An ESPN feature story by Baxter Holmes revealed that the NBA has a bizarre fixation on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, dating back to the Boston Celtics’ championship run in 2008.
Luke Walton waged war against the Warriors’ trainer over PB&J sandwiches and won
Maybe that’s why Warriors players love him.
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
There was a lot to take away from Holmes’ 4,000-word feature, but the most compelling tidbit came from then-Golden State Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton. Walton, according to the story, waged an impassioned war on behalf of PB&J’s for his team last season.
Golden State hired a new trainer, Lachlan Penfold, following their 2015 championship run. In an effort to improve the players’ health, Penford immediately removed all forms of sugar and junk food from the Warriors’ diets.
But this also meant no more PB&J’s, which didn’t fly with the players:
The Warriors, in turn, had willingly parted with candy, cookies and soda. But now, on this charter flight, they found nary a PB&J. Concerned glances were exchanged. “Just the fact that it wasn’t there shook me a little bit,” Stephen Curry told ESPN at the time. Clearly, Penfold had made a mistake, yes? No. “Sorry, mate,” Penfold explained then. “We’re not doing sugar.”
Just the thought of a PB&J-less experience was enough to infuriate Walton and his team, so he took it upon himself to fight back against this injustice. And how did he fight? By pestering anyone and everyone he could about the sandwiches.
When asked what he’d like to eat by flight attendants in the following weeks, Walton would vehemently reply with “peanut butter and jelly!” knowing fully that no such option was available. The message was a simple yet powerful one: Walton was going to war for the sandwiches, and would do whatever it took to get them back.
The night before the undefeated Warriors faced the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 11, Walton and his Warriors demanded PB&J’s again. Penfold reportedly offered them Vegemite, a “distasteful” vegetarian spread, instead.
The Warriors lost their first game of the season the next day.
Walton, desperate, called Curry’s number to help get PB&J’s back into the mix. Once Steph was on board with Luke’s plan, the sandwiches returned.
It’s well known that the Warriors players loved Walton, but who knew it was because he saved their precious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?
Now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, it shouldn’t be any surprise that Walton made certain the delicacies were available as a postgame meal for his team this season.
But we should never forget the sacrifices Walton made for the sanctity of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
