The Warriors in the last eight years since Steve Kerr became their head coach have seen it all. They've rewritten the record books, won championships and went from a fun up-and-coming team to one of the biggest sports franchises in the world.
All that in under a decade, and that's leaving out a whole lot of details. For how much has changed, nothing compares to the 2021-22 NBA season, and the book on this campaign continues to have plenty of blank pages now that the regular season has concluded.
Klay Thompson made his triumphant return and finished the regular season as hot as ever. But the moment he came back, Draymond Green went down. The moment Draymond's 31-game absence ended, Steph Curry was sidelined for the final month of the regular season. The Big Three played a total of 11 minutes together in the regular season after waiting 941 days to have Thompson on the floor again, completing this all-time trio.
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Oh yeah, Andre Iguodala was held to only 31 games and James Wiseman, the No. 2 pick in the draft just two years ago, didn't suit up for a single game due to complications with rehab from his torn meniscus. Is your head spinning yet? Integrating two 19-year-old lottery picks only adds to this wild chapter in franchise history.
And still, the Warriors ended the regular season on a five-game win streak without Curry to finish with a 53-29 record, good for the third-best in the NBA and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
So, how can you best describe a wild Warriors regular season full of highs and lows? With help from Kerr and a handful of our NBC Sports Bay Area crew, I tried to tackle that question to find the perfect word in explaining it all.
Chris Mullin: Fulfilling
Golden State Warriors
"With Klay not starting the season, I think being a top-four team and getting homecourt was the high end of expectations. For them to finish third with so many inconsistencies of Klay missing time, plus Steph and Draymond and Wiseman, that's a big deal. To win 52, 53 games ... winning 50 games isn't easy in the NBA, only eight teams did it.
"With all the inconsistencies they faced, that's a fulfilling season and I think they started to hit their stride right before the playoffs."
Dorell Wright: Seasoned
"Seasoned vets with a bunch of young fellas that are ready right now to help a deep playoff run.
"A healthy Warriors team has a mix of youth and some high-IQ vets off the bench. Otto Porter Jr. is my X-factor. It's rare you get a top-three pick and a high-IQ player like him. He had to prove he can stay healthy and could still play at a high level. If the Warriors win the 'ship, he'll be a big part of that."
Bonta Hill: Turbulent
"After starting 18-2, it's been a turbulent ride, but we have no idea what this team can or will do in the postseason, because they haven't been whole for one game this season. Not one. You could say it's been incomplete.
"This season has been a ride on the Grizzly at Great America, which gives everyone whiplash."
Kerith Burke: Resilient
"The Warriors have withstood injuries for Steph, Klay, Draymond, Andre and the absence of James Wiseman all season.
"Still, they arrived at over 50 wins. Injuries interrupted consistency and shifted roles, but this resilient squad largely succeeded at finding a way through the struggles."
Grant Liffmann: Gamble
"The Warriors took a gamble trying to develop a youth movement while competing for a championship. It's been a roller coaster of a season with success, injuries and inconsistency. The results of the postseason will determine whether the gamble paid off or not."
Monte Poole: Ambitious
"This franchise will dive headlong into any opportunity with a reasonable chance of expanding their global brand. They're relentless."
Steve Kerr: Indescribable, Interesting, Successful ... TBD
"Ultimately, I think it's been successful. We're going to win 50-plus games, that's a hell of a year. It's ... playoffs will determine a lot. So, maybe ask me this question at the end of the entire season," Kerr told me with a slight smile ahead of the Warriors' final home game of the regular season, a 16-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers on April 7.
Dalton Johnson: Determined
The Warriors came into this season determined to show they still can be championship contenders and still sit atop the league's elite when they're whole. They were determined to prove that they made the right decisions in drafting two teenagers in the same year and could balance two different timelines while trotting out a combination of youth and experience. They silenced doubters in a handful of ways, and brought more questions in others.
If we were to know they wouldn't be complete for a single game in the regular season, winning 53 games wouldn't even be a thought. It would be an impossibility. They made it this far, they exceeded expectations and that was even before knowing how many injuries and inconsistencies they would have to deal with.
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As Kerr and many others said, the playoffs, of course, will determine it all. The regular season was a success. The final results of the grand plan still is to be determined.
Buckle up, the roller coaster isn't close to over quite yet.