OAKLAND – In addition to talent, teamwork and strategy, there is another element essential to winning an NBA championship.
Luck.
Luck, in fact, often trumps the other three, and it’s the only factor that is completely arbitrary.
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SIGN UP HERE The Warriors have had their share of good luck in recent years, and they got a huge measure of it Friday morning when Stephen Curry was involved in a car accident.
Driving from his Alamo home to Rakuten Performance Center in Oakland, Curry’s black Porsche was hit twice on the westbound portion of Highway 24, about four miles from the team’s facility. The first car, spinning out on damp pavement, crashed into Curry, according to California Highway Patrol. With Curry pulled over for assistance at the center median, the second hit the concrete wall and then Curry's car.
Here’s where luck got involved: Curry walked away. His car sustained major damage, but he was unscathed.
Such news provides everyone with a rooting interest in the Warriors, or happens to be on the team’s payroll, a moment to sing with joy. It gives any compassionate human being a reason to pause and really, really savor that next breath.
The Warriors, as we know, have not always felt the warmth that comes with good luck. They’re not that far removed from the night they were told their most established player, Monta Ellis, was injured in a Moped accident and would miss several months. They once drafted a player, the late Cyril Baptiste, with unquestioned gifts but also an addiction to heroin.
Perhaps the most notable example of bad Warriors luck came in 1985. It was the first year of the draft lottery, and they’d finished 22-60, tying with Indiana for the worst record in the league, giving them a great chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. There were seven lottery teams then. Then-commissioner David Stern pulled envelopes containing logos from all seven teams.
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The Warriors’ envelope came out first, meaning they would pick seventh. The face of Al Attles, then the general manager, went from optimism to dejection. Their hope of drafting Patrick Ewing – who had indicated a desire to come to Bay Area to reconnect with college teammate Sleepy Floyd – went No. 1 overall to the Knicks.
The Warriors selected Chris Mullin, a Hall of Famer, but not a franchise savior.
Lately, though, the luck of the franchise has turned. Curry’s early-career ankle woes, which had some believing his career was in jeopardy, have become much less problematic. Finding Draymond Green in the second round was as much luck as judgment. Their rise to the top of the NBA happened in large part because core players were healthy at the most critical times.
Curry has missed the last seven games with a groin injury. He will miss a few more. But there is a chance he’ll back before the month is over. The timeline for his return was unaffected by the accident.
The two-time MVP actually made it into Rakuten to receive treatment. He walked into the facility. Credit any number of elements for that, but luck has to be among them.