© David Richard | 2018 Jun 8
Just moments after winning his second NBA title in as many seasons, Warriors forward David West made surprising comments about Golden State’s 2017-18 campaign that would go on to be discussed for the months following.
“We’re so tight, people don’t even know what we went through,” West said then. “They trying to find out. …Y’all got no clue. No clue. That tells you about this team that nothing came out.”
Now six months after the fact, we finally have a clue.
The Warriors dealt with a team-wide meningitis scare during March of last season, according to reporting by Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Via Amick:
“An outside vendor who handled the team’s food on a daily basis contracted a contagious form of the disease, then survived a life-threatening challenge before eventually returning to work with the team.”
Though nobody on the team contracted the illness, the scare was enough for both players and personnel to get emergency vaccinations, and for a practice to be moved to Oracle Arena while the team facility was vacated for cleaning. Doctors were also brought in to address the team.
The concern hit a fever pitch during March 11 through 14, which also coincided with the beginning of a dreadful stretch to close the season that saw the team lose seven of their final 10 games.
“Of course in the beginning, everyone was freaked out,” Zaza Pachulia told Amick. “But after hearing from professionals, (when) doctors talked to us and the team did all the necessary (things), they responded really well, and right away.”
The Warriors would go on to win the title of course, but West said the entire team was impacted mentally.
“It was the entire team (who was affected). It was crazy,” West said. “It was the heart of the season. It was something that, again, it showed the strength of the organization (that they got through it to win the title).”
Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.