Bay Area News Group - Golden boys: the Golden State Warriors historical 2015 championship season

Stephen Curry kisses his daughter, Riley, as he and his teammates celebrate the franchises first NBA title since 1975. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff)

The regular season MVP, Stephen Curry, can crack a smile after helping the Warriors defeat the Cavaliers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. (Ray Chavez/Staff)

Contents

Foreword by Jim Barnett

T he Golden State Warriors are the 2015 NBA Champions! The last time that happened was 40 years ago, in 1975. When they won then, Bill King, longtime voice of the Warriors proclaimed, The Golden State Warriors are champions of the world!

Yes, the world has changed a lot over the last 40 years. But when you win an NBA championship you do inherit the title of the best basketball team in the world. That has never changed. Yes, the game is different in so many ways; the 3-point line, which is often a deciding factor in many NBA games, being the most obvious. This present day Warriors team used that weapon to achieve their ultimate goal. Present day players are bigger, stronger and quicker than the generation on that 1975 championship team. But the basic fundamentals of the game will never change. Five teammates, playing in harmony to put the ball in the basket at one end of the court, and trying to prevent your opponent from doing the same at the other end is still the objective.

There are so many parallels between that 1975 team and the 2015 version they seem to intersect often in conversation. Both were dark horses, not even remotely considered to be championship teams at the start of their respective seasons. Both teams depended on role players who came off the bench to play vital roles in helping to win basketball games. They both played selfless team basketball to achieve success. Both teams were blessed with that special chemistry that brings players together to work as one to achieve the goal of a championship.

The Warriors of 40 years ago, led by Rick Barry and coached by Al Attles, won only 48 games in the regular season. They were underdogs in every playoff series. When they persevered to find themselves in the NBA Finals against a heavily favored Washington Bullets team, they shocked everyone by sweeping them 4-0 to win the championship.

Klay Thompson fist bumps a fan prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals, in which he scored 21 points. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff)

This 2015 team won a franchise-record 67 games, a remarkable achievement by any standards. They were led by Stephen Curry, a shooter many call the greatest shooter in the history of the game. It may be hyperbole, but not without some merit as he became the leagues MVP. Their achievement was even more astounding as they were led by a rookie head coach in Steve Kerr. Steve won five NBA Championships during his 15-year playing career. His experience had a profoundly positive effect on this rather young, upstart team.

This team quickly became favorites in every series they played. They swept New Orleans, 4-0. They beat a tough Memphis Grizzlies squad, 4-2, after falling behind 2-1 in the first three games. They conquered a very good Houston team with relative ease, 4-1, earning them the title of Western Conference Champions.

As favorites to win the NBA Championship, the Warriors met the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that had never won a championship during its 45 years in the league. The Cavaliers were led by LeBron James, himself a 4-time league MVP, and accepted as the most dominant player in the NBA. With Curry, the current MVP, and James, it became the most-watched NBA Finals in history.

There were many storylines throughout the series, but it ultimately came down to who could prevail under pressure and execute the best when the game was on the line. LeBron carried his team in the early games of the series, averaging an astonishing 40 points per game. The better-shooting Warriors finally started clicking in Game 4. It became a three-game series with the Warriors holding home-court advantage. The partisan, maniacal Oracle Arena fans bolstered the Warriors confidence. Owning the best home record at 39-2 during the regular season, the Warriors parlayed home-court advantage to their benefit. The Golden State Warriors became the 2015 NBA Champions!

This is a story of a team coming together, blending emerging stars, a few veteran role players and a deep bench, that made it possible to become the best team in the NBA. And this is a team that promises to bring the Bay Area genuine hope in the coming years as well.

For me personally, it is my first experience with a connection to a championship season. Spending 11 years as an NBA player and the last 30 years as the Warriors television analyst, this season became very special. For that I am grateful. But the most gratifying aspect of this teams achievement is to share in a small way this accomplishment with them. I am genuinely happy for a group of young men who are as outstanding in life off the court as they are when playing the wonderful game of basketball at its highest level.

Introduction by Diamond Leung

S tephen Curry held the game ball over his head, then handed it to Steve Kerr. And with that, the Warriors players launched a surprise attack, dousing their coach with bottled water.

It was April 4 in Dallas, and there was much to celebrate. The Warriors had run their winning streak to 12, giving Kerr 63 wins, the most ever by an NBA rookie coach. Most importantly, this victory clinched the No. 1 seed for the Warriors, giving them home-court advantage throughout the postseason.

No championship is won with one guy, Curry said that night. No championship is won with five guys. Everybody who steps on that floor will be impactful in some way, shape or form. We have guys all over this locker room that can do that.

Curry was right. He himself had gone from a sweet-shooting All-Star to a national icon, ultimately becoming the first Warriors player to win MVP since the franchise moved west in 1962. Through it all he remained family-friendly, humble and unselfish, preferring to highlight how each of his teammates combined to make the Warriors great.

Klay Thompson, Currys steady and stoic sidekick, was the other half of the historic jump-shooting backcourt and added to its legend with a record-setting 37-point quarter against Sacramento in January. Draymond Green, the fiery third-year player, became the teams heartbeat and its best defender, finishing second in the voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Andrew Bogut, dogged by injuries in his career, and Harrison Barnes, coming off a troubling season, both shook their problems. Andre Iguodala and David Lee, both former All Stars, accepted bench roles with grace and stepped forward during the championship run.

Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Festus Ezeli and Marreese Mo Buckets Speights made Strength in Numbers more than a marketing slogan.