1. Golden State Warriors
Well…duh.
There has been much handwringing over the eventual cost of keeping the team together – that it is too prohibitive, even for a franchise that has been printing money for years. That’s what happens when there are zero on-court weaknesses for anyone to even dream of exploiting.
No, it won’t last forever. But lambasting other franchises for punting the next couple of seasons and instead taking the long view is absurd. It would be a significant upset if anyone else held up the hardware in either of the next two Junes, and if someone else does, its going to be one of the teams in this group.
The Warriors have quite literally changed the playing field, adjusting timelines league-wide, forcing other franchises to go all in or sit out the game altogether.
IT is all the result of a once in a lifetime series of events: signing a future two-time MVP to a ridiculously below-market deal, watching the league’s second best shooter and prototypical modern wing fall to 11th in the draft, plucking a top-ten overall player in the second round, and taking advantage of a cap spike in the same summer the league’s second best player hits the market.
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As a result, we could put up a version of this list for the next fifty seasons and never have as secure a number one as we do right now.
Path to Glory: wake up, have some coffee, get dressed, drive to the arena, show up on time, and ball.