Toughest obstacle on the road? No team dinners
The Warriors’ game in New Orleans on Tuesday night marked the end of perhaps the strangest regularseason road slate in franchise history.
Forced to traverse the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, Golden State players and staff spent inordinate amounts of time isolated in their hotel rooms. This presented challenges for an overhauled roster: How could newcomers get to know their teammates outside of team flights, practices and games? Unable to socialize much, how could players and coaches keep the loneliness at bay?
Asked pregame Tuesday to name his biggest road obstacle this season, head coach Steve Kerr said, “Mainly just not being able to go out to dinner very often. We have been able to do that of late as more and more cities begin to relax the codes, but being on the road, one of the best things about it is going out to dinner with friends, or maybe a team meal or staff meal.”
Eating out might not sound like serious business, but the Warriors view it as a fundamental part of their organizational culture. One of Kerr’s closest friends and mentors is San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich, who has been known to spend millions of dollars a year on team dinners — not just because he enjoys expensive wines and meals, but because he considers group gatherings key to chemistrybuilding.
Kerr shares that philosophy. Over his first six seasons with the Warriors, he tried to set up multiple team dinners per trip. This offered players and staffers an opportunity to get to know each other better as people, which could translate to trust and camaraderie on the court.
Numerous Warriors players in recent years have pinpointed Kerr’s relaxed, hourslong meals at nice restaurants in various cities as an example of how Golden State’s culture differs from other teams.
But for much of this season, league protocols prevented teams from congregating for meals. Players often ate dinners on the road alone in their hotel rooms.
After a dozen or so of the Warriors’ players and coaches got the oneshot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in late March, those team members were free to have friends, family and others visit at home and on the road without having them test or register with the team. Fully vaccinated players and coaches also could begin dining outdoors at restaurants.
However, a good number of players chose not to get vaccinated — even though that meant maintaining a relatively isolated existence.
“It’s definitely lonely,” said Kerr, who was among those who got vaccinated. “You were used to having a lot of team meals and family members at those meals, and big, festive occasions. Now, you’re in your room a lot by yourself. It’s like everybody on Earth. We’ve had to adjust.”
Curry honored: To the surprise of no one, Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for April.
In 15 games, Curry made 96 3pointers to shatter James Harden’s previous record of 82 for the most for a month in league history. Curry, 33, averaged 37.3 points on 51.8% shooting (46.6% from 3point range), 6.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists to become the first player in NBA history to average 35 points and shoot 504090 for a month.