As the Warriors hope to be on their way to making it back to the NBA Finals in June, it’s worth reflecting on how unique their situation is – with their three core players in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green still in their prime, while coming off two seasons of missing from playoff contention.
But all three of them believe that the 2021-22 version of the Warriors – a mix of veteran stars and promising youngsters – have the right recipe to get back to the promised land, with more experience mixed in. They spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kelenna Azubuike for the “Decade in the Bay” series about how they’ve rebounded this season and whether this year is the start of a “Dynasty 2.0.”
“It feels just like [2013 through 2016], adding on a championship pedigree of having the confidence that we’ve done it before,” Curry said. “All that we’ve learned over the past two years and the appreciation for what we did those previous five – we’re extremely hungry, we’re extremely determined to get back to that level.”
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Given their experience with making championship runs, Curry added that the trio understands the details of what it takes to win 16 games in the playoffs.
For Thompson, it’s imperative that the Warriors make good on having an excellent chance at competing for a championship.
“We’re lucky,” Thompson said. “When we were young in our careers and now – to have a team again that is very deep, that we can play 12 guys a night. And everyone knows their role. It’s special. This doesn’t happen that frequently in sports, and when it does you’ve got to take advantage.”
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Green echoed the Splash Brothers’ thoughts. To him, the Warriors are back, thriving and rolling again. Green watched as injuries to Curry and Thompson derailed the Warriors’ odds at contending the past two seasons.
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But they’re all back together now, and despite the trio only playing 11 minutes together prior to the playoffs, it’s apparent that they’re just as in-sync now as they were when the dynasty first started.
“I think that is also one of the benefits of winning so young in a career,” Green said. “You had that little break in the action, yet we’re still in the stages of prime years. And we can still play with the best of them, if not be the best. And we believe that and we’re trying to go out there and show it.”