Calling for the four-peat: My personal challenge to the Golden State Warriors

StephWell, we’re at the NBA All-Star break and this just in: The Golden State Warriors are really good.  They are 48-4.  No, that is not a typo.

In late January, over a five-game stretch, the defending champions beat the Cavs, Bulls, Pacers, Spurs and Mavericks by a combined 125 points.  Those are five playoff teams that they bulldozed with relative ease.

Las Vegas currently lists the Warriors at -125 to win the NBA Finals and that’s probably a bargain.

In my lifetime as a basketball fan, I’ve seen what I’d consider a few dynasties:  Both the Lakers and Celtics of the 1980s, the Bad Boy Pistons of the late ‘80s, the two Chicago Bulls three-peat teams of the 1990s, the back-to-back Houston Rockets teams that were bookended by those Bulls teams and the Lakers three-peat teams of Kobe and Shaq.  We also have the later Laker back-to-back championships of Kobe and Pau and the LeBron-Wade-Bosh back-to-backers of only a few years ago.  And then there are Tim Duncan’s variety of Spurs teams who oddly enough never repeated but still won five championships over a fifteen year span.

All those teams I mentioned were pretty damn good.  So are these Warriors as they look poised to repeat.

Ironically, considering how many NBA teams have done so over last twenty-five years, we didn’t see too many repeat champions in the NBA prior to the mid-1980s.  The Lakers won back-to-back championships in 1986-87 and 87-88 but prior to that, you’d have to go back to the late ‘60s, towards the end of the great Celtics dynasty to find that sort of multi-season dominance.

Since then, however, repeat champions have been the norm rather than the exception.  That should be the case again this year because the Warriors are playing in video game mode.

michael dennis scottieThey are dangerously close to history.  Besting Chicago’s best ever regular season record of 72-10 would make Golden State the greatest regular season team in NBA history.  At 48-4, it’s looking more and more like that might happen.  Most of their games aren’t close.  Half the time, Las Vegas lists them as double-digit favorites, even when they’re on the road.  And they cover.

Assuming this team seals the deal with another championship, we can then debate where this team ranks all-time.  If, and most likely when, that happens, you’d probably have to rank them in the top ten teams of the modern era among the previous dynasties I’ve already mentioned.  Where you put them is up to you.

But I demand better.  Don’t get me wrong.  This team is a joy to watch as they show night after night the second best team is nowhere close.

So let’s say, hypothetically speaking, this team wins it all this year, then wins sixty-some odd games next season and another championship, giving them back-to-back-to-back titles.  Clearly I’m getting ahead of myself but just hear me out.  If these Warriors are fortunate enough to win three championships, they’d be in some very special company with the Kobe-Shaq Lakers, the two Jordan-Pippen three-peats, the 80s Lakers-Celtics teams, the Spurs of course, and the early 60s Celtics.  That makes them at worst one of the top seven dynasties in NBA history.

This is why I’m asking for a four-peat to put to bed any argument.

Look, they are a long way away from making that happen.  They’ll have egos to overcome, contracts to renew and the inevitable health issues that come from playing such a grueling schedule with a target on their back but the aforementioned dynasties all had interchangeable parts and obstacles to overcome as well.

warriors champsThe Warriors winning four straight championships, in my mind, would make them the second greatest dynasty in NBA history after the 1960s Celtics teams that barely gave anybody else in the league a chance, kind of like Golden State is doing right now.

Not even Michael Jordan, who most consider to be the greatest of all time, could argue that fact.

Let’s be very clear here.  I’m not saying the Warriors will win four straight championships.  I’m saying them winning four straight would sure settle a lot of arguments.

I’m rooting for it.  I like watching greatness.  Sure the NBA might be boring if the Warriors simply destroy everyone in their path for four straight years.  The Commissioner can’t possibly be pulling for that but historians sure would.

These Golden State Warriors are already great.  In fact, that might be an understatement.  However, if they want to become legendary, I say they set their goals higher.  And let’s see how truly elite they can become.

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14 Replies to “Calling for the four-peat: My personal challenge to the Golden State Warriors”

  1. Let’s see , Klay Thompson can thirty points in half a game , Steph Curry almost at will can drop fifty points on any team in NBA . Oh I forgot to mention Draymond Green might now be the best two way player in the NBA when it comes to pounding the boards on defense and offense. Not to bad a player either when asked to score .

    Too early start talking about dynasties , but if the Warriors win two of the next three titles then I say we can start talking about a dynasty . Not enough credit has been given to the coaching , players or for that matter Jerry West , the ownership duo of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. Guber for his part as a co-owner of the Dodgers is having more success with the NBA franchise than he is with MLB ball-club.

  2. What ever happened to: Take one day at a time?

    I guess at my age, you don’t look three seasons ahead.

    Puh Puh puh

    What do they say about buying ripe bananas?

  3. They are having a one-of-a-kind year, one of the truly all-time seasons for damn sure. Health isn’t ever a given and some overconfidence at some point is. But I’ll agree they’re a full blown dynasty if they close out this year and win it all again the next. Dynasties for me at least were always associated with three years.

  4. West is the man, Al. I’m going to pick up his biography again.

    I mean that guy clearly knows hoops… and personalities, which I think in the NBA is just as important.

    Four years ago, they were booing the Warriors owner for not giving a fuck. I’d say the fans have changed their tune.

  5. Agreed, Burnsy. And we’ve seen some good ones over the past two-and-a-half decades.

    I remember that 72-10 team. Jordan was in search and destroy mode. This isn’t all that far off.

  6. Without Joe Lacob and Peter Guber having the foresight to bring in Jerry West , the Golden State Warriors would still be everyone’s bi#ch in the NBA . Lacob and Guber are consummate businessmen who know their way around a boardroom as well knowing a great deal about sports. How many owners can actually say that about within the NBA ? They saw fit to bring in Jerry West , fire a prick like Mark Jackson , hire Steve Kerr on West’s approval and also GM Bob Myers .

    Bear in mind Kerr’s coaching staff led by lead assistant Luke Walton isn’t too bad either ? Walton coached the team to an impressive record during part of this season while Steve Kerr was out undergoing back surgery. All leading to ongoing speculation Luke Walton will end up with a full-time coaching gig next season in the NBA.

  7. Not to offend but teamwork makes teams good. With a few exceptions, find 5 talented guys with 2 studs that can bond with the other 3 and you’ve got a contender. Look at the history and tell me I’m wrong.

  8. Al…

    Unless your name is Gregg Popovich, we both know that coaching only goes so far in the NBA. You have to have talent.

    I wanna see what a guy like Luke can do on a less talented team.

  9. You’re probably right on that, Moose.

    LeBron-Wade and company.

    Kobe-Pau and company.

    Kobe-Shaq and company.

    Michael-Scottie and company.

    Hakeem-Drexler and company.

    Magic-Kareem and company.

    Bird-McHale and company.

    Isiah-Laimbeer and company.

    Walt-The Pearl and company.

    This is fun. I could go on for hours.

  10. If they can pull off the 4-peat, all the power to em…

    By that time, the Lakers should be ready to dethrone them.

    Keeping the Larry O’Brien trophy warm in Cali with Mychal’s kid and Jerry West’s fingerprints all over it in the meantime wouldn’t be so bad.

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