No matter what happens in Thursday’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals, it will mark the end of an era for the Warriors as the last game at Oracle Arena.
Every part of the Warriors’ pregame routine was their last time in Oakland — last drive to Oracle, last shootaround at Oracle, last Steph Curry tunnel shot at Oracle.
But don’t think for a second that the Raptors were going to give way to Curry’s tradition just because an arena in closing. Not a chance. Because as we know, NBA pettiness is the best pettiness.
For all three games in Oakland, the Raptors (as the road team is entitled to do) have chosen to hold their pregame warmups on the basket that Curry normally uses for his pregame tunnel shot. This has forced Curry to adjust and throw the ball the distance of the court. Game 6 was no different.
Curry’s last tunnel shot at Oracle Arena looked like this ….
Not even close.
Sure, there’s nothing technically wrong with the Raptors choosing that basket and doing what they can to throw off Curry’s routine. He’s just been taking that shot his entire career at Oracle.
It felt wrong to end it like that.
