NBA's Opening Night Began With Fan Experience Featuring Doechii, The Kid LAROI, And More

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October 18th was a long, sunny day full of excitement, anticipation, and electrifying live music, as the NBA on TNT American Express Road Show drew masses to Mission Bay to hype them up for NBA's Opening Tip-off Night.

Several celebrities were spotted at this joyous Tuesday festivity, from Inside the NBA hosts Charles Barkeley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, to the incredibly talented performers of Doechii and The Kid LAROI. This day-long fan experience provided several goodies, photo opportunities with artistic murals and the Golden State Warrior's cheerleaders, which all led into the actual opening game in which the Warriors triumphantly beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-109.

See also: See All The Highlights From The Warriors NBA Championship Parade

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With doors to the festival opening at 1:30pm, the UCSF Health Mission Bay campus was instantly filled with several devoted fans who traveled far and wide to spend the day listening to the commentators, viewing the musical acts, and getting hyped for the following premiere game. This festival was the ultimate basketball fan experience, complete with an arcade, a custom shirt-making booth, and many interactive shooting challenges.

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The vibrant emcee Brie maintained the energy up the whole day, effortlessly providing entertaining dialogue and keeping the audience pumped for the next event. As the Sports Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA hosts narrated on live tv, fans also crowded around their stage for a chance to be seen in the background.

This pavillion comes in grand timing to the announcement of American Express and Warner Bros, Discovery Sports expanding a multi-year marketing partnership. As the official card of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G-League, American Express has consistently been the exclusive presenting sponsor of their halftime shows and reports since 2015.

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Right at 4pm with overwhelming anticipation, Top Dawg Entertainment’s rapper Doechii exploded out on stage with a half-hour performance of all her most catchy songs with a precise sychronized dance and captivating energy. From her hits like the high-octane femininity of "Crazy," to the groovy positivity of "Persuasive" with SZA, Doechii powerfully commanded the stage, even adding sweet notions like, "this is a huge year for me and my fans, we got out of the pandemic and I want us to have a moment to interact."

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Later in the afternoon, the Eastern Conference went underway, with the defending champions of the Boston Celtics squaring off against the Philadelphia 76ers. As halftime proceeded in the Boston game, the show transitioned to San Francisco as GRAMMY® Nominated The Kid LAROI took to the stage.

Here the 19-year old powerhouse gave a fiery performance of all of his mainstream hits like "Stay" with Justin Bieber, and "Without You," while remarkably standing on a drum set and interacting with the crowd, jokingly apologizing that he had just awoken from a three-hour nap.

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Following the Australian rapper's thrilling performance, many headed across the street to the Chase Center to watch the opening game against the Lakers here on the Warrior's winning home.

With the Warriors' significant triumph, Tuesday signaled a radiant day for not only devoted Dub Nation fans, but for San Francisco as a whole with the return of both our live gathering events and a prospective basketball season.

See also: The Ultimate Guide To SF's Dogpatch Neighborhood