The date is June 10th, 2019, the Golden State Warriors are trailing 3 games to 1 in the NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors. There is 9:54 left in the second quarter and Kevin Durant, who is playing in his first game since game 5 of the second round due to an ankle injury, has just gotten a screen from Andrew Bogut to get the switch from Pascal Siakam to Serge Ibaka. He then tries to dribble threw his legs when all of the sudden he loses the ball and falls to the court. He had torn his achilles, it would be his last moment as a Warrior as he would sign with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent, more on that later. After the Warriors came back and won game 5, there was a game 6 back in Oakland, the last game at Oracle Arena. Game 6 Klay was in full effect, as Klay Thompson had 28 points and with 2:27 left in the the third quarter, Toronto turned the ball over and the Warriors went on a fast break. Steph Curry threw a pass to Klay and he went up for a dunk as Danny Green went to block the shot, he fouled Thompson and Klay fell to the floor holding his knee in pain. He had torn his ACL, but he did make the 2 free throws before leaving the game. It looked like the dynasty was ending, but here the Warriors are back on the top of the mountain, just 3 years later, but it was not easy.
On June 30th of that year, when Golden State knew they were losing Durant to the Nets, President of Basketball Operations, Bob Myers, convinced Durant to allow a sign and trade that would allow the Warriors to acquire guard D’Angelo Russell, Durant said that the Warriors had to trade a first round pick to the Nets if a deal were to happen, it was top 20 protected and did not convey so instead the Nets got a future 2nd rounder. In order to get under the hard cap so they could acquire Russell, Golden State would need to trade Andre Iguodala and his big $17 million expiring contract. Enter the Memphis Grizzlies, who were willing to take on Iguodala but the Warriors had to include a top 4 protected 2024 first round pick, and they did. That next season, the Warriors started the next season bad, they started 1-3 and Steph Curry had broken his hand in game 4 of the season leading to him miss all but 1 of the Warriors remaining games. They finished the COVID shortened season 15-50, the worst in the NBA and were not invited to the bubble. That year, they made a big trade at the trade deadline, sending D’Angelo Russell, who they did all that maneuvering in the offseason to get, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and a 2021 top 3 protected first round pick, that turned into Jonathan Kuminga.
That offseason, the Warriors held the number 2 overall pick, they were slated to get Steph and Klay back and looked like they were ready to make another run. However on draft night Golden State received bad news, Klay had gotten hurt during a workout and it was later announced that he had torn his achilles and would miss the entire season, leaving a dent in the entire organization. They then drafted James Wiseman 2nd overall that night, a player who did not make an impact on the championship run. Since they lost Klay to an injury, they needed a wing so they traded a future first round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Kelly Oubre Jr. (like the pick they sent to Brooklyn, this pick also did not convey so the Warriors sent the Thunder a couple of 2nd’s). On opening night they took on Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets, and got blitzed 125-99. They then headed to Milwaukee to take on the eventual champion Bucks on Christmas day, and lost by 39. They then hovered around .500 for most of the season playing up and down average basketball. However, then they decided they wanted to play Warriors basketball again, with all of the offensive movement, cutting, and such. They finished the regular season 15-5, leading to a whole season record of 39-33 as they secured the 8th seed and a spot in the Play-In Tournament. The first game of the Play-In Tournament was against Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in what was a game that was so hyped up, and it delivered. Steph Curry was incredible scoring 37 points but was out done as LeBron hit a go ahead 3 pointer with a minute left as the Warriors lost 103-100. They then went home for an elimination game against the Memphis Grizzlies, a team they had just beaten a week ago to secure the 8th seed. They lost a heartbreaker in overtime and missed the playoffs. However, the seeds were being replanted and they committed to their style of basketball.
They went out and got players to fit their style. They signed Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, Nemanja Bjelica, and brought back old friend Andre Iguodala. Oubre was gone and James Wiseman did not play a game all season, they were back to playing their style of basketball. They started the season 18-2 and were crushing everyone, confirming something I wrote last July: “The Golden State Warriors have a chance to turn themselves into a championship contender once again and I would not be in the least bit surprised if Bob Myers, Steve Kerr, and company were able to pull it off.” They cooled off eventually because just as Klay Thompson returned, Draymond Green got hurt and when Green got back, Curry got hurt. However, they entered the playoffs as the 3rd seed, pounding the Nuggets, taking care of the Grizzlies, and swiftly eliminating the Mavericks in the West playoffs as they advanced to the NBA Finals (for more on those series check out my finals preview). Next came the Boston Celtics, a team that was bigger, more athletic and better defensively. However, the Celtics were also prone to turnovers and that reared its ugly head in a big way in games 4-6. After Boston took a 2-1 series lead and looked like they might be able to pull away, Steph Curry delivered a 43 point performance in game 4, and the Dubs never looked back as Boston turned the ball over an astonishing 55 times over the final 3 games, all Warriors wins. Andrew Wiggins had Jayson Tatum in jail and the Celtics were a mess offensively the entire series, as the Warriors captured their 4 championship in 8 years.
In the preseason, I picked Golden State to finish 3rd in the West and make it to the Western Conference Finals, they then proceeded to win the whole thing. Led by the guys who have been here the whole time in Steph, Klay, and Draymond, while newcomers like Otto Porter, Gary Payton, and Andrew Wiggins all played huge roles to secure a 4th championship for this dynasty. They also would not be here without Kevon Looney, who played such a huge role all season as a defensive anchor and an offensive rebounder. Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors and all of their fans!
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