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The Golden State Warriors dynasty has taken solid shape after they swept the Cavs in the 2018 Finals and lifted their 3rd title in four years. If given a covert opportunity to be a part of the playing environment and culture GSW has put in place, any player would love to sign up.
The prospect of playing with the best in the NBA and a high probability chance at winning the title is enough for many to jump ship and shake hands with Golden State's front office.
They have fabricated a steady launching platform through rigorous conditioning of their locker room by making the right moves at the right time, and have put themselves in a position to be top contenders to win the Championship for quite a few seasons to come.
But there's more to the defending NBA champions than has met the eye. Let's learn some more about the franchise that is strongly headed towards leaving an indelible mark on the list of some of the most dominant NBA dynasties ever to happen to the basketball universe.
#1 Andre Iguodala was college teammates with former Warriors Assistant Coach (Current Lakers coach) Luke Walton
Andre Iguodala (a sophomore at the University of Arizona) was named team MVP in 2003-04, after leading his team in rebounds, assists and steals. That was one season after he played on the same Wildcats team as former long-time Los Angeles Lakers player Luke Walton.
Ironically, Walton ended up being Iguodala’s head coach, when Walton became the interim head coach for Golden State during training camp in 2015.
Golden State Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton consistently had high praise for wingman Andre Iguodala comparing the 2015 Finals MVP and sixth man to a “security blanket.”
Also, while trying to coach Brandon Ingram, Walton sought help from his former player, Andre Iguodala, to provide him with wisdom when the swingman out of Arizona was thriving in a winning situation with the Warriors
As a coach, Walton has always bestowed his trust in Iggy's potential to hold a game. “I feel safer when he’s on the court,” Coach Walton said in 2015 when asked about Iguodala.
#2 During the 1975 NBA Finals, the Warriors regular home Arena in Oakland was booked and the home games were played at the Cow Palace in San Francisco
During the 1975 NBA Finals, Golden State played couldn't play its home games at their regular arena in Oakland due to scheduling conflicts. The "home" games during the '75 Finals were played in the ancient Cow Palace in Daly City, California.
Additionally, because the Cow Palace could not be used over the Memorial Day weekend, the Finals were a 1-2-2-1-1 format.
The Washington Bullets, who held home-court advantage, were given the choice of opening at Golden State and then playing Games 2 and 3 at home, or opening at home and playing Games 2 and 3 on the road. The Bullets opted to open at home but blew a 14-point lead to lose Game 1. The Warriors won Games 2 and 3 at Golden State and then swept the Bullets back at Landover, Md.
Another interesting fact about the 1975 Finals was that it was the first time ever that there was an NBA game scheduled to be played in the month of June(Game 7 was scheduled for Monday Night, June 2). Though, in all actuality, it had to wait for the following year to happen as the Warriors swept the Bullets in 4 games.
#3 Steph Curry attended Davidson & received scholarships only from small schools.
Steph's parents both went to Virginia Tech, but when the time came for him to follow in their footsteps, he fell short. They offered him a walk-on position rather than a scholarship, which is no what he was looking for.
It took Davidson coach Bob McKillop about three weeks of practice in fall 2006 to realize what the rest of America failed to see, when Curry was at Charlotte Christian High School.
"He had all the technical talents," McKillop said, "but also all the emotional talents."
After leading his high school team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances, the future 2-time MVP was only offered scholarships from small schools (Davidson, VCU, and Winthrop).
At Davidson, he finished second in scoring (behind Kevin Durant), and eventually, led Davidson to their first NCAA tournament match victory in the next season. As was expected, Curry caught fire at Davidson and took the Wildcats to the Elite 8.
#4 The Team was Originally Named Philadelphia Warriors and Also Won the First Ever Championship Way Back in 1947.
The Golden State Warriors have not always been the Golden State Warriors.
The team was founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. The team was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a founding member of the Basketball Association of America (BAA).
The team won the championship in the league's inaugural 1946–47 season(defeating the Chicago Stags 4-1), led by scoring sensation Joe Fulks. The 1949 merger that led to the formation of NBA recognizes that as its own first championship
Franklin Mieuli, a Bay Area radio and television producer, purchased the majority shares of the team in 1962 and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors. They dropped their native American logo and nine years later, became the Golden State Warriors.
So now we know something about the history of the origin of the bay area giants.
#5 Draymond Green had been the X-Factor that finally won Durant over
After the Warriors suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the Cavaliers in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Green texted Durant, "See what we're missing," followed by "We need you. Make it happen."
Additionally, Draymond, as well as Klay Thompson were Kevin Durant’s teammates for Team USA prior to him becoming a free agent.
Durant was later visited by the Warriors in the Hamptons and had a positive meeting that included Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala telling Durant that they're all willing to sacrifice for him in order to win.
"I look at it as we lost the Finals, but we ended up with KD," Green said later. "That's a helluva consolation prize."
Apparently, the Warriors have Green to thank for immediately reaching out to Durant, while the NBA universe has Green to blame for the unfair balance in power that followed. As a result, there's no telling when this dynasty might slow down.
