The Golden State Warriors are great for the NBA
The Golden State Warriors have been criticized for ruining the NBA after signing Kevin Durant, but they are actually great for the league.
The Golden State Warriors have had a lot of people in their feelings over the last year. The Warriors have transitioned from everyone’s favorite up-and-coming team to the most hated villains in league history. And, I’ll admit, as a Dubs fan, it’s hilarious to see.
In 2013, Stephen Curry and the Warriors endeared themselves to basketball fans everywhere with their run to the second round of the playoffs. In 2015, the Warriors were the heroes as they toppled LeBron James. In 2016, they rubbed a lot of people the wrong way as they broke Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls’ single-season wins record.
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Fans of 27 other teams celebrated as the first ever unanimous MVP collapsed in historic fashion in the NBA Finals. After years of being the bad guy, James was the hero and the baby faced Curry was the evil character who had been vanquished. Then the Fourth of July happened and everything changed.
Kevin Durant flipped the NBA upside down when he announced that he would be leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder. Everyone lost their mind. It was official: Durant ruined the NBA.
The Warriors would go on to have one of most dominant postseason runs in league history. They went 16-1, narrowly missing completing the Association’s first perfect playoff run after falling in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Durant was Finals MVP despite the fact that Stephen Curry had one of the best series’ ever.
The playoffs were boring. It was a foregone conclusion who the champion would be. It was official: the Warriors ruined the NBA.
Whether or not the playoffs were actually boring is a different discussion for another team. For what it’s worth, they weren’t. And I don’t mean that as a Warriors fan–there was really a lot of awesome stuff that happened. But that’s neither here nor there.
Look at the offseason thus far. There are so many moving parts and even more that could potentially move. That’s all because of the Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are panicking because of the Warriors. The Los Angeles Clippers fell apart because of the Warriors. The Houston Rockets are making big moves because of the Golden State Warriors.
It took the Warriors assembling the greatest team of all-time to force some GMs to really get after it. That’s true greatness. And it’s fun to watch.
Because Durant decided to team up with Curry, we get to enjoy Chris Paul and James Harden next year. The Warriors have forced LeBron James to play at a level no one else has ever played at before and it’s been amazing to witness. Russell Westbrook was unleashed. The Minnesota Timberwolves went out and got Jimmy Butler to play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
Golden State forces everyone else to be better. No one is rolling over and letting them just win, especially not in the West. Unlike the Eastern Conference for the last decade or so, the Warriors’ opponents in the West are trying to fight back.
The Warriors aren’t bad for the NBA. They definitely didn’t ruin it. They’re great for the league.
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Golden State is making GMs do their job as well as they can. The make players get up for regular season games. They are creating a sense of urgency that adds drama and intensity to a league that thrives on those elements.
You don’t have to like the Warriors, but you should at least appreciate what they are doing to everyone else.