Building a dynasty in the NBA

by Jiří Kračman

The Golden State Warriors have been the most succesful team in the last 5 years of the National Basketball Association and they are looking to continue this way for another few years. But things weren't always looking so good for them. Before the 2015 Title, the last time they won the NBA finals was in 1975. There has been a very long drought for Oakland's team fans, howewer they have managed to build something majestic during that period.

In 2009, the Warriors chose Stephen Curry with their 7th pick in the NBA draft and this decision later turned out to be the best in the Franchises history. They did not start winning immediately of course, but the team began improving and getting better results with the following seasons. They later picked up a pair of to-be All-stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the 2011 and 2012 drafts and the next summer they signed a future finals MVP Andre Iguodala. The Warriors started showing glimpses of brilliance during the 2013-2014 season already and finished the season with a satisfying 51-31 result, although they fell short to the LA Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

The turning point came with signing Steve Kerr as a new head coach in May 2014. Kerr managed to get the team together and showcased perfection. The team went on to finish the season with an astounding 67-15 record and then plowed through the playoffs, all the way to the finals. There they faced the Cleveland Cavaleiers for the first time in the NBA finals and managed to clinch the series in game six, which started the notorious rivalry between those 2 teams. They began the next season by winning 24 games in a row and breaking many different records in the meantime. Despite losing to the Cavaleirs in the finals, they had an absolutely wonderful season.

The final piece of the puzzle came in 2016, when they signed a fourth All-star player Kevin Durant. The team was deemed to be unbeatable in a series and they proved it by winning the league championship in both 2017 and 2018, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers twice. Ever since then, the Warriors are the most feared team in the league and they continue to break records along the way.

And that's how after 40 long years the Golden State Warriors have risen upto the top of the basketball world and became the most dominant team ever.