Alfonzo McKinnie shares inner thoughts when he found out he made Warriors

Share

Programming note: Watch tonight's Warriors-Bucks game streaming live on the MyTeams app.

On Oct. 10, the Warriors played their penultimate preseason game in Las Vegas. The next day, the team flew to the Bay Area to prepare for their final exhibition game on the 12th.

It was on that flight home that Alfonzo McKinnie learned that he wasn't going to be on a two-way contract. While in the air, Steve Kerr delivered the news to McKinnie that he had earned an Opening Night roster spot with the two-time defending champions.

[RELATEDA talk with former Warriors guard pushed Alfonzo McKinnie to Golden State]

"When they woke me up on the plane and said that he wanted to meet with me, in my mind it came through as 'it's judgment time,'" McKinnie told Jim Rome on Thursday. "You never know what the outcome is gonna be in those kind of situations until you actually hear what's gonna happen.

"I went back there and sat and talked to him and (he) let me know there was an open roster spot and I was gonna get it. At the moment -- I didn't really show it at the time -- in my mind I was super excited and couldn't believe it."

McKinnie was probably over-amped when he took the floor against the Lakers on Oct. 12 because he went 2-for-14 from the field. Over five preseason games, he went 1-for-9 from 3-point range.

[RELATEDAlfonzo McKinnie's contract in Mexico included a very interesting perk]

You would never know that based on how he's played during the regular season. In the last five games, he is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 61 percent from the field and over 64 percent from deep (9-for-14).

The 26-year old is truly one of the best stories in the whole league so far. And as Steve Kerr said after the Warriors' win on Monday night:

"Don't wake him up."

Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller

Contact Us