How hard is it to repeat as NBA Champions?
Apparently, really hard.
In fact, the team we’re going to be talking about today, the Golden State Warriors, knows it all too well. For all the success they’ve accumulated as a franchise starting with the third most Finals appearances in the NBA, two MVP players in Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry, and the third most championships with 7 total, they have only managed to repeat once.
This is no knock on the Warriors however, as repeating is an admirable feat in the NBA.
For instance, the Bird’s Celtics never repeated. Magic Johnson only repeated once, as well as the NBA’s All-Time Leader in Points Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Arguably the greatest NBA coach of all time, Gregg Popovich has never repeated.
Additionally, repeating as NBA champions poses more of a challenge in today’s era of player empowerment where players have maximum control of where they want to go, equating to more player movement and therefore leading to less continuity within rosters.
So why is it so hard to repeat? A lot of factors.
Let’s focus on the last point: help.
To get it out of the way, yes. The Warriors, during their championship runs in recent years when they managed to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy four times in the last eight seasons has had a ton of help. Historically however, all championship teams had some semblance of help. The bench unit was instrumental for championship teams such as the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and LeBron James and the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers in the Orlando Bubble. Even Dirk Nowitzki and the 2011 Dallas Mavericks turned to crucial role players such as Jason Terry and J.J. Barea.
The importance of that “help” would be even more critical in the Warriors’ pursuit of repeating. To get there, they need more than Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Lucky for them, they have the personnel necessary to pull it off.
Enter the Golden State Warriors bench.
If you enjoy NBA analysis, such as this one, please don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to the channel. With that, please enjoy our deep dive into the Warriors monster bench for this season.
Lastly, the wildcard. And it’s none other than Patrick Baldwin Jr. A former consensus five-star recruit, Baldwin, Jr., affectionately known as PBJ, was supposed to be a Top 5 draft pick. His salivating potential led Duke University to send him an offer in his sophomore year of high school, making him the youngest player ever to receive an offer to play with the esteemed college hoops program. Unfortunately, he never lived up to his lofty high-school expectations due to the infamous ankle injury he sustained that prevented him from showcasing his skills in college. Now, as the Warriors’ 28th pick in the draft, he has been an early standout for their two preseason games in Tokyo, posting efficient numbers across both games. He even sparked the comeback that led the Warriors to victory in their second preseason game, overcoming a 16-point deficit. Standing at 6’10”, Baldwin Jr. has the frame of a prototypical NBA wing, and as seen in his preseason stint against the Wizards, he can certainly stroke it from outside too, which will probably see him be involved in Kerr’s offense earlier than expected. The Warriors Head Coach gave Baldwin Jr. some deserved praise here, calling him a “really good basketball player”. Looney also showered Baldwin Jr. with compliments, saying “There’s a lot of talent at that position, but the way he shoots it, and his feel for the game, he’s already taking a step in the right direction.” We know what Golden State can do with late lottery picks, see what they did with Poole as proof. It will certainly be up to PBJ if he can live up to the high expectations previously bestowed upon him, but one thing’s for sure: there might be no better team for him to be able to do that than the Warriors.
All this, considering the Warriors had key offseason acquisitions as well, with Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green providing much needed veteran presence to their second unit. Both players have shown success playing within their role and have ample playoff experience as well to make an impact.
The current projected depth chart for the Warriors from ESPN doesn’t even have Baldwin Jr. in it. That’s how deep the Warriors can go. If Curry needs rest, they can just deploy Kid Splash Jordan Poole to fill the void. The same goes for Thompson and Green should they miss games. Kerr has a lot of options in DiVincenzo, Kuminga, JaMychal Green, and returning vet Andre Iguodala. For a lesser caliber coach, this may spell trouble, as sometimes too many options lead to mismanagement of minutes. But Kerr has been there and done that, and rightfully deserves the trust of the Warriors faithful.
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