Courtesy of the Golden State Warriors
Warriors beat writer Danny Emerman shares his thoughts on the NBA offseason and beyond
The big call came last March when she was at work in Toronto. And like in any other office, her coworkers were elated to hear the news.
Danielle Langford, the Warriors’ manager of player rehabilitation, was selected to the British Columbia Basketball Hall of Fame for her esteemed playing career in the Vancouver area. Her coworkers, Draymond Green, Chris Paul and Kevon Looney, were ecstatic.
“They started all quizzing me about my stats and whatnot,” Langford told this news organization. “I don’t know that stuff very well, to be honest. And they were like, ‘How do you not know?’ So they started looking stuff up. They were pumped, they were happy for me.”
Langford’s accomplishments, they’d discover with some internet sleuthing, are vast. When Langford was in her playing prime, she was like the female Canadian Steph Curry.
At Simon Fraser University, she still has the school record for 3-pointers made (388) — 119 more than second place. As team captain, she led two separate SFU teams, in 2002 and 2005, to undefeated national championship seasons. She was named tournament MVP in 2005 and ranks third in school history in total assists.
“She was an excellent leader,” said Langford’s SFU teammate, Laura van den Boogaard. “Everything was about winning, but in a way that made everyone feel included. She was a shooter, she could drive, she could pass. She could do everything, but she made everyone better. She was that person that would get you the ball exactly where you needed it to make the shot.”
Langford played for her dad, Bruce, at Simon Fraser, whom she joined in the BC Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. Her uncle, Paul, also got inducted on Saturday as a coach.
In 2000, before college, Langford led Heritage Park Secondary School to the provincial championship and played for the junior national team.
“She was not a 4.4-40, incredible athlete who could bowl people out of the gym with her athleticism,” said Howard Tsumura, a journalist in the area who covered Langford’s career. “But I don’t think anybody got more out of what they were given to play on a basketball court than Dani did.”
It all feels like a “lifetime ago,” Langford said.
Entering her fourth season with the Warriors, Langford’s competitive playing days are far behind her, but they help her relate and understand the Warriors she works with. Langford still gets shots up in the Warriors’ facility early in the mornings for exercise, routine and discipline.
“I feel most like myself when basketball’s around me,” Langford said. “Being in a gym is calming, shooting is calming yet energizing, and watching a game is familiar and fun. And talking basketball to this day is something I love to do as I can have conversations from many angles, from a physiotherapist watching how athletes move, to talking with coaches about plays, to players about what decisions they make and why.”
Langford’s younger daughter, 8-year-old Maddie, is into basketball and shoots around with her mom in their backyard. The physiotherapist wants to coach her just like her dad did for her.
One of the biggest challenges Langford has with the Warriors is balancing her family life at home with her work family — and the rigorous travel schedule and season grind that separates them. In her first season with the Warriors, the 2021-22 championship year, she was one of the only women with children who traveled with the team. The Langfords have since made Burlingame their home base and are building the type of village it takes to raise a family.
In the training room and at home, both of Langford’s families have a new Hall of Famer.
We watched Steph’s new TV show so you don’t have to
Steph Curry’s first foray into acting is out, streaming on Peacock, as you may have heard in his media tour this week.
“Mr. Throwback” — streaming on Peacock and premiering Sept. 12 on NBC — is about a caricatured version of Curry and a down-on-his-luck former high school teammate, Danny (Adam Pally), who returns to Steph’s life in dire straits. Hijinks ensue.
The scripted show is at its best when it has a Nathan Fielder-esque cringe. It misses when trying to go down the sentimental route; it’s definitely not a Mike Schur show. Some of the dialogue can be corny, and some jokes crude.
Many parts of the show are surreal (even Steve Kerr and Curry’s personal security, Yusef Wright, makes cameos). But at the same time, the mockumentary format makes other scenes too on-the-nose (Grossman, who can’t escape his past, sells sports memorabilia).
It’s not all bad. After the first two episodes, as Danny’s despicable lie that drives the plot gets more and more out of control, the show picks up. It’d be unfair to expect Curry to win an Emmy, but playing himself helps hide his unnatural acting.
The bits with the overexaggerated version of Curry, as with any well-written jokes, have layers of truth to them. He inspires everyone around him to realize their dreams with his relentless positivity, gets invited to Sasha Obama’s graduation dinner and ruins a little girl’s birthday party by buying a Chicago nightclub. Curry’s assistant, Kimberly (Ego Nwodim of SNL fame) is the real breakout star.
As somewhat of a television snob, I frankly went into “Mr. Throwback” thinking it would be unwatchable dribble-drabble. Watching with low expectations, the show was… fine! I bet my mom would love it.
Pre-camp workouts
The Warriors have reportedly brought in Bruno Caboclo, Troy Brown Jr. and Davis Bertans for workouts this past week. Kevin Knox’s inclusion on the Summer League roster seems like a similar flier: the Warriors are interested in adding players with high upside to the back-end of their roster.
That quartet includes various ages, NBA success, prospect pedigree and skills. The only throughline, really, is that the Warriors (correctly) see no downside in doing their due diligence. It doesn’t hurt to see what’s under the hood.
Don’t expect any of the pre-training camp workouts to contribute for the Warriors in a meaningful way. Some might get a training camp invite, and most won’t even get that chance. But you never know!
Who won the offseason?
Rosters are pretty much finalized, with the dust settled on significant offseason transactions. Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine appear staying put, Paul George is in Philadelphia, and the Celtics reloaded.
Biggest winners:
- Thunder (Caruso and Hartenstein are slam-dunk role players)
- 76ers (Rarely does a team’s offseason Plan A play out so flawlessly)
- Nets (That Mikal Bridges haul, though…)
- Suns (Monte Morris and Tyus Jones on minimum deals, yes please)
- Celtics (The current gold standard in roster building brought the band back)
Biggest losers:
- Clippers (Paul George leaving for nothing means the Clips are relying on James Harden and Kawhi Leonard to be healthy and productive all year)
- Lakers (Something something maximizing championship windows for aging superstars…)
- Nuggets (Lost KCP and couldn’t replace him… and that Jamal Murray max extension is risky)
- Bulls (Even more stuck in no man’s land, but at least the Matas Buzelis pick is fun)
- Bucks (Gary Trent Jr. is a nice pickup, but it’s danger time for Milwaukee)