The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of becoming an NBA dynasty.
With another championship this season, the Golden State Warriors will be without a doubt an NBA dynasty. Throughout the course of the leagues’ history, a number of different dynasties have popped up. From Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, dynasties are nothing new to the NBA.
Except, the Golden State Warriors have been doing something never seen before. Sure, there have been plenty of franchises that have dominated their respective eras. However, none of those teams have managed to constantly improve their roster the same way the Warriors have.
The Warriors started their reign in the 2014-15 season. Key players began to emerge as stars. Stephen Curry erupted onto the scene and won his first MVP award. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson became an elite shooter and Draymond Green was slowly rising. This resulted in the Dubs winning their first championship in over 40 years.
Many saw this championship as a “fluke”. This is because the Warriors benefited from a few timely injuries to their opponents. Naturally, most of the media expected the Dubs to regress as a team.
Well, Golden State did the exact opposite of regress. Curry took his game to unforeseen heights by winning the first ever unanimous MVP award. Green was now a full-blown defensive mastermind and Thompson bloomed into one of the leagues best players. Golden State won an NBA record 73 games in the regular season and fell one game short of a championship.
At this point, most dynasty teams would have continued to build upon their core players and compete. The core usually would remain largely intact as the key players develop together. However, the Warriors responded by adding another superstar to their team.
The addition of Kevin Durant completely flipped the league upside down. Golden State now had two of the three best players in the league on their team. They even managed to sign him without losing any huge pieces to their core.
With Durant, the Dubs had back to back successful seasons. In KD’s first year the team won 67 games and the NBA championship. Next season, they won 58 games and another championship. Durant won the Finals MVP award in both appearances.
Again, most dynasties would have kept the same core unit. Maybe the team would make slight changes to the bench, but nothing major. In contrast, the Warriors decided to add the best big man in the league.
Now, the Warriors seem unstoppable heading into the 2018-19 season. This team was already capable of winning multiple championships since their emergence in 2015. Somehow, they managed to add two more All-Star players. This roster now contains a top-five player at each starting position.
This type of talent all on one team is unprecedented. The roster rivals that of an Olympic team. No other dynasty has improved at the rate of the Warriors. This is what sets them apart from the rest of the competition. Each season they continue to get better.