They’re back. After two injury-riddled and disappointing years, they’re back. Who would’ve thought? Stephen Curry and Golden State Warriors won their fourth championship in the past eight seasons. This team has gone through a lot of changes since 2015. They signed KD in 2016, then they lost him in Free Agency three years later. The 2019-20 and the 2020-21 seasons were disappointing, but the Warriors came back last June after claiming another NBA title. Let’s look at the Golden State Warriors’ journey to the top of the NBA world!

2016-17 Season

A disappointed Warriors squad signed Kevin Durant after blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals the year prior. The Dubs shed a lot of their depth to accommodate KD. While “Strength in Numbers” was still very much alive the numbers got weaker when Steph or KD went out. But the Warriors had the most talented and spaced floor of all time. Steph, Klay, and KD took turns steering the league’s best offense, while Draymond, Andre Iguodala, and Klay led the league’s best defense. The Warriors wouldn’t beat their 73-9 record, but they would finish with 67 wins, although KD missed the end of the season with an injury. This changed nothing for the Warriors, since they swept the Western conference, and gentlemen swept LeBron, Kyrie, and the Cavs. This win was far from redemption for the Warriors. They had to do more to erase the stain of 2016.

Check out this NBC Sports article on why the 73-9 season in 2015-16 was so special: https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/warriors-73-9-season-should-be-seen-triumph-not-failure

2017-18 Season

In 2018, the Warriors depth worsened, but they were still the most talented team in the league. But, the West saw another contender rise up. The dynamic duo Houston Rockets led by James Harden and Chris Paul led the Rockets to a franchise best 65 wins! To no one’s surprise, the two teams were the 1st and 2nd seeds and would meet in the Western Conference Finals. In the first two games, Curry would struggle, averaging 17 points on 44% from the field and 15% from three, keeping the series tied. In game 3, Curry erupted for 35 on 13/23 shooting. But that was one lucky game. The Rockets would drag the series to 7 games, falling just short of the Finals. Curry struggled a lot, and KD and Klay both had more efficient outings that series. In the Finals, though, the Warriors swept a very sorry Cavs team.

2018-19 Season: End of the Warriors’ Journey?

In the 2019 season, the warriors won 57 games en route to the 1st seed in the West. But while the talent remained, the depth slowly crumbled, and with it, the chemistry that the franchise prided itself on. But, in the playoffs, the Warriors outed the Clippers in 6 and pulled off a massive series win over the Rockets in 6 games in spite of KD straining his calf in game 5. This time, Steph showed up, and shot them down. In the Conference Finals, Curry dominated the Blazers and swept them in humiliating fashion. The Warriors made it to their 5th consecutive NBA Finals, this time facing the Kawhi Leonard led Raptors. The Warriors were outmatched without KD, and they quickly fell into a 3-1 deficit. In game 5, KD came back, and then. ruptured his achilles. In game 6, Klay tore his ACL, and the dynasty was over.

After this season, people thought that the Warriors’ Journey to consistent dominance was over, but little did they know that something new was in the works.

2019-2021

All eyes were on Stephen Curry in the 2019-20 season. Many thought that Steph would be exposed if he couldn’t lead this team to the playoffs without Klay and Draymond. He’d be known as a fraud who couldn’t lead a team to wins without superstar help. Unfortunately, Steph would break his hand just 5 games into the season. Without Steph, the Warriors would finish with a 15-50 record, the worst in the league. It was a complete U-Turn from their dominant run. Hey, at least Klay and Steph would be back soon, right? Wrong. Klay Thompson tore his achilles on Draft Night. But Steph came back and almost led the Warriors to the playoffs, and he finished 3rd in MVP voting. After the Grizzlies eliminated the Warriors, Steph said “You don’t want to see us next year.”

2021-22 Season: (Maybe?) The End of the Warriors’ Journey

The Warriors weren’t expected to achieve anything in the 2021-22 season. And to everyone’s surprise, they opened the season with a blistering 18-2 start. In that 20 game stretch, Curry was the MVP favorite. The Warriors lost all momentum, though, and they fell to the 3rd seed with a 53-29 record. The consistency of the team was questioned, but the Warriors proved everyone wrong. The Warriors started hot and stayed hot, with Stephen Curry leading the Warriors to a fourth title. He received Finals MVP for his heroics and the Warriors were back on top.

Note:

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