Warriors, Lakers fans relish rare playoff meeting — and possible final
Steph-LeBron showdown
NBA playoffs: Steph Curry and LeBron James are the main attractions for
fans during the Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers series
>Golden State Warriors fan Deepika Birdal, left, and her husband Chirag
Patel, a Los Angeles Lakers fan, of Walnut Creek, root for their teams
during the third quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals
at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By CURTIS PASHELKA | cpashelka@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 4, 2023 at 3:42 p.m. | UPDATED: May 4, 2023 at 7:32 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/05/04/warriors-lakers-fans-relish-rare-playoff-meeting-and-possible-final-steph-lebron-showdown/

SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors vs. Lakers, NorCal vs. SoCal, Steph Curry vs.
LeBron James.

For California fans, the tantalizing playoff matchup between the Golden
State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers was a long time coming,
representing what will perhaps be one final chance to see Steph Curry
and LeBron James face each other in a postseason series at or near the
peak of their powers.

“I’m born and raised here. Diehard Laker fan, a Kobe tattoo,” said
Shannon Reed, an Antioch native, at Chase Center before Game 1 on
Tuesday. “But to be able to see the clash of the titans in our
generation is what I’m most excited for.”

It’s also a rare opportunity to have some bragging rights over friends,
family members, and even spouses who might wear purple instead of blue,
as the two teams compete in their first playoff series against each
other in 32 years.

“Admittedly, there’s some tension in the house, to say the very least,”
said Warriors fan Matt O’Reilly, who went to Tuesday’s game with
roommate Sam Thompson, who wore a gold No. 6 Lakers jersey.

East Palo Alto’s Monique Collins, who went to the game with friend and
Warriors fan Andre Evans, said, “I’m so excited. When the Lakers come to
town, I’m always going to be excited. I’m from the Bay and I’m a Laker
fan for life.”

>Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) puts up a shot against
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (6) in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of
the Western Conference semifinals at Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

At least a couple thousand Lakers fans attended Game 1 – several
alongside Warriors fans — and saw their team earn a 117-112 win. Just as
many fans in purple and gold are expected to attend Thursday night’s Game 2.

“So many rivalries on different levels,” said Lakers fan Chirag Patel,
who attended the game with his wife Deepika Bindal, a Warriors fan.
“NorCal, SoCal, LeBron, Steph Curry, you’ve got a bunch of different
things going on.”

The Walnut Creek couple bought tickets quickly after the series was set.

“I said this is only going to happen once,” said Patel, a Santa Barbara
native, “and this may be the last time we get to see Curry and LeBron.”

The last time these two teams faced each other in a playoff series was
in the 1991 Western Conference semifinals when Magic Johnson and James
Worthy beat coach Don Nelson’s Run TMC Warriors four games to one.

Johnson and Chris Mullin had an epic duel in Game 2, with Mullin scoring
41 to lead Golden State to a 125-124 win, splitting the first two games
at the Forum. Johnson had 44 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists.

The Lakers went on to win the final three games of that series,
including two in Oakland, to advance to the conference finals and later
the NBA Finals, where they lost Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

Since then, any rivalry between the two teams has cooled off, as the
Warriors and Lakers were rarely both good enough to be in the playoffs
at the same time.

“I think the last time they matched up in the playoffs was (1991),”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said this week. “I don’t think that’s a rivalry.”

>Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) takes a shot against Los
Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (6) in the second half of Game 1 of the NBA
basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Now the, ahem, series has been renewed, largely because of the Lakers’
ascension with James. The four-time Most Valuable Player signed with Los
Angeles in 2018 and led the team to a title in 2020.

“The early days with Kobe (Bryant) is a different story,” said Lakers
fan and Sherman Oaks native Jorge Morales. “(The Warriors were) still a
young team and Kobe was on his way out, so that rivalry didn’t really
spark there. But now with LeBron having his past with the Warriors, I
think it’s here.”

James, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was the Warriors’ foil in four
straight NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018, breaking up Golden State’s
run of four straight championships with his own title in 2016. James has
four NBA titles, as does Curry.

O’Reilly and Thompson watched the team warm up before Game 1.

“One side was LeBron and one side was Steph,” Thompson said. “If you
could just bottle that up, we could leave. That’s worth it right there.”

The Warriors-Lakers series doesn’t appear to have the type of animosity
— or hatred — as other NorCal-SoCal sporting matchups like the
Giants-Dodgers, although that might change if Draymond Green riles up
the crowd in Los Angeles as he did in Sacramento, Memphis, and Boston.

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For now, it’s about respect. Fans simply want to see a great series (and
also earn some bragging rights).

“I’m going to be realistic,” said Antioch’s Tiffany Gray, who was at the
game with Reed, the Bay Area native Lakers fan. “(The Lakers) are a
great team and I would never minimize their talent, but Dubs in seven.”

“After a while, we really don’t care who wins, because we get a chance
to hang out,” said Lakers fan Antonio Curiel, who was there with
daughter Charlize and longtime friend Spencer Cowenhoven, a Warriors fan
from Union City. “That’s the biggest part.”

--
Curtis Pashelka | San Jose Sharks reporter
Curtis Pashelka is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter covering the
San Jose Sharks for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. He has also
worked as a general assignment reporter covering the Oakland Athletics,
San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, motorsports, golf, college
basketball and high school sports. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, he
moved to the Bay Area in 1994 and began working full-time for Bay Area
News Group in 2000. Curtis attended Diablo Valley College and San
Francisco State University.