It’s been a little over two weeks since Kevin Durant left OKC in favor of playing for the Golden State Warriors for the 2016-2017 NBA season. Ever since then, the sports world has been up in arms, especially the NBA league itself. Athletes all over have talked about how dominate the Warriors could be this season, NBA owners have been complaining that they have zero chance of even competing against this team. Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver has stated that Kevin Durant going to Golden State is not an ideal situation for the league, as it creates a huge shift in power with the addition to this already super-team.
Of course we can’t be for certain how dominant this team will be until the season comes around in October, but there are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to this team properly meshing correctly. Chemistry was one of Golden State’s greatest traits these past two years, and with them changing the team up a bit to bring in Durant will they still have that same chemistry? Not to mention with three prolific scorers such as Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, AND Kevin Durant; will one basketball be enough for that team to function efficiently? It can be expected that they’ll be dominant in the regular season, but what matters most is the playoffs. Can this team already be crowned the 2017 NBA champions?
Since 2010, out of the six NBA champions since then there have been five different teams to win the title. This is considering the fact that we had to deal with the super-team that was the Miami Heat back when LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh all played for that team. A team that LeBron claimed would win not one, not two, not three, and so on. So without further ado, let’s take a look at each of these teams, shall we?
2011: Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks went up against the then-powerhouse Miami Heat and were the clear underdogs in this series. Through a Finals MVP performance from Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James’ supposed Finals meltdown, the Mavericks were able to close out the series in six and win their first NBA championship.
2012: Miami Heat
In a shortened NBA season due to the lockout, the Miami Heat were back in the Finals and were up against Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder. The Thunder won the first game, and then LeBron and company won four straight to secure James’ first ever NBA title.
2013: Miami Heat
The only repeat champions we have had in the past six years, coming after Kobe Bryant and the Lakers won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. We were however treated to an exciting seven games series that had many highlights including Ray Allen’s lifesaving three pointer in game six. The Heat were able to win the series 4-3, and they become back-to-back champions.
2014: San Antonio Spurs
A repeat of last year’s finals perhaps, but a completely different turn of events in this year’s world championship. The San Antonio Spurs won the series in five and blew out the Miami Heat by a record margin in finals history. This ultimately would be Tim Duncan’s final championship as well, before his most recent retirement announcement.
2015: Golden State Warriors
In 2015, the Warriors came in hot considered to be NBA Finals favorites. They went up against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that was led by LeBron James after he decided to return home and promise to bring a championship to the sad sports city that is Cleveland, Ohio. The Golden State Warriors managed to close out the series in six, and they bring the first title to the Bay Area in 40 years.
2016: Cleveland Cavaliers
After going 73-9 in the regular season, the Warriors were expected to clearly dominate the Cavaliers and become back-to-back NBA champions. Another repeat finals series, the Warriors eventually went up 3-1 on the Cavaliers, and it seemed only probable that they were going to be the victors. Behind a Herculean effort from LeBron James, the Cavaliers won three straight games to take the title and bring a championship to the city of Cleveland once more, fulfilling LeBron James's promise.
So as we can see here, there has definitely been a variety of NBA teams winning the title in the past few years. Many people thought for sure after the regular season the Warriors had there was no way someone could take them out, and look where we are now.
Just because Kevin Durant has gone to the Bay Area doesn’t guarantee an elusive NBA title. There is a whole lot of basketball to happen between now and June 2017, so let’s sit back and enjoy what arguably could be one of the most interesting NBA seasons we have seen in a long time.
