Golden State Warriors Know The Ring Means Everything
The Golden State Warriors had a regular season for the ages — and now stand poised to make a run at a second straight title.
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The Golden State Warriors entered the 2015-16 NBA season with one shared goal — repeat as NBA Champions and hang another banner in Oracle Arena. And after a regular season re-wrote the record books, the Warriors have put themselves in position to do just that.
The records have been broken and the cheers have been consumed. They have soaked in all the praise of breaking a record many people (including their own Head-Coach) thought would never be broken, and along the way have made some doubters look foolish but they know the fun is just beginning.
The Warriors know they’re “only” 16 games away from achieving their ultimate goal — repeating as NBA Champions and solidifying their place in sports history.
Every individual record captured and every team milestone surpassed has just been lovely scenery on the road to the ultimate destination, and now with that destination finally in sight, the Warriors are ready to go full throttle with the end approaching.
Since day one of training camp, one unified goal has been preached by every member of the Warriors roster, coaching staff and member of the organization. And that goal has been defending “Their Title.” It’s a goal that has never been reached by one of the longest running dynasties in NBA history — the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have rightfully been viewed as the model franchise in the NBA for decades. Yet, for all their excellence they have never managed to win back-to-back championships.
For all the games won over the years, none of those championship banners hung in San Antonio have been for consecutive championships. You would think with a head coach as iconic as Gregg Popovich, leading elite players like Tim Duncan and David Robinson, and surrounding them with possibly two future Hall of Famers’ in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, as well as a bevy of great role players over the past 20 years, winning consecutive championships would have been part of their storied legacy. But that chapter in the Spurs historical biography has never been written.
The challenge of defending a championship is one taken on every year in every sport. The first question most championship teams get upon returning from celebrating their title run is, “Can you do it again?”
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Can the magical run that led to a title in the first place, be repeated when every team you face on the way to achieving greatness is determined end your reign and start their own legacy? It takes a special team that not only doesn’t shy away from challenges, but one that relishes the chance to conquer every challenge thrown in their direction. And the Golden State Warriors have proven all year long that the bigger the challenge, the more driven they are to overcome it.
The Warriors’ first obstacle was in overcoming the challenge of not having their head coach at the beginning of season as they began their title defense. It continued with listening to all the naysayers and critics whining and complaining about how they got “lucky” not facing certain teams at full health.
All the shots taken at the legitimacy of putting them along side some of the all-time great teams though, has only fueled their quest to accomplish greatness. When NBA writers had the gall to not even mention Stephen Curry as a possible MVP threat — coming off one of the best seasons in league history — Curry simply shot his way to one of the greatest individual seasons of all-time.
When their skeptics openly talked about luck playing the biggest role in them winning their title last season, all the Warriors did to follow that up, was have the best regular season record in NBA history.
So, if anyone thinks these Warriors haven’t been looking forward to finally reaching the pinnacle of all their goals — and once again proving all their haters and doubters wrong (again) by hoisting another banner in Oracle — they really don’t know what this team is about.
Next: Golden State Warriors: The Road to Another
The NBA playoffs are a challenging race to get to 16 victories and there are numerous obstacles that can be placed in the road to get to the finish line. But the Warriors have proven all year, there is no other team in the NBA better equipped and more determined to finish the race holding up the Larry O’Brien Trophy and celebrating back-to-back Championships.
So like their leader and the “heart and soul” of the team Draymond Green said to “DubNation” after wrapping up win number 73, “Let’s go get that Championship.”