The NBA’s Newest Dynasty, the Golden State Warriors
Throughout the history of the NBA, there have been a few teams that would be considered a dynasty. Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics of the 60’s, Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird’s Celtics of the 80’s, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls of the 90’s, and Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs of the 2000’s have all left their marks on the league, and won a crazy amount of championships along the way. While dynasties are few and far between, we are quite possibly in the midst of another one, the Golden State Warriors.
Currently, the Warriors are on an impressive streak. They have made four straight NBA finals appearances, winning the title in 2015, 2017, and 2018. To make it even more impressive, they were able to defeat consensus “best player on the planet” LeBron James in each of their finals wins. As they stand right now, the Warriors show no signs of slowing down, and are the favorites to take home the title again in 2019.- here
Drafting Smart
Every NBA dynasty started the same way, by drafting a player that those teams could build their franchise around. The Warriors are no different, and during the 2009 NBA draft, the Warriors found their man in 6’3″ sharpshooter Stephen Curry. In college, Curry led his Davidson team to an improbably run through the NCAA tournament, and while he didn’t win right away in the NBA, his shooting prowess launched him to superstardom.
After that, the Warriors knew they needed to find the players to compliment Curry’s skillset. They added fellow shooter Klay Thompson to the mix, and drafted defensive extraordinaire Draymond Green. In 2015, they realized their dream of winning the NBA title. However, they knew that in order to sustain that success, they needed to keep pushing.-
Bringing in the Final Piece to the Puzzle
The following season, the Warriors held an NBA record 73-9 record through the regular season, but fell short to LeBron’s Cavs in the finals. They then made the biggest signing of the offseason by bringing in Kevin Durant, widely considered to be the 2nd best player in the league after James. Since that day, they have won back to back titles, and look to continue their streak as the NBA’s newest dynasty.- to find out more.