Thursday in The Rundown, Stephen Curry got a shout out as one of the biggest newsmakers of the last year for his amazing play in leading the Golden State Warriors to the NBA title last season and an historic start this year.
But as much as Steph is the leader and the star player, all the success the Warriors have enjoyed is because they are truly a team, more so than any other squad in the NBA right now, by far and as such, the entire unit deserves some love.
You might have an idea about how good the Dubs have been over the last 365 days – from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 – but the actual numbers are going to blow your mind. Ready?
Golden State went 88-17 last year.
88 and 17, good for an 83.8 percent winning percentage.
Over the final four months of last year’s regular season, they never lost more than three games in a month. During their march to the title, they went 16-5. This season, they’re 30-2. It’s un-freaking-believable and if you’re a basketball fan, it’s the best of what is currently an amazing time in The Association.
What makes their current success all the more impressive is how they’ve built their winning combination.
There are no in-house Top 5 picks on this team. Andrew Bogut went first-overall in 2005, but he was drafted by Milwaukee, who sent him to the Bay Area with Stephen Jackson in exchange for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown a couple seasons ago.
Curry went 7th. Backcourt mate Klay Thompson went 11th, one pick after Jimmer Fredette. The 2012 Draft yielded Harrison Barnes at No. 7, Festus Ezeli at No. 30 and Draymond Green at No. 35 – that’s a second-round pick, kids – and all three are now vital parts of the lineup.
They inked Andre Iguodala to be a jack-of-all-trades after he was incorrectly cast as an Alpha Dog in Philadelphia and Denver earlier in his career. He won Finals MVP last season.
Even after winning 47 and 51 games in 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively, management made the decision to terminate head coach Mark Jackson, replacing him with first-time coach Steve Kerr. It turned out to be the most important move they’ve made to date, as the former player, executive and broadcaster pushed all the right buttons, found the rotation that worked best with the talent on hand – even though it meant sitting former All-Star David Lee and his hefty salary – and led the team to 67 regular season wins and the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
And this year, they’ve taken it to another level, even though Luke Walton has replaced Kerr on the bench while the coach recovers from offseason back surgery.
Sure they’ve benefitted from good health, but good fortune is always a factor in teams coming together and finding success.
They were fortunate that Minnesota passed on Curry twice (TWICE!), that Thompson was there at No. 11 and that no one thought Green was worthy of a first-round pick, despite having been a very good four-year player at Michigan State, where Tom Izzo has a history of sending solid professionals into the league.
But they’ve also done the little things well too, like inking Shaun Livingston, sticking with Bogut and Ezeli through various injuries and resisting the urge to go after guys that didn’t fit the make-up of this squad when it looked like they might not be able to get over the hump in the West.
They stayed the course, added pieces that fit and it all came together in a year that is one of the best – if not the best – in NBA history.
It’s been fun to watch and there are no signs of his stopping in 2016 either.
