2. Golden State Warriors 2010s all-decade starting lineup
- Stephen Curry
- Klay Thompson
- Andre Iguodala
- Kevin Durant
- Draymond Green
What does it say about this decade for the Golden State Warriors that they not only rank so high on this list but they do so with a lineup they’ve actually trotted out plenty of times en route to two championships?
This same five-man unit with Harrison Barnes in place of Kevin Durant was called the Death Lineup. Adding one of the greatest scorers in NBA history in his prime into that mix seems unfair, which it was.
Klay Thompson, a man who’s dropped 37 in a quarter and 60 in 29 minutes, was Golden State’s third option offensively. Stephen Curry almost had to remind the NBA fandom of his greatness from time to time in the shadow of KD, the one who obliterated the 3-point record with the league’s first unanimous MVP award.
No defense could stop these Dubs. Every game was theirs to lose, the result of historic levels of talent with the unselfishness of the San Antonio Spurs.
Aside from the flurry of points they avalanched on opponents, what made these Warriors truly elite was their play at the other end.
For as well as Thompson could snipe it from distance, he was equally adept at slowing down the opposing team’s top perimeter threat. KD developed into an elite stopper and underrated rim protector.
Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala can overwhelm with ball-hawking defense across all five positions. Green, in particular — a former Defensive Player of the Year — could cover so much ground on a single possession with the IQ to make up for whatever slip-ups his teammate may have made.
Two championships in three seasons — could’ve been a three-peat without injuries — speaks for itself. This unit rivals any non-fictional one in NBA history.
That it doesn’t take the top spot says more about the front-office excellence of a particular general manager than the historic levels of greatness Golden State reached on a nightly basis.