The Golden State Warriors won the 2017-18 NBA Championship in a dominating 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was their second straight title and third in the last four years.
I don’t think there’s any question that this team is no doubt a dynasty. Dub Nation has revolutionized the game of basketball through their ball movement, three point shooting and defense. They have built a winning culture from owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber to general manager Bob Myers to head coach Steve Kerr.
The “Strength in Numbers” slogan was about the players playing as a collective unit. For the most part, they’ve built their team through draft and signed a couple of key free agents. Stephen Curry was drafted seventh overall in 2009, Klay Thompson (11 pick in the 2011 draft), Draymond Green (35th selection in the 2012 draft), and Harrison Barnes (7th pick in the 2012).
In free agency and trades, they had some notable transactions like trading for Andrew Bogut in 2012, signing Andre Iguodala in 2013 and Kevin Durant in 2016. The acquisition of Durant changed the entire landscape of the NBA. Golden State went from the young darlings to the most hated team in the league.
Here is the list of the championships they’ve been in this decade.
2015 NBA Finals
In Steve Kerr’s first year as head coach, they had the best record in the NBA at 67-15, including a 39-2 home record. Stephen Curry had the most All-Star votes and won the MVP award. He was given more opportunities to shoot in their pace and space offense. They defeated the short-handed Cavs 4-2 to win their first title in 40 years. Andre Iguodala was named Finals MVP primarily due to his stellar defense on LeBron James. The amazing part was he didn’t start a game in the regular season.
2016 NBA Finals
The next year, they went 73-9, which surpassed the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the most wins in a single season. Curry was the first unanimous MVP in NBA as he averaged 30.1 points on 50.4 percent from the field, 45.4 percent on threes and 90.8 percent from the foul line. They advanced to the Finals to face the Cavs again and had a commanding 3-1 lead. But, they would lose the last three games, including a Game 7 at Oracle Arena in heartbreaking fashion.
2017 NBA Finals
On July 4th 2016, Kevin Durant announced his decision to join the Warriors. It was move that most people would say that it’s weak move to join a team that beat him in the Western Conference Finals. With the addition of KD, they went 16-1 in the entire postseason. Furthermore, they would defeat the Cavs again in the Finals to avenge last year’s defeat. Durant would average 35.2 points on 55.5 from the floor, 47.4 percent on threes and 92.7 percent from the charity stripe as he was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
2018 NBA Finals
According to the players, this championship was the most difficult. They had went through the motion and the boredom of the regular season. Golden State finished with a 58-24 record and the second seed in the West behind the Houston Rockets. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans in the first two rounds of the postseason in five games.
In the Western Conference Finals, they were pushed to the limit by James Harden, Chris Paul and the Rockets. As a result, they survived by winning Game 7 in Houston to advance to the Finals to face the Cavaliers for the fourth straight year. This time, they would sweep LeBron and company despite the King carrying the load and keeping them competitive in Games 1 and 3. Kevin Durant became the sixth player in NBA history to win back to back Finals MVP’s.
Last Word
The rest of the league will have their work cut out for them. This team is so historically good with four stars that you have to play perfect basketball to beat them. Barring any injuries or player movement, Dub Nation will be dominating the league for years to come.
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