Who knew that Justin Dutari’s subject line of “Please read” would actually work? So, I’m giving it a try.
Icymi, Dutari, a Warriors fan from Panama, sent Joe Lacob this email and got a reply within two minutes 😂 (credit the investigative journalism to Alex Simon of SFGATE):
Anyways, I love how Moses Moody answered a question from Nick Friedell of ESPN at Warriors practice, two days before the Phoenix game, on how the squad is feeling day-to-day, going through all the ups and downs:
Good, through and through. A lot of highs and lows. (We have) a lot of professionals on the team, so it’s not dealing with the childish emotions or any of that. It’s more so grown men trying to figure something out. And that’s from the coaching staff to the last player on the bench. It’s not as much emotions of, “Oh, you said this, you said that,” rather than a group of men trying to figure something out and that’s cool to see.
I want to make it abundantly clear: our small little LetsGoWarriors YouTube livestream community, we are seeking more “grown men” (and women, of course) to join our in-game observations and cheering of your Dubs.
Please come join us!
I’m proud to say that we do have several “blue wrench” live chat moderators who are women, and obviously all the commentary is on the up and up. Whenever we encounter someone thumb-typing childish emotions, the blue wrenchers delete those Comments within seconds.
I’ve always embraced the behind-the-scenes nature of our franchise and, by extension, our YouTube channel. Moody’s view of grown men, straight from the locker room, is right up our alley.
Heck, it’s even better than how the brass at the LA Clippers are handling things, right? Check out the article about Chris Paul being sent home by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Sure glad that would never happen here with the Bay’s team. “Stable environment” is how Steve Kerr put it, on the podium after practice (transcript below). Note: he did not reference the Clippers, obviously.
Why wouldn’t DubNation want to experience your own team as if you were the 19th player? That’s 15 NBA roster spots and the 3 two-ways, by the way. So, yeah, let’s embody the Warriors as if we were the 19th player on the bench. Let’s listen closely to how Moses conducts himself.
That’s why I used to film everything that I was allowed to, back when I went to every practice, every shootaround, every pregame, every game, every postgame, every single media availability possible.
Yes, I was told to limit the basketball footage to no more than two minutes each, just in case someone blurted out something not meant for the masses and I didn’t catch it in my edit. So I uploaded two minutes of every session I could attend and nearly every pregame routine was captured.
I think I can reveal this now, but I remember the time we were at some Catholic high school on the outskirts of Miami for practice. They were tossing around the football in that little gym. I thought that was a fun moment, so I started recording them throwing that pigskin back and forth.
Oops! One problem: Damion Lee was getting back from a broken wrist and he had just thrown the football down from the bleachers where he was sitting. He didn’t want any trouble, obviously, so he told me to stop filming. That footage never saw the light of day. And yet I felt like one of the guys.
Like, a Warriors player trusted me not to post that. And I, in turn, vowed (to myself) never to throw him under the bus because — well, you know, it’s the human side of things.
This is what we do when we are a part of something, even if it’s as simple as a group of people attending a practice in a remote part of some road trip. We are comrades for a mere hour. But we are comrades.
Imagine my attendance at every media availability possible. You start to know what it’s like to be part of the Golden State Warriors. The coaches and players start to see you all the time. You learn by osmosis, if nothing else.
When you get high-fived by an assistant coach before Game 7 in Houston, when one Wardell Stephen Curry slaps your butt in the tunnel after a comeback win in Portland, when Ron Adams comes up to you as if he’s known you for years, the human side of things start to outweigh wins and losses.
The game of basketball starts to feel like life.
When we doomscroll, we completely lose the human side of basketball. I’m here to bring that back.
I used to arrive at every arena three hours before tipoff because I thought that if I filmed two minutes of Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and Chris Chiozza in their pregame group routine, more fans would appreciate the access, feel like they are part of the team, and maybe sense some responsibility before they thought about teeing off on so-and-so in the comments or replies of whatever app they were on.
One time, I filmed JaVale McGee playing 3-on-3. He had a block, his opponent called a foul, and McGee immediately marched towards me for the replay. We all watched the film. It proved he got the block, not a foul.
And so tons of diehard Warriors fans got to see how cool and funny JaVale was, not to mention a good baller. Maybe they would just skip that temptation to jump on the “Shaqtin’ A Fool” bullyism bandwagon that was rampant in those days, just maybe that one time after they saw my video.
Maybe some bts footage would be just enough for them to resist complaining about what Chiozza did in a spot reserve role that night, filling in for an injured role player. Maybe the fan would see that he puts in the work, just like our hero, Steph.
And so on our YouTube channel, we make it a point not to throw anybody under the bus, or as I’ve recently put it:
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Try not make someone feel bad about themselves in the Comments, obviously, which sometimes I even have to stop myself from doing, especially if an angry fan hops on and immediately starts ripping one of the Warriors. Tbh, my first instinct usually is to yell at him back — I have to practice what I preach and it’s hard — but I’ve learned how to just have more compassion, even if it is with some Internet rando. We can help him dial it back, little by little, follow-up question by follow-up question, the Socratic method. Just remember to still root for your team, but also…
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Go to the next level and try not to make someone feel bad about the players and team we are supposed to root for. This is the other part of the disease of modern society. It’s like they’re saying, “Let me tell you why it’s cool to be angry at ___ (fill in Warriors player or staff member here).” They are declaring what they say as fact and they are lobbying you to join them, as if it were confirmation of said “fact”. Sure, not every critical person is like this, but especially after losses, we the audience are very vulnerable to this persuasion. And the persuasion is heavy and everywhere! But some of us actually don’t want that negative energy and are seeking silver linings. We are seeking rays of hope. We are few and far between, though.
I have literally wondered how Curry maintains joy through the thick and thin.
💡 I want what he has! 👈
Through my own personal journey, which included walking away from being a credentialed media member after fifteen years of service, I think I’ve learned what Steph’s secret sauce is and, no, being a Christian is not a prerequisite. I am living proof that you can reprogram how you view life and the greater good and see the beauty in all things.
Don’t you want that?
Did you see 30’s demeanor even after he scored 48 in a loss? Can we have discussions like that? Can we learn from the way Steph might disagree with what a reporter asks him, what words he carefully chooses, with the utmost respect to all parties involved?
[Full transcript of these Q&As on deck.]
If you feel trapped by the negative energy of all this Warriors talk and the world we live in, hop on our live chats! Can’t wait to have erudite discussions with you about the team we fell in love with, real-time, even as shit is happening.
It’s good practice to do this across all walks of life, not just with specific banter about your squad. Trust me, it works. Good things start to happen.
Guys like Gibou “EyeG” Njie, JK’s best friend, would not have granted me an interview during the Love Your Dubs Summit if I did not embody the energy of gratitude and compassion.
By the way, EyeG posted a picture from Stanford University on his Instagram the other day and JK followed up with one, too, training with Jimmy Butler at what looks like Jimmy’s home gym in Poway, CA (I could be wrong about that):
These were posted on our Discord server, as well.
This is a friendly reminder that our Discord server is free to join and shuts out all the outraged replies, which lead to misinformation and heavy bias, that Twitter/X has when you get your Warriors news fix.
Our Discord also features a searchable database of all the news, even across the NBA. VIP members get access to real-time feeds and the ability to filter on videos from reporters who are on the scene each night at various NBA arenas — just like what I used to do when I was credentialed at Chase Center as well as on road trips.
Join for free and get a taste of it: https://whop.com/letsgowarriors-discord-free
My ultimate goal is to post shorter articles on this Substack than in the past, so thank you for allowing me to canvas the readership for “grown men” this one time and I’ll drop the entire transcript from practice behind the paywall down below, which will lift and be open to the public by at the latest when the transcripts are posted after the Phoenix game, 48+ hours from now.
Next up: a detailed rundown of the state of the Warriors, according to what was said recently by Steve, Mo and even Brandin Podziemski, who also went on the podium after practice.
🫶💙💛