Warriors Legend Raymond Townsend & @djumami here on #WarriorsGround for #WarriorsFHN! pic.twitter.com/13XIyKHron

— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) March 19, 2017

The Golden State Warriors highlighted their celebration of Filipino heritage by honoring Raymond Townsend, the first Filipino-American to play in the NBA.

Townsend, whose mother hails from Batangas, was selected by Golden State with the 22nd pick of the 1978 draft after playing collegiate basketball for UCLA. The 6-foot-3 Townsend went on to play in the NBA for four years.

The @warriors honor Raymond Townsend, the first Filipino-American to play in the #NBA!#FilipinoHeritageWeek pic.twitter.com/XXXDbg6y5G

— NBA (@NBA) March 19, 2017

"It's a great honor to be here tonight," Townsend said during a break in action in the Warriors' game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Filipino Heritage Night.

"I want to thank the Filipino-Americans, and I want to thank the Golden State Warriors for bringing the NBA game up close and personal to our culture. I want to thank all my kababayans. You know we love basketball," he added.

Townsend was not the only Filipino to be given the spotlight by the Warriors; Martin Nievera sang the Star Spangled Banner ahead of the night's game.

The Warriors' Filipino Heritage Night concluded a week-long celebration of Filipino culture across the NBA, which also saw the Miami Heat and its Filipino-American head coach, Erik Spoelstra, participating. Both the Heat and the Warriors wore specially designed Filipino Heritage Week shirts during warm-ups as part of the celebration.

Golden State beat Milwaukee, 117-92.

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