Getty Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and forward Draymond Green.
The “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, the “Shaq and Kobe” Los Angeles Lakers and the “Big Three” Miami Heat are prime examples of NBA teams that fans loved to hate. From 2015 to 2019, when the Golden State Warriors made five straight trips to the NBA Finals – winning three of them – many fans got sick of the franchise winning all of the time.
While guys like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have generally been well-liked throughout their NBA careers, guys like Kevin Durant and Draymond Green have often rubbed some folks the wrong way. So when the quartet of star players were together for much of that historic stretch of Finals appearances, the Dubs were the biggest villains in the NBA.
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Now, with Golden State currently sporting a 21-5 record and looking like a favorite for the NBA title again – not to mention Curry looking like a top MVP contender – NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson says that the Dubs are back to being the NBA’s “biggest villains”.
Johnson wrote Sunday that Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers’ postgame comments after his team beat the Warriors on Saturday prove his point.
“I asked them after the game, ‘Are you not entertained?’ I told our guys before the game, this is our home floor and you felt like Maximus,” Rivers said. “Everybody came here to see something else other than the home team. I told our guys they should think about that when they go out on the floor.”
Johnson notes that the “something else” is undoubtedly Curry. Steph not only gives fans a rousing pregame show each time out and is sure to have at least a few dazzling plays during the contest, but his closing pursuit of Ray Allen‘s all-time three-point record has captured the attention of fans across the globe.
Draymond Green Says the Attention Around the Team ‘Feels a Little Familiar’
GettyGolden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry takes the floor.
While Durant is long gone from the Warriors, and guys like Andrew Wiggins, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Jordan Poole and Gary Payton II weren’t with the club yet during the five consecutive runs to the Finals, Steph, Klay and Draymond – not to mention head coach Steve Kerr – were of course, part of that dynasty.
“The Warriors once again are the NBA’s biggest villains, even with the lovable Curry and the eventual return of Klay Thompson, who might be the most universally liked athlete on the planet right now. That’s beautiful for the Warriors and the entire NBA, too,” Johnson wrote.
Green noted after Saturday’s defeat to the Sixers that this season was starting to feel comparable to the days of the late-2010s.
“Yeah, you start to feel that,” he said. “You show up before a game for shooting and the crowd’s already packed. The attention around the team, you definitely start to feel that. … Feels a little familiar.”
‘Just Like That, the Warriors Are Villains Once Again’
GettyJuan Toscano-Anderson, Stephen Curry and Gary Payton II of the Golden State Warriors.
With Curry standing only six three-pointers away from tying Allen’s all-time record, don’t be surprised if the cheers for No. 30 are a bit louder than any noise any of the Indiana Pacers players get on their own homecourt on Monday night.
“Soon, Steph will get his fellow Splash Brother back in Thompson. It will be all flowers and sunshine, laughing and smiling at Klay’s many Instagram Live expeditions on his boat,” Johnson wrote. “But in the blink of an eye, the league will be back to finding any slips in the cracks of the Warriors. That includes with Klay, too.”
If Curry can’t get to six on Monday, his next chance to break the record will be on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, where the atmosphere would surely be electric.
“Get ready for it. Those like Green who have seen it, know the drill,” Johnson wrote. “The newcomers are getting used to it, and will need it to be secondhand normalcy in a hurry. Just like that, the Warriors are villains once again.”
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