After a long 2021-22 campaign, the Golden State Warriors were crowned champions, their fourth NBA Championship in seven years…an incredible feat.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Steve Kerr & co. are back on top of the mountain - a familiar perch that’s had only a few different suitors (besides them) since 2015. With Curry seemingly entering his prime years + a roster filled with a ton of current (A. Wiggins, J. Poole) & future, possible (J. Wiseman & J. Kuminga, Moody) stars, they’re set up to contend for a long time. Not to mention Klay even further returning to form, more internal growth & anyone they might add in free agency.
It’s a great time to be a Dubs fan & and a fan of the league right now in general. Golden State’s an incredibly fun powerhouse with a lot of likable talent and with 4x titles for their core members, everyone will really be targeting them in 2023, which makes things very interesting. Teams might try and stack to compete w/ GSW’s unique mixture of young/older stars who have now all experienced success in the greatest stage - could we see more stars team up? Or will teams adopt the route of acquiring young, 1st or second year guys to nurture around established stars?
Everyone’s playing catch up to the new squad w/ the third most NBA titles (7) in history.
The Dubs are a dynasty.
DELAYBARO NOTES
• Steph Curry is nearing Top 10 All-Time - if he isn’t already there... + DYNASTY STATUS
With 4 NBA championships under his belt, Steph Curry’s ascension into the upper echelon of the most elite talent to ever play is past complete. He became only the 7th player in league history to win multiple MVPs & and at least four titles - and to top if off, he finally captured the Finals MVP trophy that’s eluded him in his previous three trips.
While Steph’s accolades continue to pile up, so is his focus - he absolutely dominated the league’s #1 defense that tried to create a gameplan geared to slow him down - instead, it truly does look like a continuation of his prime years: more dagger threes & more titles.
FOUR TITLES IN 7 YEARS = DYNASTY
The 2021-22 Dubs is a roster with a great mix of familiar faces & up & coming talent. Led by the “undefeated-in-the-Finals (when healthy)”, battle-tested core of Steph, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Steve Kerr & Andre Iguodala, they’re set up to legitimately contend (or win) a lot more gold in the near future.
• Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney & Jordan Poole are all CERTIFIED.
All-Star A. Wiggins made a HUGE splash in the 2022 Finals: co-starring w/ aggressive play offensively (avg. 18.3 ppg) while leading the way as the primary/best defender on superstar Jayson Tatum and the rest of the C’s.
GPII returning in the Finals after suffering an elbow fracture in the Semfinals (v. MEM) was a tremendous jolt that sparked some of GSW’s best defensive efforts of the season. His energy is infectious and he plays 100% unselfish, (practically) mistake-free ball. His journey, not only as the son of NBA great Gary Payton but also as an undrafted prospect, has been incredible thus far - his status as GSW’s X-Factor should be locked down for years to come.
Kevon Looney is the unsung hero of Golden State’s entire 2022 postseason run. He played incredible at the five: checked all different types of matchups, created opportunities for teammates with screens and tapping out rebounds & controlled the glass.
After spending a portion of the season in the G League last season, Jordan Poole is on the map. He played great in his roles the entire year: split time as an efficient, high-scoring starting shooting guard to before Klay’s return and later ended up as a dependable, instant-offense super sub in the last stretch of the season & playoffs, culminating with an important, 15-point performance that helped clinch GSW’s 7th title.
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4x NBA CHAMPION DRAYMOND GREEN WALKED THE TALK!
• Showed up huge in Games 5 & 6, in particular.
4x NBA CHAMPION KLAY THOMPSON’S COMEBACK IS COMPLETE!
• Congrats on the grind paying off in full.
9x! NBA CHAMPION STEVE KERR “SAID” STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!
• Rolled the dice (at times) and ended up further cementing his legacy as a decorated champion.
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2021-22 GOLDEN STATE WARRORSS
FINAL ROSTER 🏆
STEPHEN CURRY • DIFFERENT BREED, 4x! NBA CHAMPION, FINALS MVP!, 2x MVP, 8x All-Star, 8x All-NBA
KLAY THOMPSON • TOP DOG, 4x! NBA CHAMPION, 5x All-Star
DRAYMOND GREEN • HYBRID, 4x! NBA CHAMPION, 4x All-Star, 2x All-NBA, DPOY
ANDREW WIGGINS • TOP DOG, NBA CHAMPION, 1x All-Star
JORDAN POOLE • STAR UDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
KEVON LOONEY • STAR UNDERDOG, 3x! NBA CHAMPION
GARY PAYTON II • STAR UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
OTTO PORTER JR. • STAR UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
NEMANJA BJELICA • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
ANDRE IGUODALA • SALTY DOG, 4x!, NBA CHAMPION, 1x All-Star
JONATHAN KUMINGA • ROOK, NBA CHAMPION
MOSES MOODY • ROOK, NBA CHAMPION
DAMION LEE • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
QUINNDARY WEATHERSPOON • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
JAMES WISEMAN • FUTURE TOP DOG, NBA CHAMPION
CHRIS CHIOZZA • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION