OAKLAND, Calif. _ The news that Warriors great Nate Thurmond died Saturday hit A's manager Bob Melvin hard.
Melvin spent a lot of time in the Warriors clubhouse as a kid, and he developed a personal relationship with the man they called "Nate the Great."
"I was lucky enough to know him," Melvin said. "My godfather was a trainer for the Warriors, and I used to set at his locker and read his mail to him.
"What a great, great man and what a great player. He'll be missed, sorely missed, here in the Bay Area.
Melvin said he'd see Thurmond from time to time at Warriors games and called the longtime center "one of the great athletes in Bay Area history."
"Thoughts and prayers go out to his family," Melvin said. "That's a tough one."
