By Alvin Halimwidjaya
The Warriors stunned the basketball world last season by going 67-15 in the regular season and shooting their way to the NBA championship. It was a huge year for several players on their team: Stephen Curry broke into the conversation of best player in the NBA, Klay Thompson proved his worth by making up the second half of the best backcourt in the NBA after they refused to trade him for Kevin Love, Draymond Green made their entire small-ball scheme work as the heart and soul of the team and Andre Iguodala nabbed a Finals MVP while coming off the bench.
However, as the glow of their championship run wore off in the summer, more people started piping up and questioning the validity of the Warriors’ year. The issue of injuries spearheaded this argument and people hopped on board, looking for a reason to explain why their favorite team wasn’t the one with the championship. While the Warriors went through most of the regular season, and more importantly the playoffs, with minimal injuries, each of their opponents after the first round was dealing with various injuries to important players. Mike Conley and Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies were each playing hurt, Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets had been out since the regular season and, most notably, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers were absent for the NBA Finals. Due to all these injuries, there were whispers amongst the NBA community that the Warriors won due to “luck”.
To be clear, the Warriors’ championship should not be questioned. Regardless of whether you’re a Warriors fan or not, it would be pretty hard not to admit that they were the best team in the NBA throughout the regular season and the playoffs. Everyone from their stars to the role players to the coaching staff came up big for the organization, and they should be able to celebrate their championship without haters snapping at them. In addition, every championship in every sport has a little bit of luck to it. You could look at fortunate matchups and ridiculous plays as a stroke of luck, or you could look at them as moments that make each championship run valuable to the teams’ fanbase. No team can say that their championship was devoid of chance, so fans should stop insulting teams by questioning the validity of their achievements.
The main result of all this controversy surrounding the Warriors’ championship run is that it has pissed the team off. Stephen Curry was quoted as saying sarcastically, “I apologize for us being healthy, I apologize for us playing who was in front of us. I apologize for all the accolades we received as a team and individually. I’m very, truly sorry, and we’ll rectify that situation this year.” The Warriors are currently 4-0 in the new NBA season, beating teams by an average of 25 points per game, and Stephen Curry was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 39(!) points per game through the first three games. The Warriors have come out with guns blazing and for better or for worse, they’re out for blood.
