Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Basketball fans in the Bay Area love their Golden State Warriors, and it shows each home game as the volume often reaches ear-splitting levels. In 2015, the Warriors were able to give their starving, loyal fans a championship 40 years in the making. With the recent run of success dating back to 2012, Warriors fans should be excited because they will be watching championship-caliber basketball for the foreseeable future.
Here’s three reasons why:
The Warriors have one of the most respected front offices in the NBA. In 2011, Joe Lacob bought the team and hired former sports agent Bob Myers as his GM. From the moment Myers was hired, these two had the mindset of a quick rebuild. With Steph Curry already two years into his Warriors tenure, the front office made a number of decisions (some unpopular with the fanbase) that helped the Warriors get to where they are now
Some of those decisions: Drafting Klay Thompson 11th in the 2011 draft, drafting Harrison Barnes (7th), Festus Ezeli (30th) and Draymond Green (35th) in the 2012 draft. Also, trading popular guard Monta Ellis for injury-prone big man Andrew Bogut in 2012, firing beloved coach Mark Jackson for rookie coach Steve Kerr last season (more on this in a bit) and not trading Thompson for double-double machine Kevin Love.
Myers has been rewarded with an Executive of the Year award in 2015 as well as an NBA championship for his troubles. Myers and Lacob have showed Warriors fans that they will do whatever it takes to win now, no matter how unpopular or unconventional their decisions are.
Another reason why Warriors fans should be excited is because they have one of the best coaches in the league in Steve Kerr. Although Kerr just completed his rookie season as a coach, he has already built a reputation as not only someone without an ego (*cough* Mark Jackson), but someone who is able to deal with the egos that come with the typical NBA player.
He convinced former All-Stars David Lee and Andre Iguodala to take bench roles, which allowed Green and Barnes to flourish. Kerr was able to transform the Warriors’ iso-heavy offense to a free-flowing offense with emphasis on screens, ball movement and cutting, which shot them up to the top of the league’s offensive categories.
It’s clear that Kerr’s playing days with some of the NBA’s greats, as well as his willingness to surround himself with top assistant coaches, has helped turn him into one of the more brilliant young coaches in the game. His fun personality coupled with his ear-to-ear smile make his players love playing for him.
Every player in Golden State’s starting lineup minus Bogut is under the age of 30. With Curry (27), Thompson (25), Barnes (23), Green (25) and Ezeli (25), the core of the Warriors’ squad is either in or entering their prime and should be there for the long term as Barnes and Green have both stated they intend to re-sign with the Warriors. These guys love playing together, and you can see it every night whether they’re on the court chest bumping each other after a three or when they’re on the bench joking around and enjoying each other’s company.
The Golden State Warriors have become one of the NBA’s model franchises within the last five years. Look for this to continue for a long time. After 40 years of inept, disgraceful basketball, “Dub Nation” finally has the team it deserves.
