Opening night of the previous campaign was ring night for the NBA champion Warriors. On October 24, they will formally kick off the new season by welcoming Kevin Durant back to The Bay.
The NBA made the whole schedule available. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. visited “Steiny and Guru” on Thursday to share his initial thoughts. Before the start of the season, according to Dunleavy, the club will commemorate KD.
Dunleavy said to Daryle “The Guru” Johnson and Allen Stiles (standing in for Matt Steinmetz), “I think the combo of him returning and us opening against a formidable opponent should make the building pretty electric.” We must find a suitable manner to pay tribute to Kevin. Since leaving, he hasn’t actually performed at Chase Center. Although it has been a while, you always need to find a way to recognize outstanding players who have provided so much for the team when they return. We’ll handle that properly.
Durant will play his first game at Chase Center in front of spectators if he is healthy for the start of the regular season. KD played in San Francisco in 2021 in front of a vacant venue before being unable to travel with the Nets in 2022 and the Suns in 2023. Prior to the 2021 game, the Warriors created a tribute film for Durant, but it won’t be the same with spectators present this time.
Prior to suffering an Achilles injury in the 2019 Finals showdown against the Toronto Raptors, Durant played with the Dubs from 2017 to 2019. During that time, he won two rings and made three Finals appearances.
During the course of his championship runs with the Warriors in 2018, Durant actually took a tour of Chase Center while it was still under construction.
Chris Paul will also face off against former Phoenix teammates on opening night because CP3 spent the previous three seasons with the Suns before being moved in the Bradley Beal transaction. Damion Lee, Steph Curry’s brother-in-law and a former Warrior, is a welcome sight at Chase Center.