Jannelle Moore on the Warriors: That championship DNA

Five characteristic strands that have carried the Warriors to the NBA Finals

Last year, to quote local rapper and Warriors fan P-Lo, “they” didn’t even like the Bay.

Pundits, critics, and NBA fans thought (and probably hoped) that the Golden State Warriors as we’ve known them were done.

They sat in those cushy seats and made zeros with their fingers on national television when asked about the Warriors’ title chances. They said Klay Thompson would never be the same again after ACL and Achilles injuries robbed him of two seasons. They’ve even said that despite all of his accomplishments Stephen Curry had something to prove and that he would never reach an NBA Finals again. The championship window was closed, they said, bringing their hands together to show it slammed shut.

But the Warriors put the NBA on somethin’, as P-Lo would say. Somethin’ like a message and a reminder that they are back and their two-year absence was nothing more than an intermission.

The marketing theme for this Warriors’ playoff run is “Gold Blooded,” but for the team itself  it has been “Championship DNA.” It is something that can’t be taught, says Curry. Nor can it be bought, despite all the money in free agency.

It is something, that is built through the grind of hard work. It is something that is forged through the battles against adversity. It is, above all else, something that is earned in the finest hardware that Tiffany and Co. can make.

Here are the five strands of Championship DNA that have led the Warriors to the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years.

Hunger

If the core of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green was to retire today, those three would leave the game as made men, their legacies solid gold. What they’ve accomplished together leaves them with nothing to prove to anyone. Still that competitive fire rages.

They felt the pain of that 15-win season in 2019-20. They felt the pain of being eliminated in the play-in tournament last season by the upstart Memphis Grizzlies. Absorbing those losses was enough motivation not only to return to the postseason but also to win it again.

It became personal to these men when they heard the chatter about the demise of the Warriors’ dynasty. They needed to make the narrative of the death of their dynasty die nasty.

The tone for this season was set after the play-in loss to Memphis when Curry declared that the field would not want to see the Warriors in 2021-22. The Warriors carried that promise to an 18-2 start and, after a troubling March (5-11), they have renewed their vow to win 18 of 22 games, including three playoff series.

Leadership and Coachability

The Warriors’ two-year hiatus from the playoffs netted them the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft and Nos. 7 and 14 in the 2021 draft. That’s good for building a future, but, with the championship core still in place, the Warriors also wanted one more run at a title.

Conventional wisdom suggests you can’t have both, that a team can’t play to win now while also developing its players for the future. The Warriors have been able to do it because Curry, Thompson and Green assumed the mantle of leadership and mentorship.

Those three were leaders during the five-year title run, but more in terms of stats and headlines. Andre Igoudala, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa were the elders, the OGs. Now Curry, Thompson, and Green are the unquestioned leaders.

Their impact on Jordan Poole is Exhibit A. In one year, Poole has gone from G-League player to major player on an NBA championship-caliber team. In addition to hard work, a willingness to listen and to be coached has fueled Poole’s growth. Poole observed how Curry moves without the ball. He lockered next to Green. When Iguodala told Poole to get to the free-throw line more often, Poole listened and ended up leading the league in free-throw percentage.

Poole’s development, like that of teenage rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, is a byproduct of being willing to soak up the game by listening to and observing the veteran players and how they operate.

Weathering The Storm

An NBA season is a nine-month war of attrition. Injuries happen and sometimes they happen at inopportune times. in that regard, it seemed as if the Warriors had three seasons in one. What makes this run especially impressive is that the Warriors were never “whole” and healthy this season.

Thompson was out of the lineup until January while he worked to return from two devastating leg injuries. On the day of Thompson’s return, Green went out with an injury that sidelined him for six weeks. Curry missed the last 14 games of the season with a foot injury.

The playoffs is the first time all season that the Warriors had the core healthy at one time. With Gary Payton II, Otto Porter, Jr, and Iguodala on the mend, the Warriors soon might be “whole” for the first time all season.

Sacrifice

Curry didn’t flinch when Warriors head coach Steve Kerr floated the idea of changing his rotation pattern early in the season. Even though he knew the risk of its impact on his rhythm offensively, Curry agreed to the change for the good of the team.

Curry’s numbers suffered. He fell below 40 percent from deep for the first time in his career. However by letting Kerr experiment, it enabled the Warriors to have different lineup combinations at their disposal for the playoffs.

In the case of Andrew Wiggins, it wasn’t stats, but personal choice that was sacrificed. Wiggins did not want to take the Covid vaccine. He did so, ultimately, for the good of the team and the season.

If Wiggins had stood on personal preference,  the Warriors would’ve been in the same spot the Brooklyn Nets found themselves in with Kyrie Irving. Irving was not able to play until January, when restrictions were lifted, and the Nets never did establish chemistry on the floor.

Wiggins’ Emergence

In his ninth NBA season, Wiggins reinvented himself from a player that was failing to meet expectations to a player exceeding them. He became a two-way player who impacts winning. He became an All Star.

What was asked of Wiggins in Minnesota for six seasons was more than he could give. He was not comfortable being the primary option, sometimes the only option for the Timberwolves.

With the Warriors, Wiggins is thriving as a complementary scorer and a defensive force. His performance in the Western Conference finals was a shining example. Wiggins averaged 18.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in the series, but most important was his defense on Dallas’ Luka Doncic. Doncic got his points; he averaged 32 in the five games. But they didn’t come easy. Wiggins made him work and hounded him into 41.5 percent shooting.

Now, with the Warriors as rulers of the Western Conference, four wins away from another NBA championship, the critics, the pundits, and NBA fans — “they” — still might not like the Bay, but they have no choice but to respect the team that calls it home.