Golden State Warriors: Ranking the 2014-2019 Dynasty Teams
By Drew Taylor
#2: 2016-17 Warriors
Ah, Kevin Durant’s debut year. Fresh off the summer that brought KD to Golden State, the NBA was shocked and quite honestly enraged — KD had left his Oklahoma City Thunder for the team that had ended their title hopes the year before. He left his town and teammates. The league wasn’t happy.
Though every away game featured signs with cupcakes or snakes, and even though the team suffered a considerable amount of criticism for creating a superteam, KD showed out nonetheless. Though he averaged the second-lowest PPG in a season for his career, he still averaged 25.1 points/game with two of the best shooter of all-time as teammates.
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The ’17-’18 squad actually played defense and still sustained their commanding offense. They dominated teams. And I mean dominated. They outscored their opponents 9503-8549, a +954 season or +11.3 point game differential, the fourth-greatest margin of all-time.
With a record of 16-1, they lost only once in the playoffs in a game that saw the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ Big 3 go absolutely berserk. Winning 15 playoff games in a row (against solid teams), the Warriors fell just short from becoming the first team to complete a perfect postseason.
Nonetheless, this team added an MVP to a 73-win team. And they couldn’t be beaten.