It’s a Golden State world; others get to play in it
After three wins in four years, Warriors built to continue their success
Stephen Curry is under contract for basically the rest of his prime. Kevin Durant says he isn’t going anywhere. Steve Kerr has more than proved himself as one of the game’s best coaches. Free agents will line up for the chance to move west even if that means taking some pay cuts. There’s even a new arena coming in a year or so for the Golden State Warriors to call home.
It’s their league now, without question.
For the third time in four years, the Warriors are champions of the NBA world. They’ve gone back-to-back, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 108-85, on Friday night to finish off a sweep of these NBA Finals in the fourth consecutive meeting between those clubs.
The Cavs might very well be coming apart.
The Warriors look very much built to last, and no matter where LeBron James goes this summer it’ll probably be Golden State as the prohibitive favorite to win it all again next year.
“You don’t want to cheat the moment,” Curry said, the victory champagne still drying on his clothes and skin, wanting no part of any talk about dynasties or anything like that. “So we’ll have plenty of time over the summer to talk about what next year’s going to look like and what it’s going to take for us to get back to this stage next year.”
Houston probably isn’t going away and remember, the Rockets gave the Warriors all they wanted this season. Had Chris Paul not gotten hurt, who knows if the Warriors even win that Game 7 in Houston and take the West title. The East might be a wild race, with the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics probably all likely to enter the year thinking they have NBA Finals potential — as will any team that has James on its roster next fall.
This much is clear: Golden State has no designs on giving up its throne.
“I’ve just got to keep getting better,” said Warriors star Kevin Durant, now a two-time champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP. “I think I’ve got a lot more to go. So I’m just trying to prove to myself that I could just stay in it for the long haul, and hopefully I continue to have some success. Just keep growing as a player. That’s my only concern.”
Durant was voted the best player in this series — and he wants to keep growing.
He can’t be guarded now — and he wants to keep growing.
Ask the 29 other NBA teams their reaction to that statement and they would likely say some form of “welp.”
“They move at such a pace, and they have five guys on the floor that can dribble, pass and shoot,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said after the game. “They can make plays. So if you make a mistake, they’re going to make you pay. That’s the beauty of their team.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver marvels at how the Warriors have put themselves in this position. They drafted well. They drafted lucky, too — Draymond Green as a second-rounder is an all-time bargain. They spend a ton of money, but they do it smartly.
They are built for the long haul.
As for James, he walked into his final interview of the NBA Finals with one last surprise: a dark brace on his right hand, covering an injury he's hidden for a week.
“Pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand,” James said.
The cause: He punched something after Game 1 of the Finals, his frustration having obviously boiled way over when the Cavaliers let the series opener against the Warriors get away amid late-game miscues and one overturned call that left him seething.
The injury was never disclosed, and James played basically every minute for the rest of the series and put up great numbers.
James didn't get the only reward he still seeks from the game of basketball. There will be no parade for him this year, no ring, no banner ceremony. All James has now is a few weeks to think, a few weeks to ponder his next move.
With that, the watch is on. What will LeBron James do next?
“I have no idea at this point,” James said.