Dynasty Warriors: A Legacy Cemented
When the 2009 NBA Draft was underway on the evening of June 25th inside the hallowed walls of Madison Square Garden very few, if any, could predict how one pick in the first round would eventually change not only the power structure across the entire league but also revolutionize the game as we knew it. Strangely enough it wouldn’t be Blake Griffin, who was taken first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers, nor would it be James Harden who was taken third overall by the OKC Thunder (although he certainly made his mark in the league in his own right with his jaw dropping offensive skill set). Sitting in the audience was a point guard out of Davidson named Stephen Curry, son of former NBA player Dell Curry. As fate would have it Steph would be selected seventh overall by the Golden State Warriors by former Warriors GM Larry Riley. There were questions about Curry’s durability and long term health due to some concerns regarding his legs coming out of college. Looking back on it in the summer of 2022, those concerns are nothing short of laughable. This single pick would set the wheels in motion on a dynasty that would effectively revolutionize the way the game of basketball was played in the NBA, but there is a second and critical piece to the puzzle Riley had yet to acquire.
Two years later, on June 23rd, 2011, Larry Riley would pick Washington State shooting guard Klay Thompson with the eleventh overall pick in that year’s draft. This was a draft with some big time players that would go on to do great things in the league such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard. Thompson’s natural shooting ability paired with Curry’s was something no one in the league could prepare for. The duo, soon to be known as the “splash brothers”, would make coaches and general managers not only encourage their players to develop their three-point shots but also scout for the next generation of sharpshooters to mimic the offensive output of Curry and Thompson.
Finally, during the 2012 NBA Draft on June 28th, 2012, the Warriors selected a power forward out of Michigan State by the name of Draymond Green. This was yet another draft with plenty of players that would go on to make names for themselves in the league such as Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Bradley Beal. Yet it was Green, the cocky and aggressive power forward taken 35th overall in the second round, that would prove to be the steal of the draft and the final piece to a trio that would set the standard in the league for years to come. Every NBA team needs that two-way player that can get points and rebounds but can also defend tenaciously and get inside opponent’s heads. Green proved to be just that.
For two seasons the team was relatively successful compared to where they had been when they drafted Curry back in 2009 but it became clear to both ownership and management that then head coach Mark Jackson was not maximizing the talent at his disposal. A change was needed. Despite Jackson being beloved by his players, management decided to part ways and bring in former NBA player and broadcaster/
commentator Steve Kerr to coach the team, his first stint as an NBA head coach. At the time many questioned if moving on from Jackson for Kerr would prove to be a mistake. After all he had no prior head coaching experience despite being a 5x NBA champion as a player. However, almost instantly, it proved to be an inspired choice. Kerr’s shooting ability as a player translated to truly unlocking Curry and Thompson’s lethal shooting beyond the arc and his years learning from legendary head coaches Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich paid dividends when it came time for him to lead his very own team in the tradition both men had set forth.
At the end of the 2014-2015 campaign, Kerr’s first at the helm, Curry won his first MVP award and the Warriors ended up winning their first title in forty years, beating LeBron James and his depleted Cavaliers team in 6 games. After all the years of rebuilding and making incredibly bold and calculated draft picks, the Warriors were once again world champions. As it turns out, the 2015-2016 campaign would be even more historic for the Warriors...in more ways than one.
The following season saw the Warriors put forth the greatest regular season in the history of the NBA as they finished the year with a 73-9 record, beating the previous record of 72-10 once held by Jordan’s 1996 Chicago Bulls. On top of that Curry won his second straight MVP award, this time by unanimous decision. In the playoffs the Warriors cruised until they found themselves down 3-1 to the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. As fate would have it they would come back to win three straight games and advance to their second Finals appearance in a row, this time against a healthy Cavaliers team with both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love back in the lineup. The Warriors found themselves up 3-1 against the Cavs but then something inexplicable happened, something that had never happened in NBA Finals history...the Warriors blew a 3-1 series lead and lost Game 7 at home to LeBron’s underdog Cavaliers. After such a legendary and historic regular season the Warriors went home empty handed after needing only one more win to secure their second title in as many seasons and cementing their legacy as the greatest team in NBA history. They failed, but the failure wouldn’t last for long...
That fateful summer of 2016, after ending their epic 73-9 season in colossally disappointing fashion, the Warriors managed to lure Kevin Durant away from the Thunder in free agency. An already excellent team had just signed away arguably the second best player in the league to join them in their continued pursuit of their next championship. You know what happened that following summer? Allow me to refresh your memory: The Warriors breezed through the league, curb-stomped their way through the playoffs and ended up beating LeBron’s Cavaliers in five games in the 2017 NBA Finals, the game 4 loss on the road being the only loss they suffered that post-season. Kevin Durant earned his first NBA championship and his first NBA Finals MVP while Curry, Thompson and Green received their second championship ring and washed away the bad taste from their epic collapse the year before. The following year it was pretty much wash, rinse, repeat as far as the outcome of the 2018 season was concerned. Minus a scare from James Harden and Chris Paul’s tenacious Rockets pushing the Warriors to the brink in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors
repeated as champions while sweeping LeBron’s Cavs in convincing fashion. Oh yeah, and KD won his second consecutive Finals MVP trophy as well. A three-peat was well within sight...until it wasn’t.
It was during the 2019 playoffs that things took a slight detour. Yes the Warriors made it to the Finals for a fifth straight year, this time against Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors, but the wear and tear from all those deep postseason runs finally caught up with them in the worst way at the worst time, ultimately losing Klay Thompson to a torn ACL in the series-deciding Game 6 and Kevin Durant returning from injury too soon and tearing his achilles in Game 5. The Warriors failed in their bid to three-peat and, even worse than that, lost Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets in free agency over the summer. So no more KD, Klay is out with a torn ACL for at least a year and Steph is banged up to the point where he can’t finish the season. Not the best way to christen your brand new arena in downtown San Francisco. The Warriors finished the COVID shortened 2019-2020 campaign with the worst record in the league: 15-50. Quite the fall from grace.
The following season was much more successful but Klay Thompson had another setback and was once again out for the entirety of the 2020-2021 campaign. The Warriors made it to the play-in tournament, a new concept introduced in the Orlando bubble the previous season, and ultimately lost to the Lakers and missing out on a playoff spot. It truly looked like the Warriors as we knew them were dead and buried. But like the Phoenix, they rose from the ashes of the previous two seasons and returned with a vengeance for the 2021-2022 campaign. Two key additions helped fuel their return to glory: Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, the latter being a player who is proving himself to be the third splash brother. Steve Kerr made adjustments all throughout the playoffs and found the weaknesses in every opponent the dubs faced and exploited them.
However, as brilliant as Kerr’s coaching tactics were and as hard as the team played, we might be having a different conversation had Steph Curry not had the game of his life in Game 4 in Boston where he dropped 43 points and carried his team to victory single-handedly in a hostile road environment. It was just another memorable performance in a career that has been full of them. It was that performance that ultimately has given him and the organization their fourth ring in eight years and earned them the right to be referred to as a dynasty. Had the Celtics won that game I might be writing about their young core finally winning it all after years of falling just short. Alas, that article will have to wait for another time.
At the end of the day the Warriors won their fourth title in eight years because they were constructed the right way and they were coached the right way. But the centerpiece of it all is Steph Curry, a selfless leader who handed the keys to the team to KD when he arrived and didn’t bat an eye doing it. In many ways he’s like the Dwyane Wade of the Warriors: a selfless leader that cares more about the team/ organization succeeding than his ego. Did I mention that he earned his first Finals MVP trophy as well? Yeah. He’s made history. It’s time to start thinking about putting him in
the top ten players of all-time list. He revolutionized the game with his remarkable three point shooting ability and continues to dominate the stat sheets when almost everyone in the league and media counted him and his team out for good. His legacy, and the Warriors’ legacy, has all but been cemented after this title win against the Celtics.
The only question is: Can they win it all again?
