Kurtenbach: There’s more than a playoff series on the line — Warriors vs. Lakers is about bragging rights

Won't the Warriors think of the fans?

The Golden State Warriors have many rivals. That’s the price of greatness on the court.

But off the court, Warriors fans have two arch-nemeses, and in recent years, they have ganged up to form a juggernaut of insufferableness.

I’m speaking, of course, about Lakers fans and LeBron James fans.

And now that LeBron and the Lakers are up 2-1 in the teams’ Western Conference Semifinals series, it’s time for the Warriors players to help out the Warriors in the stands and pull this series even.

Because if the Warriors were to lose this series, it could very well mean the end of the Dubs Dynasty and the ushering in of a new era in San Francisco.

But more importantly: if the Warriors lose, the fans of the blue and gold — and I don’t think I’m exaggerating — would never hear the end of it.

We can’t have that. The Bay has taken enough hits lately.

To be clear: there should be some begrudging respect for Lakers fans, even though they are mostly corny frontrunners.

You can’t argue with the history, though: Their team is the NBA’s old money — the California constant. You probably know a few Lakers fans here in the Bay. For decades, L.A. won games while the Warriors were a laughingstock. To be a Dubs fan in the ’80s, ’90s, and aughts was to suffer. Not everyone was cut out for that lifestyle.

That dynamic has changed in the last decade. The Warriors are the NBA’s nouveau riche rich — the league’s new most valuable franchise. And the Lakers aren’t as cool as they once were. They’re the man-buns of the NBA.

But since this is the first time since 1991 that the Warriors and Lakers have played, this series carries some serious weight in those barstool and barber shop “conversations.”

Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley. Innovation vs. tradition. Purple vs. blue (and black?) That’s classic rivalry stuff, and it’s (mostly) all in good fun.

Then there’s the side action: It’s Curry vs. LeBron — perhaps for the last time.

That stopped being good fun a long time ago.

The players might be genial with each other, and Lakers fans — annoying as they might be — can be civil, but the same cannot be said of the nomadic tribe that has pledged their fealty and curiously excessive free time to LeBron.

These are, after all, the folks who thought the new Space Jam was a good move. How can you take anyone like that seriously?

These same folks made G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) part of the lexicon. That’s an unforgivable transgression.

These folks go on social media and unwatchable talking-head television shows and declare that we should forget this weekend’s coronation in England. No, the one true king is James.

LeBron fans are as shameless as they are relentless. They won’t shut up about the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, even though that happened during the Obama administration, and Curry and the Warriors have won three more titles since.

And while it’s hard to blame James for all of this, you are the product of the company you keep. Maybe these LeBron fans are why James keeps changing teams — he’s trying to run away from them.

Yes, The Warriors might be down 2-1, but they are a Game 4 win away from establishing the upper hand in the series, as it would regain home-court advantage for Golden State.

The Warriors have a brilliant opportunity to muzzle those unendurable LeBron fans in this series.

And they can silence Lakers fans, too.

Taking out two loud, annoying birds with one stone?

That’s the futuristic utopia we were promised. I can’t wait to live in it.