BOUNCE: The Valkyries 1st Season in the Bay

Portland Trail Blazers guard and East Oakland native Damian Lillard recently returned to Oracle Arena to face off against the Golden State Warriors in the same building where he grew up cheering for them.

The Golden State Warriors are rolling, now. Last night they crushed the Portland Trailblazers in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. But, win or lose, the team is leaving for San Francisco next year. In the latest from Bounce, we're looking at how the Golden State Warriors organization is teaming up with local businesses like Oakland's Bakesale Betty to bring some East Bay flavor to the City.

You can say the Warriors relocating to San Francisco is a business move. With courtside suites costing more than $2 million a year in a city with some of the wealthiest folks on the planet, the franchise is poised to make a lot more money. Not to mention the businesses popping up near the Warriors’ new billion-dollar Chase Center. But what about the Oakland establishments near Oracle Arena in East Oakland? What are their prospects after the team leaves? In this episode of Bounce, we're headed down Hegenberger Road to see how businesses are feeling about the Warriors bouncing to San Francisco.

This interview aired in the April 3, 2023 episode of Crosscurrents.

Marcus Thompson writes about basketball for the national outlet The Athletic. In recent years he wrote biographies of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. But before all that, Marcus grew up a Warriors’ fan in Oakland’s Sobrante Park.