Nevius: A front-row seat for Warriors games — how cool is that?

LeBron James is an eavesdropper.

Don’t take my word for it. Check with Warriors season ticket holder Matt Swanson.

You don’t get any closer to the action than Swanson’s seats - front row, on the court, at Oracle Arena. He’s six seats away from the Warriors’ bench and next to the scorer’s table, so coaches, players and officials are a few feet away.

He hears Steve Kerr’s timeout strategy sessions, the on-court taunts and complaints to officials. He’s been stepped on by Kobe Bryant, exchanged car talk with Steph Curry and (he says he couldn’t help himself) high-fived Klay Thompson on the night when he scored 60 points in 29 minutes.

As for James, Swanson noticed something.

“During timeouts about half the time he’s standing as close to the Warriors as he can get,” he says. “He’s listening to their coaches. LeBron is super smart and one of the most aware players out there.”

It wasn’t so long ago that seats like Swanson’s didn’t exist. There was a cushion of space between the court and the paying customers. Now fans virtually sit on the out-of-bounds lines.

Also, in the old days courtside seats were reserved for sports journalists. The premise was that the writers and broadcasters were so important they needed the best access. (I’ll pause while you mop up the coffee you just spit out.)

For the Warriors the up-close-and-personal seating started in 2011. That was a strike year, which meant a shortened season, and on a flyer Swanson bought two seats next to the bench to watch a team that only won 23 games.

“And they told me, ‘Hey. these tickets are actually available,’” he said. “My wife said, ‘I don’t think so.’ But I contacted them, got season tickets and kept renewing them.

And if you are wondering why the sports writers aren’t on the floor any longer, consider this conversation with Swanson.

Me: And how much are the tickets?

Matt: $4,500.

Me (foolishly): For the season?

Matt: For each game. For each seat.

Me: Oh.

Still, it does sound pretty cool. Swanson and his front seat buddies get a little look into the game within the game.

“It’s wild,” he says. “You hear everything. What players are saying to the refs, what they are saying to each other. A lot of taunting. A lot of ‘You can’t guard me.’ Balls come over. I caught a ball in Game 2 and handed it to the ref.”

And sometimes, in a small way, they even influence the game.

“I remember one time when Kevin Durant was in town. He was still playing for the Thunder,” Swanson says. “He was taking the ball out right in front of us. And a guy yells, ‘Hey Kevin are you scared?’” And Durant turned around and said, ‘What did you say?’”

“Are you scared?”

“Watch this,” Durant says.

He got the ball, drove straight to the basket and threw down a thunderous dunk.

“And we all turned around to the guy,” Swanson says, “and said, ‘Don’t poke the bear.’”

What you might not know (I certainly didn’t) is that there is a little convenience store set up at the scorer’s table.

“They’ve got mints, throat lozenges, sticks of gum in a variety of flavors, lip balm, inhalers, and solution for contact lenses,” he says.

So Swanson’s Corner Store is a popular stop. Conversations sometimes ensue. Andrew Bogut complimented Swanson on his impressive, chest-length beard. Draymond Green will chat sometimes. And former Warriors like David Lee and Marreese Speights come over to say hello to a familiar face.

For game-time interactions, the third quarter is the best bet.

“In the third quarter, if they are up 20 or 30 and holding the lead, that’s when it gets relaxed,” he says. “They just want to come over, grab a mint and maybe throw something at (Warriors broadcaster) Jim Barnett.”

Swanson has a cell phone photo of Curry sitting next to him during a blowout.

“He just came over and sat down and we visited,” Swanson said. “We were talking about cars. We both like Porsches.”

And, not to get anyone in trouble for on-court gambling, but Swanson jokes that “Richard Jefferson still owes me $100.”

When Jefferson was a Warrior he was shooting long-range jumpers during warmups in front of Swanson’s seat. Jefferson bet him a dollar he’d make the next shot. When he missed he went double or nothing.

Eventually it got to $50.

“He shot and he said it was all in, but another guy’s ball knocked it away,” Swanson says. “The bet goes on.”

So if there is a Warriors fan who wouldn’t mind seeing the Finals come back to Oakland for a game or two, it is probably Swanson. He’d still want them to win, of course, but why stop the fun? But it will get expensive. The $4,500 a seat figure is just for the regular season.

“The price goes up for every series,” he says.

So how expensive are they for the Finals?

“I don’t even know off the top of my head,” he said.

Oh.

You can contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Twitter: @cwnevius.