The Golden State Warriors are now officially a dynasty, as they put away the Boston Celtics in six games to win their fourth NBA championship in the last eight years.
They had to go through a lot of adversity in the last three years to get back to the mountaintop, including severe injuries to their two best players, the departure of an all-time great in Kevin Durant, and a restructuring of their supporting cast.
For years, critics said that none of the Warriors’ previous three titles in the era were legit and that they should all have asterisks next to them.
Congrats to the @warriors those two Championships with KD are still an asterisk. Not the same as Kobe’s 5 chips.
— Charlie (@itinerantcarles) June 17, 2022
But now, Golden State has validated those rings and proven they were no fluke.
The Warriors Were The Beneficiaries Of Lots Of Good Fortune From 2015-2018
According to critics, the first three rings Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green won should have asterisks next to them because at least one team they beat in the playoffs had a key injury.
In 2015, the year they first won it all, Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving was out for most of the NBA Finals with a knee injury, as was star big man Kevin Love due to a dislocated shoulder.
In the summer of 2016, a huge increase in the league’s salary cap allowed the Warriors to add Durant, one of the top three players in the game, to an already stacked roster that had just won a record 73 regular season games.
Congratulations to the @warriors @Money23Green @StephenCurry30 @KlayThompson on their first NBA Championship without an asterisk next to it. Finally won something without that 🐍 @KDTrey5 in 17' & 18' and without Kyrie and K-Love playing in 15'….. well done guys 👏👏👏
— Matt Pursley (@MSP311) June 17, 2022
They took the next two world championships, but critics point to the untimely injury of then-San Antonio Spurs standout Kawhi Leonard in the Western Conference Finals as the reason the first of those rings was illegitimate.
Then in 2018, as they fell behind to the Houston Rockets 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals, Chris Paul injured his hamstring and was out for the duration.
Golden State won the next two games and took the series, as the Rockets had a historic cold streak in Game 7.
Critics will also point to the fact that the Warriors lost the 2016 title to a healthy Cavs squad after blowing a 3-1 series lead.
On the other side, some may say that the Warriors have been the most disrespected dynasty in league history as a result.
Golden State Won This Year’s Championship The Hard Way
This time, Golden State won the world title the hard way, not just because of what it has had to overcome the last three years, but also because of the competition.
In the second round of the playoffs, they went up against the young and dangerous Memphis Grizzlies and took a 2-1 series lead over them.
Then, their superstar, Ja Morant, got injured and was ruled out for the rest of the series, and the Warriors struggled to take Game 4 and got blown out in Game 5 before ending things in Game 6.
Some think that if Morant hadn’t gotten hurt, the Grizzlies would’ve won the series, but it’s hard to imagine them actually doing so in retrospect, especially when one considers how young and undeveloped Morant’s supporting cast still is.
The Dallas Mavericks, Golden State’s opponent in the Western Conference Finals, were healthy, as were the Celtics.
In addition, the Celtics were arguably the NBA’s best defensive team, and not exactly a bunch of cupcakes.
This is the year the Warriors proved that what they have done the past eight years has been no joke and every bit as impressive as the stat sheets show.
NEXT: Did Stephen Curry Deserve Finals MVP?