“There’s more to life than basketball. 
The most important thing is your family 
and taking care of each other 
and loving each other no matter what.”
~ Steph Curry

I must begin tonight’s blog post with an admission: I am not a fan of professional basketball. I could write at length about the reasons for my disillusionment with the game, but that’s not what I want to focus on tonight. I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect upon the past nine years.

As a child growing up in San Francisco, I was a bit saddened that the San Francisco Giants had never won a World Series since moving to The City from New York. I was a bit embarrassed to see the San Francisco 49ers always coming up short at the end of the regular season. And I was disappointed that the San Francisco Warriors (before their move to Oakland) weren’t as good as the Boston Celtics. That was the reality of my childhood. San Francisco professional sports teams were not winners.

Things began to change… slowly… when I was 21 years old. The Golden State Warriors faced the Washington Bullets in the 1975 NBA finals. The Warriors dominated the championship tournament, disposing of the Bullets in four games. The Bay Area finally had a professional championship team… for one brief season.

In 1982, the San Francisco 49ers knocked off the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. The Bay Area had a Super Bowl champion! Unlike the Warriors, the 49ers had a good run for thirteen years, winning four more Super Bowls in 1985, 1989, 1990, and 1995. For the first time in San Francisco Bay Area history, the word “dynasty” was being used to refer to one of our professional sports teams. 

In the fall of 2010, the San Francisco Giants finally won a World Series title, dominating the Texas Rangers four games to one. Two years later, in 2012, another scrappy underdog Giants’ team earned a berth in the Fall Classic against the favored Detroit Tigers. The Giants took them down in four games. Again in 2014, the Giants played in a hard-fought World Series against the Kansas City Royals. The season came down to a crucial game seven, in which Giants’ pitcher Madison Bumgarner came out of the bullpen to shut the Royals down in the last few innings. It was incredible. Again, the word “dynasty” was used to refer to the Giants’ successful run.

Just a year after the Giants’ third title in five years, the Golden State Warriors emerged as a force in the NBA. In 2015, the Warriors took down the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. In 2016, after taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, the Warriors lost to the Cavaliers in seven games. Golden State returned to their winning ways, winning NBA titles in both 2017 and 2018. Then, after a chaotic pandemic-impacted period, the Warriors returned to the Finals in 2022, defeating the Boston Celtics in six games. Again, the word “dynasty” accompanied any discussion of the Golden State Warriors. 

In my childhood, when I thought of professional football, I thought of the Green Bay Packers. In baseball, it was the New York Yankees who dominated the Major Leagues. And in basketball, it was all about the Boston Celtics. Dynasties come and go. After the Warriors loss to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals last week, a number of media “experts” are boldly stating that the Warriors’ dynasty is over. They may be right, but did these talking heads forget that it was just one year ago that Golden State won their most recent NBA title?

I don’t care who wins the NBA title this year. To be honest, I didn’t care who would win it last year, either, though as a native San Franciscan, I was happy to see the Warriors come out on top. Yes, Golden State is no longer in contention for this year’s title. Despite this, and despite the fact that they had, compared to pre-season expectations, a dismal season, the Warriors provided some excellent entertainment this year. There were so many amazing performances by Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins. Their athleticism was a joy to watch. But then,… there’s Steph Curry. What can be said about this future Hall of Fame player who has worked his magic with the Warriors since playing his college ball at Davidson College in North Carolina? Seriously! Davidson College!

Curry has single-handedly changed the game of professional basketball. To be honest, I’m not sure I like the change. I’m not at all impressed when I see teams bring the ball up court and someone fires off a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining on the shot clock. Yes, many 3-point shots go through the hoop, but most do not. The strategic game of basketball, as coached by legends such as John Wooden at UCLA, relied on two significant factors: (1) mastering the basic fundamentals of the game and (2) incorporating the talent of all five players on the court working together as a team. For the most part, this seems to be a lost art in professional basketball.

Getting back to Steph Curry, there has been much debate online this past season regarding which player in NBA history is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time). It seems that LeBron James has a public relations firm promoting his bid for that coveted title. Personally, when one considers every aspect of the game — offense, defense, assists, rebounds, teamwork, clutch performances, mastery of basic fundamentals, attitude, and grit — Michael Jordan would get my vote for the GOAT of those who played in my adult lifetime. But what about all those who played the game prior to 1972? Surely some of them should be considered in the discussion, but they won’t be. They won’t be considered because the game of basketball today cannot be compared to the game of basketball prior to 1972. It’s just different. The players are different. Physical conditioning options are different. Even the rules of the game, many of which have not changed in the rule book, are applied by game officials differently today than in years past.

Just as I don’t care who wins the 2023 NBA title, I don’t care who people consider to be the greatest player of all time. What I do know, is that since Steph Curry joined the Warriors in 2009, he has been a joy to watch. His ability to fire off 3-point shots from just about anywhere on the court is amazing. His ability to drive the lane through much bigger opponents and lay the ball up for a basket is magical. And his uncanny ability to pass the ball, in any direction, to a teammate who is open is almost unbelievable.

Is the Warriors dynasty over? Those so-called experts, who continue to present their opinions as facts, may want to think so. Only time will determine whether or not they are correct. And if they are,… oh, what a ride it’s been.