NBA
Why Steph believes Warriors will be NBA’s final dynasty
Steph Curry is very confident the NBA won’t see another 10-year dynastic run like the Warriors put together from 2014 through 2024.
The Warriors superstar, sitting next to coach Steve Kerr, explained to ESPN’s Malika Andrews over the weekend why the NBA will never have another dynasty.
“Obviously defining a dynasty can take a lot of different looks,” Curry told Andrews. “But the reason, to add on what Coach said, like people thought this was over in 2019 when Klay [Thompson] tried to get back on defense with a messed up knee and we lost [the NBA Finals] and then had a rough year that next year. Like [2022] was an amazing championship because we defied the odds and kept things together and we were trying to maintain that for these last two [years].
“So you think that’s 11 years, almost 12 years of championship relevancy built around a certain core knowing, what [Kevin Durant] was for those [three] years as well. Long way in the way of saying, I don’t think so, just because it’s very hard to keep things together in this league.”
With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) taking effect this offseason, NBA teams will have a harder time keeping teams together, assuming players reach their full potential, thus earning max contract extensions.
In the age of player movement, superstars rarely stay with one team, making it hard for dynasties to form.
The Warriors, with Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green, managed to sustain a championship-caliber team for more than a decade, but finances caused that Core Three to split up this offseason.
Thompson, seeking a three- or four-year free-agent contract, departed for the Dallas Mavericks once he realized the Warriors weren’t in a position to offer him the deal he wanted.
The Warriors, with Curry, Green and Andrew Wiggins signed to big contracts, and with a Jonathan Kuminga extension on the horizon next summer — or a possible blockbuster trade for a max-contract player or a extension-eligible player, couldn’t retain Thompson at the price tag he desired.
The Denver Nuggets looked poised to go on a multi-year championship run after winning the 2023 NBA Finals, but they bowed out in the second round of the 2024 playoffs.
The 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics have the chance to win multiple titles over the next few years with superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown signed to long-term max contracts. But they have a ways to go — and more titles to win — before they can be considered a dynasty. Injuries and salaries could get in the way over the next few seasons.
Time will tell if Curry turns out to be right about the end of NBA dynasties.
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