"The Golden State Warriors have been atop of the NBA for the last eight years." --Rafi Ponet, 8th Grade
The Golden State Warriors have been atop of the NBA for the last eight years. Winning four championships in your franchise history is a lot, but winning them in only eight years is absurd. However, all dynasties must come to an end and this Warriors’ one is no different. Steph Curry is 35, Klay Thompson is 33, and so is Draymond Green. Kevin Durant is long gone and Andrew Wiggins is a shell of himself. Now the Warriors’ young guys have to play years beyond their age for them to have any chance to contend.
The strange thing about the Warriors is that the young guys are playing well, and they are not having the same struggle to win games on the road from last year. Yet they are sitting 12th in the West with a disappointing 21-25 record.as of February 6th. So, why are they so bad? There’s lots of reasons but the first thing that comes to mind is defense.
The Warriors were in the better half of the league in defense, every year since 2015 excluding the 20-21 season, where Curry and Thompson were injured. This year they are in the bottom ten defensive teams. A big reason for this is the absence of Green, as he is one of the best defenders in the league.
Green has been a controversial player his whole career. In the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the mid-section. In the NBA Finals, he did a similar thing to Cleveland Cavaliers Star Lebron James. In the training camp for the 2022-23 season, he punched his teammate Jordan Poole, coming off of a championship! Then in the playoffs that year, Green stomped on Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis, resulting in a one-game suspension. This year alone Green has been suspended twice. First, for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock in a fight against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which resulted in a 5-game suspension. Then, he hit Jusuf Nurkic in the face, in a nationally televised game against the Phoenix Suns. Because he was a repeat offender, the NBA suspended him indefinitely which ended up being 12 games. So, in total Green missed 17 of the first 40 games for the Warriors off of suspensions alone.
Another reason for the Warriors’ struggles is Thompson.
In Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson suffered a torn ACL after a dunk attempt. Then in 2020 while recovering from the injury, he tore his Achilles. Thompson would then return in 2022 and play a vital role in the Warriors winning the championship. But still, it was clear that Thompson was not the same player as before the injury. Pre-injury, he was one of the best 3 and D players in the league, and an All-Star. He is still good now, but the combination of his old age and injury history have caused him to now be an average-to-below-average defender. His shooting is still great, but it seems a little more inconsistent than before.
Curry is Curry. The greatest shooter in the history of basketball, a top-ten player of all time is still playing up to par despite being 35 years old. But after every close, heartbreaking loss, it seems as if he’s losing more and more faith in his team.
The Warriors draft class this year has played great. Brandin Podziemski, the 19th pick in the draft, has played better than anyone expected, shooting well, rebounding, and playing good defense. Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was picked 57th, has provided rim protection and rebounding for them. And Jonathan Kuminga, their 7th pick in the 2021 draft is having the best year of his career.
But with this season all but hopeless for a shot at the finals, what will the Warriors future look like post-dynasty? They have many good young players, as mentioned before, but are any of them actually good enough to build a team around later? Kuminga is the only one who has a realistic chance at that. He is 21 years old and is currently averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game this season. But he has been even better recently, and his athleticism and midrange touch has fans excited.
Many people think the Warriors should make a blockbuster trade at the deadline, but with Pascal Siakam, who many thought the Warriors should target, being traded to the Pacers, there are most likely no players available that could turn their season around. The problem is that it’s hard to waste the last years of Curry’s career on a mediocre team, especially at the level he’s performing.
But what do the fans think?
Isaiah Kahn is an 8th grader at Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) and had this to say about the Warriors chances. “They might make the playoffs, but even if they do I don’t think they will go far.”
But Kahn is still hopeful that they can rebuild.
“They have good management and young guys so I don’t think it will take very long for them to rebuild,
“If Wiggins plays better I feel like the Warriors will have a chance but if everyone keeps playing the same way, they will stay at the bottom of the league,” said Kai Vejsada, also an 8th grader at OSA.
Both Kahn and Vejsada agreed that it was time for the Warriors to rebuild.
Warriors fans have gotten to experience four championships in the span of eight years, something not many sports fans can say, but like they say, all good things must come to an end.
The strange thing about the Warriors is that the young guys are playing well, and they are not having the same struggle to win games on the road from last year. Yet they are sitting 12th in the West with a disappointing 21-25 record.as of February 6th. So, why are they so bad? There’s lots of reasons but the first thing that comes to mind is defense.
The Warriors were in the better half of the league in defense, every year since 2015 excluding the 20-21 season, where Curry and Thompson were injured. This year they are in the bottom ten defensive teams. A big reason for this is the absence of Green, as he is one of the best defenders in the league.
Green has been a controversial player his whole career. In the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the mid-section. In the NBA Finals, he did a similar thing to Cleveland Cavaliers Star Lebron James. In the training camp for the 2022-23 season, he punched his teammate Jordan Poole, coming off of a championship! Then in the playoffs that year, Green stomped on Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis, resulting in a one-game suspension. This year alone Green has been suspended twice. First, for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock in a fight against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which resulted in a 5-game suspension. Then, he hit Jusuf Nurkic in the face, in a nationally televised game against the Phoenix Suns. Because he was a repeat offender, the NBA suspended him indefinitely which ended up being 12 games. So, in total Green missed 17 of the first 40 games for the Warriors off of suspensions alone.
Another reason for the Warriors’ struggles is Thompson.
In Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson suffered a torn ACL after a dunk attempt. Then in 2020 while recovering from the injury, he tore his Achilles. Thompson would then return in 2022 and play a vital role in the Warriors winning the championship. But still, it was clear that Thompson was not the same player as before the injury. Pre-injury, he was one of the best 3 and D players in the league, and an All-Star. He is still good now, but the combination of his old age and injury history have caused him to now be an average-to-below-average defender. His shooting is still great, but it seems a little more inconsistent than before.
Curry is Curry. The greatest shooter in the history of basketball, a top-ten player of all time is still playing up to par despite being 35 years old. But after every close, heartbreaking loss, it seems as if he’s losing more and more faith in his team.
The Warriors draft class this year has played great. Brandin Podziemski, the 19th pick in the draft, has played better than anyone expected, shooting well, rebounding, and playing good defense. Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was picked 57th, has provided rim protection and rebounding for them. And Jonathan Kuminga, their 7th pick in the 2021 draft is having the best year of his career.
But with this season all but hopeless for a shot at the finals, what will the Warriors future look like post-dynasty? They have many good young players, as mentioned before, but are any of them actually good enough to build a team around later? Kuminga is the only one who has a realistic chance at that. He is 21 years old and is currently averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game this season. But he has been even better recently, and his athleticism and midrange touch has fans excited.
Many people think the Warriors should make a blockbuster trade at the deadline, but with Pascal Siakam, who many thought the Warriors should target, being traded to the Pacers, there are most likely no players available that could turn their season around. The problem is that it’s hard to waste the last years of Curry’s career on a mediocre team, especially at the level he’s performing.
But what do the fans think?
Isaiah Kahn is an 8th grader at Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) and had this to say about the Warriors chances. “They might make the playoffs, but even if they do I don’t think they will go far.”
But Kahn is still hopeful that they can rebuild.
“They have good management and young guys so I don’t think it will take very long for them to rebuild,
“If Wiggins plays better I feel like the Warriors will have a chance but if everyone keeps playing the same way, they will stay at the bottom of the league,” said Kai Vejsada, also an 8th grader at OSA.
Both Kahn and Vejsada agreed that it was time for the Warriors to rebuild.
Warriors fans have gotten to experience four championships in the span of eight years, something not many sports fans can say, but like they say, all good things must come to an end.