A lot can change in 1,005 days. The last time we saw Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green take the NBA floor together -- ceremonial seven seconds on Jan. 9 notwithstanding -- the world and the NBA were different places.
But in seven minutes Monday at Chase Center, the Warriors' trio reminded everyone of what was and what can be again.
Green returned to the Warriors on Monday after a 31-game absence for calf weakness caused by a disc issue in his lower back. That back injury coincided with Thompson's return on Jan. 9 after 941 days away and prolonged the wait for the on-court reunion of Golden State's dynastic core.
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Green came off the bench Monday so it wasn't until late in the second quarter that the three finally shared the court again. It was a moment 1,005 days in the making. The last time they played together was in a different building in a different NBA.
Then, they were the NBA's bully. A feared dynastic force fighting through injuries and exhaustion to try to claim three titles in a row and four in five seasons. Now, after two-plus years spent healing, resting and recalibrating, they are traversing the championship mountain again, hoping to reassert themselves as the overlords of the NBA.
The trio played just seven minutes together Monday in the Warriors' 126-112 win over the Washington Wizards, but the message was sent loud and clear to the rest of the league: They're back.
In seven minutes on the floor together, the Warriors scored 23 points, had an offensive rating of 135.3 and a defensive rating of 94.1 for a net rating of 46.4 (!).
Green's presence was immediately felt when he checked in Monday as he got Curry an open look for three off a split action on his first possession back. (Compilation of Green's impact put together by The Athletic's Anthony Slater.)
Then, later in the second quarter, Green pushed the ball up the floor with Curry and Thompson on his left side. Green used the gravity of Curry, who had 47 points Monday, to draw the defense before hitting Thompson on a cut to the basket for an easy layup.
Does it feel like 2014-15 to anyone else?
Green played just 20 minutes on Monday and scored just six points. But he was a team-high plus-24 when on the court, and gave the Warriors a jolt of energy they badly needed during his two-month absence.
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"The chessboard changes with Draymond out there with Steph. Everything looks and feels a little bit different, and it's tougher to navigate defensively for our opponent," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. "And I haven't even mentioned his defense yet. Draymond changes everything for us."
The sight of Green running the break with Curry and Thompson was food for the soul. A reminder of how rare the dynastic core's longevity is. Where James Harden forced his way out of two teams in 12 months, Curry never looked for greener pastures. While Anthony Davis was refusing to play amid a trade demand, Green re-upped without a second thought. Thompson, one of the great two-way players of his era, could have looked to branch out on his own, but that's not in his DNA.
"It was magical," Thompson said of sharing the court with Curry and Green again after the win. "I mean, I'm looking forward to these future games as well. We're going to rebuild our chemistry and just have fun while doing it and appreciate every night we have with each other."
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One thousand and five days is a long time to wait for something that you might have once taken for granted. The core that went to five straight Finals and was the dominant force of an NBA decade now is armed not only with hunger and Hall of Fame talent. But also with perspective.
Two years of their prime together was ripped from them. Now whole, they know they have no time to waste.
That's why both Green and Thompson didn't blink when asked Monday if the Warriors were going to win the title this year.
"I do," Thompson said when asked if he backed the proclamation Green made to NBC Sports Bay Area in the postgame interview. "I'm too much of a competitor to sit up here and doubt our team or give another the nod over us.
"No chance."
That perspective also had Curry pull in his dynastic brothers after the win over the Wizards and share a special moment as the Warriors' core, now finally back together, turns its attention to the playoff grind they missed the past two seasons.
"That's what Steph said, man," Green told NBC Sports Bay Area after the win. "He said, 'it's been 1,005 days since we played together. Let's celebrate. Let's enjoy that.' It's true man. Obviously. we thought it would be sooner but the two-month delay was worth it . It’s great to be able to be out there with those guys, man.
"It’s a special thing we have here.”
Long-awaited reunion complete. Swagger returned.
The Warriors are finally whole and ready to deliver a message to the rest of the title contenders: We're back and the road goes through us. Best of luck.