In June of this year, a frenzied 21-0 run from the Golden State Warriors was bookended with a Stephen Curry three that not only sealed the first finals MVP award for Curry but effectively secured a fourth championship in eight years for the Warriors.
That Game 6 win was a victory for the Warriors’ experience and guile as they capitalized on the Celtics errors with a ruthless efficiency. Can that know-how and cunning guide Steve Kerr’s men to a second consecutive NBA Championship in 2023?
Read on to find out.
What The Sportsbooks Say
If you want to know the state of play in any sport, the first place to look is at the sportsbooks. They put in extensive research to make sure that their odds are watertight and that they don’t lose out in the long run.
If a sportsbook has a team or a player as a standout favorite then that means one thing – they are head and shoulders above the competition. According to the latest NBA odds, the Golden State Warriors are the favorites to win the NBA Championship.
They are placed well ahead of the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. Need any more convincing that the Warriors are set to retain their NBA crown? Let’s take a look at some of the other factors at play.
The Coach: Steve Kerr
Every great team needs a great coach, think Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots or Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls. In Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors have their own inspirational talisman.
As a player, Kerr learned from the aforementioned Phil Jackson, winning three NBA Championships with the Bulls before adding a further two to his tally at the San Antonio Spurs. Since becoming a coach in 2014 Kerr has added a further four NBA Championships to his trophy collection and doesn’t look anywhere near finished yet.
Retaining the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy will be at the top of Steve Kerr’s priority list this season, and it would take a brave person to bet against him doing just that.
The Squad
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney are a starting five that would strike fear into the heart of every NBA team. At age 34, Curry still looks as lethal as ever, especially from deep.
Thompson, Wiggins and Green are all solid players with great ability at both ends of the court; they have the savvy and know-how to win tight games. Then there’s Kevon Looney, a man who proved himself crucial when it counted in the offseason.
It’s not just in the starting five that the Warriors are stacked with talent. Their reserve and youth players Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman are all quality players in their own right.
Poole is the ideal replacement for Thompson with Kuminga a great, athletic option for squad rotation. Moody is a great, versatile guard and, on his day, James Wiseman can be one of the most devastating players in the league.
All in all, the makeup of the Warriors squad is impressive. They are stacked with talent and have competent and capable reserves waiting in the wings.
The Mentality
The final piece of the puzzle when it comes to Championship winning teams is their mentality. It’s the attribute that can turn an insanely talented player into a busted flush and an incredibly limited one into an icon.
Do the Golden State Warriors have that elite mentality? You betcha. The franchise has appeared in 6 of the last 8 NBA Finals, winning 4 of those bouts. The most important of those series in recent history was the defeat to the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
That defeat was the wake-up call, providing the motivation that this squad needed to take their game to the next level. In recent years they have not only shown themselves to be ruthless but resilient too, responding to setbacks in games.
It’s no wonder then that Draymond Green, speaking to the press following the win over the Boston Celtics said, “I didn’t learn anything about myself, I knew I was resilient.”
That self-belief and mental fortitude typifies the attitude of the Golden State Warriors and bodes well for future success.
So, can the Warriors back up last season’s success with another Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in 2023? You betcha.
