The Golden State Warriors are one win away from the official resurrection of a dynasty.
After the 2017-18 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors had completed one of the most impressive stretches in league history. The Warriors had won back-to-back championships, won eight of nine NBA Finals games (during those two years), and won three championships in four years overall.
Everything was still in front of them, with Kevin Durant still under contract for another season, and with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green playing at all-star levels. From an outside perspective, the Warriors were just getting started and the NBA finally had a dynasty that could possibly rival what the Chicago Bulls did during the 1990s.
However, fast forward 12 months and Kevin Durant decided to leave in free agency and Klay Thompson blew out a knee during the 2019 NBA Finals (which the Warriors lost).
During the 2019-20 season, the Warriors were without Klay due to a knee injury and Steph only played in five games due to injuries. They didn’t make the playoffs. Then, during the 2020-21 season, the Warriors were plagued by injuries once again. Klay missed a second-straight season with another significant injury (an Achilles) and the Warriors lost in the Play-In Tournament.
After two injury-riddled seasons, the Warriors were finally healthy heading into the 2021-22 season and that has been every bit evident.
Up 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors are now just one win away from resurrecting a dynasty that many believe was dead and gone. Many will want to say this is a new dynasty that the Warriors could be starting, but it’s completely a carryover from their first three championships in the 2010s.
Should the Warriors win the championship this season, they would have won four championships in eight years. It’s not as impressive as the 1990s Bulls, who won six in eight years, but it’s the only thing that has rivaled that level of success since.
It’s amazing that the Warriors are, once again, sitting in this position. That was very much in doubt after two significant injuries to arguably their second-best player on the team. Nevertheless, here the Warriors are.
They’ve climbed back up the ladder and are just five wins away from completing the unlikely.