its own. I know it’s such a great city, and I’m sure they embraced the team as long as they had them.” Four weeks ago, tickets to
Kevin Durant’s Golden State debut went on sale and sold out in minutes. Many Vancouverarea NBA fans took to Twitter, touting the quick sellout as proof that the city deserves another team.
“They loved basketball, similar to Toronto fans,” said Kerr, whose teams went 5-0 in games that he played in Vancouver (Spurs 3-0, Bulls 2-0). “It was a real loss for the league when they decided to leave, and that’s nothing against Memphis. It was a cool vibe there.”
Movie screening: The Warriors celebrated Durant’s 28th birthday Thursday night with a team screening of “The Birth of a Nation.”
The movie, scheduled to open Oct. 7 in more than 1,500 theaters, tells the story of the slave revolt Nat Turner led in Virginia in 1831. Nate Parker, who directed and starred in the film, spoke to the team for about an hour at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland about his motivations for making “The Birth of a Nation.”
Several Golden State players later took to social media to laud the movie, which is considered an Oscar contender.
Guard Ian Clark posted a picture to Instagram with Parker, along with a caption that read in part: “What a powerful movie. Got a chance to hear Nate speak and share the reason of what inspired him to make the movie and the history. Must see!” Curry and center
JaVale McGee commented on the post, calling the film “powerful.”
Durant posted a lengthy message to Twitter in which he praised the movie’s “deeper message about the systematic struggles we all go through today” and wrote, “Change needs to happen. Let’s keep it going, are you doing your part?” He also singled out Parker, writing: “I’m grateful to have met a man that is actually out here making a difference instead of just talking about it.”