NBA teams have feared playing at Oracle Arena during the past few seasons. Not only is the home of the hottest-selling ticket in the league, but also one of the loudest and most frenzied crowds out there.
Yet one thing remains unchanged whether the Golden State Warriors play at home or on the road, the Stephen Curry factor can break open any game at any time, silencing road arenas or making the bowels Oracle explode with sheer excitement from the fans after Curry gets on a roll.
“There’s a different feel in the arena,” head coach Steve Kerr told ESPN's Baxter Holmes. “Similar to Michael [Jordan], there is just this awe factor from opposing crowds, and every crowd is sprinkled with Steph jerseys no matter where we are, and there’s a palpable excitement when he gets going. In Oracle, it’s the tidal wave. And on the road it’s like, ‘Oh, my god, I can’t believe what I’m watching.'”
Possessing a rather unique mix of charisma and an assassin-like ability to bring a crowd to its feet, Curry's palpable shot-making and daring circus antics have made him an NBA darling, not only among fans, but among his teammates, who draw from his unbridled joy.
“I know a lot of people — I’m not gonna name names — in the NBA,” said his backcourt mate Klay Thompson. “They love what they do, but sometimes they don’t enjoy going to work every day. I can say here, everyone enjoys coming into the gym.”
Draymond Green nodded to this take, saying “it doesn’t feel like a job” for the Warriors, giving a bit of insight into what has made this roster so special over the last few years.
“I think that’s why it’s been so hard to beat this team,” Green continued. “You look at so many teams that may try to match things up with personnel or putting ‘All-Stars’ together [or] ‘superteams’ together. But you miss certain elements of it that really makes it all go.”
The Curry factor extends beyond the TV set, the frontcourt seat, or the sports bar in which the Warriors take center stage, sharing the joy that comes with the game, one that for most gets forgotten between the huge contracts, the pressure, and the task at hand, omitting that it is a game above all and after all.