The Golden State Warriors (GSW) have been the darlings of the NBA for the past 3 years winning 2 of the last 3 NBA titles.
Their style of play from raining 3’s to powering down the paint has excited fans and earned them the respect as one of the most explosive teams in the league.  Though what many warriors’ fans don’t know is that Oakland has housed another championship warriors team for the past 100 years.

This original Oakland Warriors team is located in Oakland less than 10 miles away from the Oracle Arena, and is referred to as the MACK HOUSE, “The School of Champions”, or formally McClymonds High School Warriors. Fresh off having won the Division 5-AA State Football Championship, for the second year in a row, the Mack House added another trophy to their extensive collection. They’ve been the heart of West Oakland since it opened in 1915 and had students such as Joe Ellis (the original Mack Warrior who also played a Golden State Warriors), Frank Robinson, James Hines and Bill Russell the “King of the Rings”.

Surely the NBA team whose home still resides in Oakland, for now, has altered the balance of power in the league. The Golden State Warriors made NBA history in 2015 with the best team record at 73-9 largely spurred by the splash brothers (Steph Curry & Klay Thompson). In 2016 teammate Draymond Green won defensive player of the year, and former NBA MVP, Kevin Durant, who helped the team capture their 2nd crown in 3 years.

Currently in first place the Warriors are likely to have a run back to the NBA title game for a fourth straight year making themselves one of only 3 other teams in the history of the NBA that have made it to 4 or more finals in a row, The Miami Heat (4), The LA Lakers (4) and The Boston Celtics (8).

The Boston Celtics team which made it to 8 straight championships was led by a McClymonds Warriors alum Bill Russell who won 11 NBA titles and still holds that record crowning himself as the “King of the Rings”. After McClymonds, he went on to become the first NBA African-American Coach and coach and was a player/coach for four of his elevon years with the Celtics.

Some other great McClymonds legends includes Frank Robinson, the first African-American MLB Manager, Lionel Wilson the first African-American Mayor of Oakland, Bill Russell, and even rising star Marcus Peters.

Mack is seen as a diamond in the rough school as it is well known that there are many pressures and distractions inside and outside of the walls of 2607 Myrtle Street. Though the pressures of Oakland’s inner city are what makes these diamonds, many often go undiscovered. Though time and time again, history has shown that they make it out, and sometimes all it takes for these uncovered diamonds to shine is to dig and keep digging with the help of faculty, after school programs and the students themselves to recognize and be reminded that they go to a school of champions.

It’s seems being a Warrior creates winning ways.

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