The Whisper

The rivalry between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors dates back a few years. Although there's been just one meaningfully competitive playoff series between the Clippers and Warriors in the last decade, the resentment between the two teams runs deep.

Before getting into my first timeout coordinator experience, it's imminent that I give some background on the Warriors and Clippers' unique relationship.

Nov. 3, 2012, the Warriors beat the Clippers at Staples Center. In a narrow four-point victory, the Warriors unknowingly embarked on a battle to determine who'd be crowned the most dominant team in California. As if there wasn't enough distain between the Bay Area and LA, this rivalry only added fuel to the fire. Chris Paul, starting Clippers' PG at the time, recalls the Warriors celebration not quite matching up with what they'd accomplished, "The first time [the Warriors] beat us here, you would have thought they won the NBA Finals," Paul said.

Nearly a year later on Halloween 2013, the Clippers cruised to a 126-115 win over the Warriors at Staples Center. During the postgame presser, Paul was again not one to mince words, saying "Both teams don't really like each other. It is what it is."

Not even six months went by without another altercation -- this time, spilling off the court. Blake Griffin, former Clippers forward, was taking pictures with fans after their 13-point win over the Warriors when Jermaine O'Neal decided he wanted to address a misunderstanding that took place during the game. The two had been extremely physical with one another throughout the game. When Griffin told O'Neal to, "Leave that on the court," O'Neal responded saying, "Man, I'm a monster off the court."

Eight years later and a playoff series win apiece, the "rivalry" is much less heated. The Warriors went on to win three NBA titles, set the NBA record winning 73 games in one season and ultimately being seen as a dynasty during the time.

The Clippers on the other hand, have yet to make an appearance in the Conference Finals and are coming off a disappointing meltdown in the second round, after blowing a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets.

I had an entire game to soak up game from Anna, the longtime timeout coordinator for the Warriors. Prior to the tip of the second Clippers vs. Warriors matchup, Anna asked if I felt prepared enough to step in for her during the second half. As nervous as I was, I knew there was no way I could turn down that chance.

Oracle Arena was a staple in my life growing up. Some of my best childhood memories came from We Believe Warriors games. To now be in a position to park under the arena with the Warriors players and sit at the scorer's table -- all during a pandemic, it was surreal to say the least.

My role was to communicate with the ESPN truck about what was happening on the court before their feeds were able to pick it up. For a huge hoop fan like myself, something like like that came like second nature. Once I got into the flow of the game, it felt like I had done it before.

Down the stretch as things started to get tense, Steve Kerr and Ty Lue got into a chest match. Kerr sent Steph to the table to check in for his final chunk of minutes. Ty looked to his right, saw Steph at the table, and summon Kawhi to the table. In the moment, I was ultra aware that they were both sitting at the table, just an arm's length in front of me. Steph leaned over in a secretive fashion to whisper something to Kawhi.

All I could think in the back of my head was, "I really hope someone gets a cool picture of this."

And of course it happened. By the end of the game, my phone was blown up with texts, calls, FaceTimes, tweets, Instagram DMs -- everything! It was a great way to bring in my friend TOC experience. The Clippers ended up getting the win, but you would have thought I had won the Finals that night.

Driving home that night, I was purely overwhelmed. It meant the world that I could come home to my parents, who were even more excited than I was. That was the moment that I realized I truly was living my dream at the age of 24.