The Golden State Warriors have been the “crown jewel” of the NBA over the last several years, making five straight NBA Finals appearances from 2015-2019 and winning three titles, but the last two years have not been kind to this franchise. Injuries have ruined their chances to be successful over the years and they just seem to keep on coming.
From Kevin Durant tearing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, to Klay Thompson tearing his ACL in the same series, to Stephen Curry suffering a broken hand during the 2019-20 season, to other key role players being in and out of the rotations due to numerous injuries, it seems like the Warriors cannot stay healthy and they were hit by the “injury bug” yet again prior to the start of the 2020-21 season.
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After missing the entire 2019-20 season recovering from a torn left ACL, Klay Thompson was getting ready to make his comeback this season, but then he went down with a torn Achilles ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft in November. With Thompson out for his second consecutive season, the Warriors were left scrambling for answers on how to be successful this season, but they forgot one thing, they have a guy named Stephen Curry who is a 2x MVP.
Curry put the team on his back this season, leading them to a 39-33 record in the Western Conference and carrying them to the play-in tournament. The Warriors ultimately lost their two play-in games to the Lakers and Grizzlies, eliminating them from the playoffs, but this does not take away from the amazing season Steph Curry had.
Not only did he become the Warriors All-Time Leading Scorer, passing Wilt Chamberlain, but Curry won his second scoring title of his career, finished as an MVP finalist, and set a ton of new NBA records that were never supposed to be broken, including making a total of 96 three-pointers in 15 games during the month of April.
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Most players when they reach the age of 33 would be entering the final few years of their professional playing career, but for Curry, it looks like he is entering the second prime of his career! With new career-highs set this past year and him looking like the most dominant player on the planet at times, there is a lot to be excited about for Golden State heading into the offseason.
Getting a full offseason of rest for Steph, Draymond and others may be the best thing that could have happened to this franchise and with Klay Thompson set to return for the first-time since the 2019 NBA Finals, this year’s #2 overall pick in James Wiseman expected to be ready to go to begin the 2021-22 season after suffering a torn meniscus and a chance to end up with two highly-talented rookies, the Warriors could be gearing up to make more runs at the NBA Finals.
While they definitely have some big decisions to make both roster wise and planning for the future, this offseason has a chance to be very exciting for Golden State, but they will not be able to start planning what they want to do until they figure out where they will be picking on June 22 during the NBA Draft Lottery.
