The Nate Thurmond Panhandle Basketball Courts reopened earlier this week after a $100,000 renovation, drawing the late Warriors legend's widow, a former San Francisco mayor, and Warriors alumnus Kelenna Azubuike to a ribbon-cutting ceremony, ceremonial tip-off, and youth basketball clinic. Marci Thurmond, wife of the late Nate Thurmond, joined the celebration alongside former Mayor Willie Brown and Warriors alumnus Kelenna Azubuike, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The Golden State Sports Academy led the youth clinic that capped off the festivities.
The renovation, which fully reopened the courts for public pickup games on October 14, followed a temporary closure that began in August, according to KQED. Crews milled and leveled the asphalt, repaired cracks, recoated the surface in Golden State Warriors colors, and installed new rims and backboards, per the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. Custom signage honoring Thurmond was also painted on-site, and the courts now display his retired No. 42 at center court, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department's post on Facebook.
A Third Refurbishment, Decades in the Making
This marks the third major refurbishment of the Panhandle courts, following earlier renovations in 2000 and 2016. The work was carried out through the Making Hoops program, a partnership between the Golden State Community Foundation and Good Tidings Foundation that has restored more than 90 basketball courts across the Bay Area over 25 years, the recreation department noted. The department release also acknowledged project partners.
Thurmond's bond with the Good Tidings Foundation stretches back decades. The nonprofit first connected with him in 1999, when it built a basketball court in his name in San Francisco, and he went on to become the organization's official spokesperson soon after, according to the Good Tidings Foundation.
A Hall of Famer Who Called the Panhandle Home
Thurmond, a Basketball Hall of Famer, lived directly in the Panhandle neighborhood during his playing years with the Warriors in the 1960s and 1970s, KQED reported. He went on to serve as a longtime Warriors community relations ambassador.
Beyond the hardwood, Thurmond built deep civic and entrepreneurial roots in the city, including Big Nate's BBQ, a Folsom Street restaurant. Thurmond spent more than four decades with the Warriors organization as a player and Community Relations Ambassador. He died in 2016, SFGATE reported.
From Streetball Legend to Citywide Investment
Long before this week's ceremony, the Panhandle courts carried their own basketball mythology. During the 1970s and 1980s, they served as a legendary San Francisco pickup hub, drawing neighborhood players, University of San Francisco All-Americans, and Warriors players like Billy Reid and Phil Smith, according to SLAM Magazine.
The reopening also fits into a broader municipal push by Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Recreation and Parks Department to refresh public athletic facilities. The mayor highlighted the Panhandle reopening alongside new WNBA three-point lines painted at Margaret S. Hayward and Joe DiMaggio Playgrounds in partnership with the Golden State Valkyries, according to SF.gov. Hoodline previously covered the Panhandle courts' 2016 facelift and reopening.
