The Bay Area felt the championship vibes all the way from Boston late Thursday evening on June 16, 2022 courtesy of the Golden State Warriors.
Watching Stephen Curry shed tears, Klay Thompson overcome his surgically repaired ACL, Andrew Wiggins shed the “bust” label, Jordan Poole emerge and lastly, Draymond Green deliver a strong response to his online criticism was felt all the way in the northern part of the left coast.
And it left one member of the San Francisco 49ers inspired by the Warriors’ run.
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Rookie safety Leon O’Neal, who went undrafted out of Texas A&M, took to Twitter to send out some online motivation to the 49ers after witnessing the ‘Dubs secure the 2022 NBA title over the Boston Celtics.
Our Turn @49ers 🔥🤝🏾
49er Fans Immediately Chime in
Members of the 49ers Faithful began to add in on the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder’s two-word online motivation.
The Twitter account @49er_Edits told O’ Neal “get the Bay back on the map” on the social media site.
“Yes I agree its our turn!” was what @49ers_Throwback posted to the safety.
“Damn right! Let’s GO!!!!” was what a fan with the Twitter name “Mr. Faithful 49er” posted in O’Neal’s mentions.
One other fan has high hopes for O’Neal’s playing chances this fall.
“You going to bring the presence in the secondary!!” The fan shared to the Ex-Aggies star.
O’Neal just wrapped up his first rookie camp and mandatory minicamp with the 49ers. The hard-nosed safety is anticipated to challenge for the spot opposite of longtime veteran and captain Jimmie Ward in the defensive backfield. He delivered 58 tackles, 38 solo stops, two interceptions (both versus Kent State), one fumble recovery and five pass breakups in his final season at College Station.
49ers Legend Reminds Fans That he Called it
O’Neal represents one member of the 2022 49ers roster who reacted to the Warriors’ title with some online motivation on his end.
But one 49ers legend took to the social media website to remind fans that he called it.
On June 1 before Game 1, recently retired running back and the franchise’s all-time leading rusher Frank Gore delivered his NBA Finals prediction:
Sixteen days later, and before 6:35 a.m. pacific time, Gore let it be known that he was right. And was ecstatic to see another trophy in the Bay Area.
“This post aged well‼️ Congrats to the Warriors for taking care of business and once again bringing the NBA Championship back to the Bay!!!” Gore posted.
How the 49ers Fare After the Warriors Win the Title
Do the 49ers have a good run of responding to the Warriors after the ‘Dubs bring back the Larry O’Brien Trophy?
With this title, Golden State has now won its fourth NBA championship since 2015. However, on the 49ers’ end, history hasn’t been kind to the ‘Niners following the Warriors winning a title.
2015: Golden State defeated Cleveland 4-2. The 49ers finished 5-11 in the first and only full regular season of Jim Tomsula as head coach.
2017: The Warriors beat the Cavaliers in five game. The 49ers finished 6-10 in their first season with Kyle Shanahan as head man.
2018: Golden State sweeps Cleveland. The 49ers finish 4-12 overall.
This version of the 49ers, however, is coming off a NFC Championship game run and is entering the season with their own title aspirations. In the meantime, the ‘Niners have sent out their congrats to their basketball neighbors with the rallying cry “Bay Area unite.”
Congratulations to the 2022 NBA Champion @warriors! 🏆
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One 49ers Defender Inspired by Warriors’ Title Run