What would a Fourth Championship do for Warriors Core Group?

The Golden State Warriors after last night’s win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals are now one win away from making a trip back to the NBA finals. Of course the series is not over but it basically is since no team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in any playoff series in the NBA ever. If the Warriors were to win the 2022 NBA championship it would be the fourth for the Warriors dynasty and the first since 2019. I want to focus on what the legacies of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green would look like with a fourth ring to their resume.

Stephen Curry:

First I would like to discuss what Stephen Curry’s legacy would look like if he goes on to win another championship. Stephen Curry is a 6’3 guard out of Davidson College who has won back to back MVPs with the Warriors and is now considered the greatest shooter in NBA history. He revolutionized the game of basketball to capture their second title in franchise history and the first in 40 years at the time. Despite the win Steph was met with a lot of criticism for not winning the finals MVP which severely hurt his case to be the best player in the world for many years. He had a chance to validate that narrative in 2016 but unfortunately after winning a Unanimous MVP and leading the Warriors to 73 wins they would blow a 3-1 lead to Lebron and the Cavs in the NBA finals and Lebron won finals MVP. After 2016, Steph would win two more championships with the Warriors but at the expense of Kevin Durant being the finals MVP for back to back seasons in 2017 and 2018. It was because of the fact that Steph has never received the finals MVP that many people are hesitant to place him in the conversation to be in the top 10 NBA players of all time discussion. However, if the Warriors were to win the championship this year and Steph were to win finals MVP he would enter into that conversation. With the resume that Stephen Curry already has on top of the way he changed basketball forever with his three point shooting, there would be no arguing that he is at least a  top ten player of all time. This would also change the narrative that he was fortunate enough to play with Kevin Durant for those two championships and would show that he was the real leader and best player on those teams and without him the Warriors would not be the dynasty that they are today.

Klay Thompson:

Now I want to talk about the second splash brother who helped Stephen Curry revolutionize the game of basketball and that is Klay Thompson. A 6’6 shooting guard out of Washington State who was taken with the eleventh overall pick by the Warriors in the 2011 draft. Klay shined on the court with his amazing three point shooting and stellar defense which helped the Warriors build their team identity behind three point shooting, ball movement and defense. Klay Thompson is a 5 time all star, 2 time All NBA and helped the Warriors win three NBA titles. Though he is not a superstar, Klay is one of the most important players on the Warriors and without him they do not develop into a championship contender. That is why when Klay went down in the 2019 NBA finals with a knee injury and then went down with an achilles injury before the 2021 NBA season, the Warriors were not able to make the postseason in back to back seasons. This proves Klay Thompson’s value to the Warriors but what would a fourth championship look like for his legacy after this season? Well as many of us know Klay Thompson was left off of the NBA 75 all time lists which celebrates the 75 best players in NBA history. It was really surprising that Klay got left off of this list considering that his resume is better than a lot of the players on that list. Winning this championship would further validate that Klay should have been on that list and will certainly guarantee him a spot on the top 100 all time list when that comes out in the next 25 years. This will also make Klay immortalized in Dub Nation and he will be remembered as a true Warrior for being a key piece to a championship team after missing two full seasons and more than half of this season.

Draymond Green:

The last player I want to discuss if the Warriors do go on to win is former defensive player of the year in 2017 Draymond Green. An undersized power forward out of Michigan State, Draymond was taken in the second round by the Warriors in the 2012 NBA draft. Many people did not expect Draymond to be the glue guy to the Warriors championship teams with his stellar defense and amazing passing. Though he has many weaknesses in his game on the offensive end, most notably his shooting and ability to create his own shot, Draymond has certainly earned the respect of many current and former NBA players as well as many media members despite some of his antics on and off the court. Just like his teammate Klay Thompson, Draymond was also left off of the top 75 list despite him having a more impressive resume than a lot of the players on the list. But if Draymond were to help the Warriors win the championship this year it would mean validating an argument for him to have been on that list and just like Klay, he would be a lock for the top 100 players of all time list when that list is made.