The Fall of a Dynasty

After two seasons spent relegated to NBA purgatory, the Warriors captured magic in a bottle in 2022 and brought home their 4th NBA Championship since 2015. The dynasty was back, The Bay was buzzing, and the association’s golden boy was once again on top of the world. All of the Warriors’ problems were washed away in tears of triumph. Klay was healthy and shooting it well, Draymond was excited to play basketball again, and Golden State had found their future Curry replacement in Jordan Poole… or so they thought. 

The Punch

On October 5th, 2022, a blow so hard it was heard on the east coast landed upon Jordan Poole’s right eye. All of the hard work spent on building a roster, creating chemistry, and developing young talent left the building with a Draymond Green right hook. The Warriors levied a suspension on Green, sending him, along with the heartbeat of the squad, home. 

Poole, 23, was coming off a life-changing contract extension with Golden State. “The Next Steph Curry” now had a new role to fill as the designated 6th man. But the relationship between Green and Poole was frayed beyond repair. We were just weeks before the season tipped off, and arguably the two most important players to the Warriors sustaining their success were not on speaking terms, or even in the building for that matter. 

Personal Matters

After a win over the Wizards in February of 2023 to get the warriors to 29-28 on the season, Andrew Wiggins would step away from the team for matters unbeknownst to the public. The former all-star starter would miss the stretch run of the season, as Golden State would jockey for position in a jumbled western conference. 

Wiggins was the Warriors’ second best player in their championship run the season before. Guarding the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Wiggins was paramount to the Warriors’ success in their Finals matchup vs Boston. A now already depleted team with chemistry issues would lose their premier defensive wing until the start of the playoffs. 

The Inevitable

Five years since their last Finals matchup, the Warriors now lined up across from a familiar foe, the greatest player to touch a basketball court, Lebron James. The Warriors had home court advantage, but the Lakers had found their stride at the perfect time heading into the postseason. Before Golden State could even blink, the Lakers were up 3-1. The writing was on the wall, and Steph Curry needed one last Houdini-like act to save the Warriors from elimination. 

Golden State would win game 5 at home handily behind a vintage Curry/Draymond game at Chase Center, setting up what many thought would be a classic game 6. Golden State never had a chance. Austin Reaves hit what felt like the dagger from half court to end the first half, and in poetic fashion, Jordan Poole put up one last stinker to end his Warriors tenure. 

Foe turned Friend

Golden State would head into the 2023 offseason with question marks everywhere. Would they stay true to Draymond? Would they build around Poole as the future? Would they stick to the two timeline approach with Kuminga and Moody? 

Those questions were all answered in one Adrian Wojnarowski notification. Chris Paul was a Warrior, and Jordan Poole was banished to basketball hell in Washington. Yes, Chris Paul… the guy that rivaled Curry and the Warriors for a decade was now on the team that kept him from a ring for years. The season that followed was one of the most bizarre Warrior seasons of all time. Draymond Green went on a flagrant foul world tour, choking Rudy Gobert and slapping Jusuf Nurkic, leading to a league sanctioned suspension. Curry would have to cash more Draymond checks if they wanted to make some noise in the postseason 

Judgement Day

On April 16th, 2024, Golden State entered the Golden 1 Center with the season on the line. Matched up against a familiar foe, the Warriors and Kings would battle it out a year removed from a brilliant Steph Curry 50 point game 7. 

However, it seemed that only Sacramento showed up. Motivated from their playoff exit the year before, the Kings opened up a can of whoop-ass on the Warriors in a dominant 24 point win that seemingly buried the Warriors dynasty in front of our eyes. All the question marks that Golden State entered the season with still remained. It felt like Joe Lacob, Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, and Mike Dunleavy just wasted one of the final years of Curry’s prime.