The Golden State Warriors so far this season do not remotely resemble their old selves from several years ago when they reached the NBA Finals six times in eight years. They do not even resemble their iteration from last season when they were second in the league in scoring.
They’re 9-10 after a 120-114 victory on Thursday over the struggling Los Angeles Clippers, and if the postseason began right now, they would only claim the final play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference. That would require them to win back-to-back games on the road to qualify for the playoffs.
Well-known commentator Colin Cowherd said what many feel is true — that the Warriors’ dynasty is now dead.
As recently as two seasons ago, Golden State won 18 of its first 20 games and cruised to the third seed in the Western Conference, then blazed its way to the NBA Finals where it overcame a 2-1 series deficit to get past the Boston Celtics.
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At the time, it looked like perhaps the team could win at least one more ring with its core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The big reason for that was the cadre of young players that had infused it with new blood, including Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II.
But Poole was traded this past summer for 38-year-old Chris Paul, even though the Warriors had given Poole a big contract extension last October. Forward Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft, hasn’t panned out, and the team looks like it is fading up.
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While Curry, who is 35, continues to play at an outstanding level, Thompson isn’t what he used to be after tearing his ACL in 2019 and his Achilles in late 2020. Thompson was such a huge part of the Warriors’ dynasty, not only because of his historically great 3-point shooting but also because he was an excellent defender.
If this is the end of their dynasty, it hasn’t been nearly as ugly as the end of some other dynasties across team sports — at least not so far.
