The Golden State Warriors are still the most recent team to win back-to-back NBA championships, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018. Their three-peat aspirations ultimately came up short following injuries and a red-hot Toronto Raptors team in 2019, and Kevin Durant's departure the following summer set the team up for a significantly weaker 2019-20 season that was sunk entirely following a Steph Curry injury.
They bounced back in the strongest way possible for the 2020-21 NBA season where they not only returned to contender status but once again lifted the Larry O'Brien trophy after beating the Boston Celtics in six games. Draymond Green's statement to Kevin Durant only a few seasons earlier, that the Warriors won without him and will do so again after he leaves, came true. Curry further cemented his legacy, and talks of going back-to-back percolated.
Those talks died quickly though, and for some before the season even started. An inordinate amount of off-the-court drama (more on this later) plagued the entire team and locker room. Their on-court performance suffered. They managed to make the playoffs but needed all seven games to eliminate the Sacramento Kings, and then were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the next round.
It was a weak title defense, and the off-court issues were not the only reason for their failure. They had plenty of roster construction issues. The Warriors attempted to thread the needle between optimizing their championship window with Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson while growing young prospects to make their eventual rebuild quicker and easier. Like their 2021 title defense, they failed.
This is not surprising. When the Warriors first opted to try to thread the needle it made sense in theory. It is only the hindsight following their failure that makes the end result seem obvious and predictable. It was worth trying, but borderline impossible. You are either trying to win a championship or rebuilding, there is not a way to do both in one season.
This off-season, the Warriors have made a clear choice: they are trying to win the championship. They made moves to address their locker room troubles, extended veterans, brought in others, and drafted a win-now rookie. Here are five reasons the Warriors could be your 2024 NBA Champions.
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship: 5. Draymond Green's contract extension
Draymond Green is a Golden State Warriors legend. He has been their most important defensive player for all four of their NBA championships since 2015. His versatility is what gives the Warriors so much lineup flexibility. Green is comfortable playing as a small center, operating next to another post player, or alongside a big who can space the floor. He can defend every position. He's the Warriors conductor, making the trains run on time.
So why was extending him a looming question for the entire season? Well, for starters, he punched a teammate in the face. That will give any time doubts about whether or not to extend a player, no matter how important he is to what the team has accomplished. The punch is only the extreme though. Green is notorious for technical fouls, squabbles with teammates, arguments with coaches, and more. The passion and intensity that fuels a portion of his on-court impact is something that he struggles to turn off. Sometimes he sees red, and that could have impacted his ability to line his pockets with green.
Those doubts are now gone. The Warriors signed Green to a four-year $100 million contract extension at the beginning of free agency. They made it clear that they are all in on continuing to chase championships with the core of Curry, Thompson, and Green.
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship: 4. Jordan Poole is gone
Jordan Poole is a very good basketball player. The pros of his departure from the Warriors have nothing to do with his talent. Heck, Poole was instrumental to the Warriors 2021 championship. His scoring punch, creativity, and flashiness brought a flavor off the bench that the Warriors have never had during their dynasty run. He was a great bench option for Curry directly, and also played well with him.
But then, he got punched in the face by Draymond Green. Then, the video leaked. Then, the Warriors never really reprimanded Green. They picked a side, and it wasn't his. Poole picked a side too, and it was his own. He opted for more isolations, more rushed shots, and cared more about the "me" than the "we." You can't fault Poole for this. As we've said a few times, he took a punch from a teammate, and the organization sided with the puncher. Most people would do what's best for themselves in response to that.
But what was best for Poole was not best for the Warriors, and his selfish play style paired with their weakened reserve unit was a recipe for disappointment. Their bench was constantly outplayed by quality opponents, and they struggled mightily in minutes where Curry sat.
This led to the Warriors trading Poole for Chris Paul this off-season. A surprising move in bringing in Paul, but an expected move in regards to moving on from Poole. He'll get to isolate as much as he wants with the Washington Wizards next season.
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship: 3. Adding veterans to their bench with Chris Paul and Dario Saric
The Warriors bench was bad last season. Poole's descent has been discussed and the team's only good bench player was Donte DiVincenzo. Jonathan Kuminga improved throughout the season but the bench unit's overall lack of spacing limited his ability to have a significant offensive impact, particularly when he wasn't on the court with Curry whose rim pressure opened up a lot of opportunities for him.
Poole's departure as well as DiVincenzo's to the New York Knicks underscored the need for the Warriors to retool their entire bench, so they did. Poole brought Chris Paul to the team. Now if you believe what most league insiders are saying, Paul is starting. But he will also definitely lead the non-Curry minutes, and serve as a floor general who can scrap for cheap buckets and also create opportunities for others.
Those others will be Gary Payton II, who the Warriors traded for at last season's trade deadline after he helped them win the 2021 NBA championship. They also added Croatian skilled big man Dario Saric who should be able to fill in for what Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. gave to the team a couple of seasons ago. They also added veteran guard Cory Joseph.
These additions, a full season of Payton II, and continued improvement from their retained rotation pieces should resolve the bench failures that plagued them all of last season.
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship: 2. Improvement from their young players
The Golden State Warriors will not only be relying on new faces to buoy their bench next season but also familiar ones. Particularly from Jonathan Kuminga who was the seventh pick of the 2021 NBA Draft and is entering his third season in the league.
He is still only 21 years old and could be poised for a breakout season. The forward is a polarizing figure in the league, capable of drawing extreme opinions from both sides of the spectrum. His most ardent believers will point to his two breakout games last season with 24 points, and how he attacked the rim when given the space to do so and was borderline unstoppable once he got momentum. This is the player he can be, and his three-point shot improved slightly - from 34 percent to 37 percent. If that leap is real, and his improvement as a slasher holds, he could be a critical component of a title run last season.
If there's growth from Moses Moody alongside that, and if rookie Brandin Podziemski can contribute to the rotation then the Warriors will have gone from one of the worst bench units in the league to one of the best in one summer.
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship: 1. They still have Steph Curry
The most important aspect of being a contending team is having a star player who is capable of being the best player on a championship team. There are only a handful of these in the league, far fewer than 30, the number of teams in the league.
The Warriors have a player who is capable of being the best player on a championship team, and it's Steph Curry. While some may argue otherwise, he has been the best player for all four of their championships starting in 2015. He is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball, the best point guard of all time, and a top 10 player in the history of the game. His legacy and ability to lead a team to a championship is undeniable, even at 35 years old.
All the reasons listed before this are important for the Warriors if they are truly going to win their fifth championship in nine seasons, but the only reason any of them matter is because of Curry. This team will go as far as he goes, and he has proven capable of carrying them to the promised land as much as anyone else in the league. The Nuggets, Lakers, and Suns will stand in their way, but as long as they have Curry the Warriors always have a shot. That is why they could be the 2024 NBA Champions.
