Golden State Warriors, Like a Tech Company, Face Mounting Expectations
By Eric He
Imagine you are a CEO of a tech company, and you create a killer product that has everybody praising you, vaulting you into the Fortune 500 and establishing you as a force in the industry.
What do you do? Well, first you celebrate. You relish in your success and newfound wealth. You puff out your chest, take the grand tour, and boast that yes, you belong on the big stage and your company is the one to beat.
You do that for 2-3 months, and then the excitement fizzles down. Everyone knows about that grand new product, and they’re hungry for more. They’re looking at you, your competitors — anybody really — to step up and deliver another earth-shattering invention.
It must be the offseason, because I just created an analogy between the tech industry and the Golden State Warriors.
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Sports is run akin to any competitive industry — especially tech — because winning a championship only satisfies fans (or consumers) for so long. Not that Warriors fans are impatient — they’ve waited four decades, for Christ’s sake — but it’s only human nature. If it wasn’t, then we would all still be using the original iPhone and shrugging our shoulders every time Apple announces another event.
Instead, we line up in droves outside Apple stores, hungrily waiting for the next big thing. Sometimes, we are completely amazed. Other times, we come away impressed, but find that something is lacking despite it being a great product overall.
What if the Warriors are just “impressive” next season? Let’s say they win 55-plus games, make it to the Western Conference Finals, and lose to the Spurs. There’s no shame in that, and the Warriors still put out a great product on the floor, but the end result was just a bit lacking in comparison to what we all know the team can do.
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That’s going to be the expectation placed on the Warriors next season, their “reward” for owning the title of “defending champions.” They are the King of the Hill, but the only way to remain atop the hill is to fight and defeat every opponent again.
As training camp approaches, vacation time is over for the Warriors. Pundits are already dubbing the Spurs as favorites. Others are calling the Warriors a fluke, guaranteeing that small ball does not work. Because the offseason is so wonderful, let’s make another analogy to pop culture this time — the Warriors must avoid becoming the Daniel Powter of the NBA.
One-hit wonder, or budding dynasty? The Warriors can turn in either direction, but let’s face it — even if they repeat next year, critics will be quick to point out that there is no way in hell the Warriors can pull off a three-peat.