The Golden State Warriors have emerged as the most recent dominant force in the history of the sport.
Fueled by the incredible talents of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, along with the addition of Kevin Durant and his two titles, the team clinched four championships and made it to five consecutive finals.
Since the last championship in 2020/21, no other team has been able to maintain a winning streak, which, according to Steve Kerr, demonstrates that replicating the Warriors’ success in the NBA is a formidable challenge.
“I think it’s very unlikely [that any team will be able to repeat]. The first thing you realise is that everyone is building a team to beat you.” Kerr said.
“It’s like Nikola Jokic said after the loss: ‘this team is built to beat us.’ If the Timberwolves didn’t have all those 7-footers, I don’t think they would win Game 7 or that series,” Kerr added.
Kerr’s statement is validated when we examine the recent NBA seasons. In 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers emerged as the champions in the bubble. However, the following year, they were eliminated in the first round.
In that same season, the Milwaukee Bucks claimed the championship. A year later, the Lakers were defeated in the Eastern semifinals.
Kerr also believed on the NBA’s transformation to prevent dynasties. Each year, the league focuses on promoting the growth of young talent and imposing restrictions on salary caps to prevent excessive spending.
Numerous instances illustrate this shift, such as the Nuggets losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green from their championship-winning team.
“That’s definitely a problem. Places more emphasis on developing young people,” Kerr said.
“And developing young guys, while you’re trying to win a championship, is not easy. All forces kind of conspire against you when you’re the champion,” he added.
