SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors were hoping their fans would shower Jordan Poole with a warm welcome, and they got their wish.
Poole, who helped the Warriors to the 2022 NBA championship, got a standing ovation as he was individually introduced on Friday night in the Chase Center. A tribute video of his highlights as a Warrior, including him holding the Larry O’Brien trophy, showed on the big screen.
A misty-eyed Poole craned his neck from the visitor’s bench to watch the video, then dapped up his new Wizards teammates. At the end of the handshake line, he danced and motioned to the friendly crowd in the lower bowl.
“It was dope,” Poole said of the tribute video postgame. “It was dope to look back on the four years, everything we accomplished. It was really cool, really special.”
#DubNation, join us in welcoming Jordan Poole back to Warriors Ground pic.twitter.com/vn9vroIdqp
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 23, 2023
Before the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr predicted the fans would give Poole reception befit for his role on the 2022 championship team, and said he was excited for him.
With the way the Warriors organization handled the homecoming, Poole wasn’t the only one emotional at the video.
“It was wonderful,” Kerr said. “The video and the ovation Jordan got, to me, was the highlight of the game. So well deserved for what he did for our organization, and for our fans, players and coaches. Just the work that he put in and obviously becoming a key member of a championship team, Jordan deserved that ovation. It was wonderful to see.”
“It gave me chills watching that tribute video,” Klay Thompson said. “It was great to see the fan reception for Jordan, he deserves it. It was like walking down memory lane.”
Prior to the touching tribute montage, Poole hugged former teammates Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Stephen Curry. They each had seen him grow from a raw, 20-year-old rookie to a 20-point scorer and champion.
Jordan Poole reunites with Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II pic.twitter.com/DwwhEJEz4i
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) December 23, 2023
Earlier in the week, Kerr said “I hate the way it ended” for Poole in Golden State. The Warriors traded him last summer, sending him away from a team that still has Draymond Green, who punched Poole in the face during training camp. Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins were also included in that trade, which brought Chris Paul back to the Warriors.
All that is in the past, and Poole prefers to stay in the present. He said the emotions of returning to the Chase Center didn’t weigh on him much in the lead-up to Friday night’s contest, but the occasion allowed him to both catch up with and compete against some close friends.
In the game, a 129-118 blowout Warriors victory, Poole scored a team-high 25 points, although he shot an inefficient 7-for-21 from the floor. Playing on the ball more than usual, he added three assists and three boards.
“I thought that was really cool, what (Golden State) did and how they did it,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said of the video. “Very well done. And I think he enjoyed it, you could tell it meant a lot to him. All the stuff leading up to this, I think he’s handled it gracefully. To his credit, to come out and perform, it tells me a lot about his mental fortitude.”
After the final buzzer, Poole found Kerr and bear-hugged him. The two had exchanged messages in the days leading up to the game, and shared more words in the moment. Poole embraced a couple more coaches before meeting up with Looney for a jersey swap.
Lot of love for Jordan Poole postgame, plus a jersey swap with Kevon Looney pic.twitter.com/o1Irxl63wA
— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) December 23, 2023
Poole and Looney have been his “right-hand man” since they faced off as high schoolers in the city championship in Milwaukee, he said.
“He’s the person I’m the closest with,” Poole said. “He’s always had my back. I love that guy. I told him as soon as I saw him, I need the jersey. But we talk all the time, we chop it up. That relationship means a lot to me, just because he helped me my entire time here.”
That jersey trade with Looney, that Kerr moment, that thankful message on the jumbotron — Poole will forget his shooting line long before he forgets them.
“It was really special,” Poole said. “Thankful for Dub Nation. Not many people can say they got a ring here. Pretty cool, pretty special. Definitely something I’ll remember.”
