Bob Weir’s connection to Bay Area sports ran deep - and the Golden State Warriors made sure to honor that legacy.
The late Grateful Dead guitarist and vocalist, who passed away Saturday at 78, wasn’t just a rock icon. He was a devoted San Francisco 49ers fan, a regular anthem singer for both the Niners and the Giants, and a familiar presence in the region’s sports culture. And while he only attended his first game at Chase Center in 2022, his ties to the Warriors - and the broader Bay Area sports scene - went back decades.
Before tipoff against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, the Warriors held a moment of silence in Weir’s memory. His image lit up the Jumbotron as the crowd paused to reflect on a figure who helped shape the soul of the Bay Area - musically and culturally.
Head coach Steve Kerr, while not a self-described Deadhead, still recognized the impact Weir and the Grateful Dead had - especially through the lens of his former assistant, Luke Walton. Walton’s father, Hall of Fame center Bill Walton, was famously the most passionate Deadhead in the basketball world. Kerr acknowledged how that connection helped him better understand the band’s significance.
“Watching Bill Walton over the years and seeing his devotion to the band and the connection that they had,” Kerr said. “And having Luke Walton here on our staff, really getting an understanding of Bill’s love for the band and how much the band meant to not only Bill but to so many others.”
That impact wasn’t just emotional - it was physical, too. Bob Weir played the Warriors’ old home, the Oakland Coliseum Arena - later known as Oracle Arena - a staggering 66 times with the Grateful Dead.
After Jerry Garcia’s passing, Weir returned four more times with The Other Ones. And when Dead & Company - featuring Weir, longtime Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, and John Mayer - took the stage at Chase Center in 2019, they added two more shows to the tally.
That’s 72 total performances by Bob Weir at Warriors home arenas. For context: that’s more appearances than Chris Webber ever made in Oracle.
LeBron James, across regular season and playoff games combined, has played in the Warriors’ building 43 times - still well short of Weir’s total. And just like LeBron, Weir had a rotating cast of teammates - especially behind the keyboards.
Weir never performed at the Cow Palace while it was still a Warriors venue, and his solo group, RatDog, never played a Warriors arena. But his musical footprint across the franchise’s home courts is undeniable.
Even though Kerr didn’t follow the Dead’s music closely, he couldn’t help but admire what they stood for - and how it paralleled his own coaching philosophy. The Grateful Dead were known for their improvisational style, their ability to create structure within chaos, and their joy in collaboration - much like a well-designed offense that allows for freedom within a system. Think Alvin Gentry or Mike Brown drawing up plays that give players room to read, react, and create.
The Dead weren’t just a band; they were a team. One that thrived on chemistry, trust, and a shared sense of purpose - even if the lineup changed often. And like the Warriors in recent years, they had their share of aging veterans who still found ways to deliver magic.
The Bay Area loved them for it. Sellout crowds followed them for decades, no matter how long it had been since they topped the Billboard charts.
Their shows were a celebration - part concert, part community gathering. And yes, for many fans, the experience was enhanced by a little, let’s say, “psychedelic perspective.”
In a city where sports and music often intertwine, Bob Weir’s legacy lives on - not just in the songs, but in the arenas, the memories, and the moments where a guitar riff and a game-winning shot both feel like a kind of magic.