(Photo: For Warriors fans, this past season was unforgettable.  Credit: Nhat V. Meyer -- Mercury News archives) 

In my 18 years of life, I’ve experienced a lot of exciting events that I’ll never forget.

But recently, one event gave Bay Area basketball fans like me a feeling we haven’t experienced in a long time: The Golden State Warriors making the postseason.

Their season has been over for a few weeks now, but I still can’t wrap my head around what the Warriors accomplished. They snuck into the playoffs on the very last day of the regular season and were matched up against the Dallas Mavericks -- a team that had won 67 games and was everyone’s choice to win the championship.

Everyone knows what happened next. Baron Davis led a group of athletic, quick and young players to a six-game thrashing of the Mavs, while the whole Bay Area chanted “We believe” at the top of its lungs.

(Photo: Baron Davis in a game against the Utah Jazz in Oakland on May 13. Credit: Nhat V. Meyer -- Mercury News archives) 

The series showed the nation what the Warriors could do. It also showed Warriors fans that Davis is one of the best players they have ever seen.

The Warriors eventually were eliminated by the Utah Jazz and its young stars, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. But it’s time to reminisce a little bit about the wonders of last season and evaluate what can happen in upcoming seasons.

Davis is looking for a contract extension and a lot more money, and a trade for another superstar seems imminent. Acquiring a new player means moving around current players, so fan favorites such as Mickael Pietrus or Matt Barnes could be packing their bags soon.

Even if the Warriors are headed for an extreme makeover, we can now expect to have at least one playoff team in the Bay Area. The Warriors proved that they can play with the best and beat the best.

While we wait for next season, we can sit back and appreciate the fact that we were part of perhaps the greatest moment in all of Bay Area professional sports.

Thank you, Golden State, for such an amazing season. We’ll see you back in the playoffs in 2008.

 Vidur Malik is a senior at Mission San Jose High in Fremont.