It’s hard to remember a time when the NBA had this much quality and this much parity.
Last year, the Warriors won the title despite having 11-to-1 odds to win it all at the start of the season. But right now, six teams have 10-to-1 odds or shorter to win the NBA title at Fanduel sportsbook. There’s another group of five not-so-far-fetched title contenders just behind them.
It’s anyone’s title to win, but the Warriors have a secret weapon when it comes to repeating as champions:
Calmness.
So many of the Warriors’ top challengers to the throne are entering the season in a state of chaos.
The Celtics’ head coach, Ime Udoka, was suspended for the season by the team earlier this month. The Clippers simply have no idea when or how Kawhi Leonard or Paul George will play. The Nets’ offseason was calamitous, with Kevin Durant’s trade request that was never truly resolved. The Suns’ owner was suspended by the league for the season and then agreed to sell the team, all while their head coach didn’t talk all summer to their aggrieved starting center, who was low-balled by the Suns during contract extension talks. Plus, the Suns’ starting power forward decided he wouldn’t show up to training camp, demanding a rare pre-season trade.
These teams might be more talented than the Warriors — there’s an argument to be had there — but they all carry huge red flags. They’re giving you every reason to bet against them before the season starts.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are cool and collected.
Sure, there were potential issues for the Dubs heading into this season: Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole are all due for extensions, and particularly with the latter two, raises. The team also lost two key members of their title team — Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. — in free agency, plus top assistant coach Mike Brown, who left to be the Sacramento Kings head coach. And then, there’s the simplest issue: the Warriors’ core veterans just won a fourth, legacy-sealing title and it was justly and commensurately celebrated.
Post-championship hangovers are a real problem, and in the Warriors’ case, that hangover might have been literal.
There were countless reasons for the Warriors to take their eye off the prize. But not one of those things has proven to be an issue in public or behind the scenes.
While every other contender (save for the Bucks) has made it clear they are not to be trusted, the Warriors have provided every reason for you to believe they can repeat.
You can thank Steve Kerr — entering his ninth year with the Dubs — for that. General manager Bob Myers and the Warriors’ ownership group deserve credit, too.
Vibes matter, and the Warriors’ vibes are good.
I’ve spent my professional life hanging around sports teams. Only the Warriors have been able to blend competency with a lack of anxiety. It’s an impressive operation.
But the person who deserves the most credit for the Warriors’ winning machine staying on the tracks is the team’s superstar.
Curry’s relentless pursuit of goals even larger than a title — like “redefining” what it means to be in one’s prime — leaves the other Warriors no room to slack.
Green came into camp in top shape, Thompson is out to prove that he can reach the heights of his career again, post-injuries, and Poole, who was keen to passively remind you he should still be in college the past two seasons, took to the dais at Warriors’ media day and answered questions like a 10-year veteran.
And as for the issues of contracts and the luxury tax that comes with it for the Dubs. Money issues are a leading cause of divorce in America, but Curry is adamant about keeping that dialogue open and collaborative between team branches. Issues can’t fester if they’re in the light.
“Absolutely,” Curry said. “A good organization is going to have those talks, especially with me, Andre (Iguodala), Draymond, we have those conversations, knowing that every decision is meaningful in terms of us putting the best team together and keeping things moving in terms of being championship contenders every single year.
So you want that to be the spirit of how decisions are made and, you know, we want the best chance to win every single year. And we’re proving with this squad, that’s what the results have been. So we want to keep that together for as long as we can. That’s the goal.”
Other issues will arise for the Warriors as the season progresses. It’s the NBA — nothing is straightforward.
But the Warriors do not have the makings of a team that will beat itself this year.
And in this league, that plus talent might be the only things a team needs to win it all.
