Best Warriors’ individual performances of the decade.
GREATEST PERFORMANCES OF THE WARRIORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP CORE
When the Warriors drafted Stephen Curry seventh overall in the 2009 draft, they didn’t realize the pick would result in one of the most dominant stretches for a team in NBA history.
Of course, it was delayed a few years. The team still needed to draft Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, trade for Andre Iguodala and hire Steve Kerr but, by 2015, the seeds of a dynasty had sprouted.
The Warriors won their first NBA championship of the decade that season. In 2016, they signed Kevin Durant, giving the team the legs needed for two more rings.
For the decade, no NBA team won more championships than the Warriors and no team in history other than the Boston Celtics had gone to the Finals five years in a row. At the core of that run was Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Durant and Green.
While the highlights and milestones are too much to count, I managed to sift through the noise and land on what I think are their best individual games of the decade.
But I also want to know what you think, so hit me on Twitter (@wcgoldberg), in the comments below or email me with your favorite game and why at wgoldberg@bayareanewsgroup.com. Here are my favorites:
Stephen Curry’s 53-point proclamation that he was still the man
OCT. 31, 2015 » Warriors at Pelicans THE NUMBERS » 53 points on 17- of-27 shooting, 8 of 14 from 3-point range, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals
In the third game of what would become his unanimous MVP season, a 27-year-old Curry made it clear the reigning 2015 MVP hadn’t lost a step. He scored 53 points, including 28 in the third quarter to break the game open, as the Warriors dispatched the Pelicans 134-120.
Curry outscored the entire Pelicans offense in the third quarter, and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989-90 to score 118 points in his team’s first three games.
“You just get better as a player and try to take it to another level,” Curry told reporters after the third win of what would become a 24-game win streak. “So that’s what I’m trying to do this year.”
During the game, Green told him “Man, you’re acting like this is your league.” That season, it was.
Klay Thompson saves a dynasty
MAY 28, 2016 » Warriors at Thunder THE NUMBERS » 41 points on 14- of-31 shooting, 11 of 18 from 3-point range YOU KNOW THE STORY» The Warriors down 3-2 in the 2016 Western Conference finals and trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder by eight entering the fourth quarter, Klay Thompson scored 19 points in the final period to help the Warriors send the series to a seventh game.
Thompson made four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, and his 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining put the Warriors up 104-101.
The Warriors went on to beat the Thunder in Game 7 before losing to the Cavaliers in the Finals. However, that led to the demise of the Warriors’ biggest competition in the West: The Thunder of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Durant left the Thunder as a free agent and joined the Warriors.
Iggy limits LeBron in Game 4, ignites turnaround
JUNE 11, 2015 » Warriors at Cavaliers THE NUMBERS » 22 points on 8- of-15 shooting, 4 of 9 from 3-point range, 8 rebounds
LeBron James dominated every game of the 2015 NBA Finals except Game 4. The Warriors down 2-1 in the series, Nick U’Ren, heretofore an unknown Warriors assistant coach, recommended to Kerr that he start Iguodala and open with the small lineup that put Green at center.
That decision swung the finals. With Iguodala smothering him, James was held to 20 points on 7-of-22 shooting. The Warriors won the game and the two that followed, capturing their first title in 40 years. For his efforts, Iguodala was named NBA Finals MVP.
Durant’s Game 3 domination highlights sweep
JUNE 6, 2018 » Warriors at Cavaliers THE NUMBERS » 43 points on 15- of-23 shooting, 6 of 9 from 3-point range, 13 rebounds, 7 assists
The most dominant version of the Warriors was the 2017-18 title-winning team that swept the Cavaliers in four games in the NBA Finals. And the most dominant version of Durant was the one on display in those four games.
The best of it came in Game 3, when Durant scored a then career playoff-high 43 points and drained a 33-footer to cap a performance that put the Warriors within one game of a sweep. Durant was simply overwhelming.
“He’s an assassin,” James told reporters.
Green’s tormenting of the Trail Blazers
MAY 1, 2016 » Trail Blazers at Warriors THE NUMBERS » 23 points on 6- of-14 shooting, 2 of 5 from 3-point range, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal
In Game 1 of the second round of the Western Conference playoffs against Portland, Green laid the foundation for what was one of his greatest defensive performances.
With Curry sidelined because of a sprained right knee, Green disrupted play after play. Green helped harass All-Star guard Damian Lillard into shooting 36.2% for the series and 8- of-26 (30.8%) in Game 1, which the Warriors won 118-106.
“I just told the guys that we’ve got to come out with a defensive mindset,” Green told reporters.
Green averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 3.2 blocks and 1.8 steals in 39.8 minutes per game that series, showing why he, at his peak, was one of the most dominant box score stuffers in the game.