Still trying to figure out the disconnect between Mike Dunleavy and Warriors fans

January 12, 12:04 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Mike Dunleavy: Opposite of fan favorite in Oakland 

Got a comment from Phil, went like this:

"Dunleavy jr bashed the Warriors about 2 weeks ago. Come on Steinmetz, its your job to know that stuff. "

♦

Hey, Phil, I'm going to use your comment to go into Mike Dunleavy a little bit. First of all, I know what he said a couple of weeks ago when the Warriors were in Indiana.

But that's not why Warriors fans booed Dunleavy last night. Give me a break. They booed Dunleavy last year when he came back.

And Warriors fans booed Dunleavy when he was a Warrior. So it wasn't like what he said recently was the straw that broke the camel's back.

My question is a sincere one: Why was their such animosity and vitriol directed at Dunleavy by Warriors fans over the years? I never got that and still don't. I guess I'm asking for all your all's help.

Dunleavy was drafted No. 3 and never quite delivered third-pick performance. But I don't know why fans hold it against a player when a player has absolutely no control when he was picked. Plus, we all know Dunleavy's draft wasn't a great one.

Shouldn't the disappointment be directed at the draft and not the player?

The only thing I can come up with is that Dunleavy's unemotional style of play really didn't sit well with the fans. But that's just the way Dunleavy is. I don't see him fist-pumping and chest-pounding in Indiana, either, but he's playing well there.

It's always been interesting to me that the fans loved Dunleavy most when he threw that fit after getting called for a charge against Dallas, took his shirt off and threw it into the stands. But that really wasn't Mike Dunleavy, and I know he felt foolish after he did it.

That just always told me that fans wanted Dunleavy to be something he wasn't.

It couldn't have been simply that Dunleavy didn't play well here, could it? It had to be more than that.

The guy practiced hard and tried to play team basketball. Yeah, he was a little soft, but so was virtually every Warrior back then.

The only thing I can come up with is that Dunleavy ticked off Warriors fans because he refused to ever really seek out their approval. Instead of talking about Warriors fans as the best in the NBA, Dunleavy tended to dismiss them.

Can you blame him?

The boos started coming pretty early in Dunleavy's career, and unfortunately for him, he never got to experience a home crowd behind him.

I very well may be opening up Pandora's box here _ hell, Pandora's Warehouse _ but I just don't get. Help me out. What exactly was it about Mike Dunleavy?

Talking about it might be the first step toward letting go.

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