5 questions about the Golden State Warriors: Can the Dubs already plan for the next championship?

The Golden State Warriors have defeated the Boston Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions for the fourth time in the past eight years. But what’s next for the team – is the next championship almost certain?

How did the Warriors fight their way to the title?

Who would have thought? Indeed, four years after their last championship, the Warriors managed to reactivate their old core and nab the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy.

With all the euphoria surrounding the team, one tends to forget what a miracle it really is. After losing to the Raptors in 2019, the departure of Kevin Durant and the serious injury of Klay Thompson, the 2019-20 team finished comfortably bottom in the West with just 15 wins. As a “reward” for this, No.2 pick James Wiseman jumped out, but he didn’t play a second last season due to injury.

The success of the Warriors season is based on their consistent work over the past eight years under head coach Steve Kerr. A team that started as a “Strength-in-Numbers” dynasty, was briefly expanded with an incredible KD, disappeared from the scene for two years and is now taking the NBA crown again without many really believing them capable of doing so.

In Vegas, pre-season braves were only guaranteed the fourth-highest odds on the next Warriors title. Teams like the Nets, Lakers and Bucks were given significantly higher odds. In retrospect, one has to say that GSW was mercilessly underestimated. Of course, there was no telling how Klay Thompson would perform, but honestly it wasn’t his fault alone that the Warriors could hoist the next banner under the hall ceiling.

The basis for success was laid independently of Klay’s performance, which was sometimes very inconsistent. Stephen Curry, who was outstanding at the start of the season, the trade for Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole’s explosion are all personal examples, but more on that on page 2.

The Warriors success lies in the structure of the organization

Rather, the cornerstone lies in the structure of the organization. Curry is probably the most selfless superstar in the league and lives the team’s route with his mentality. He never tires of running around countless screens, attracting enemies with his presence and, most recently, hustling on defense.

The Warriors are just a unit – and a pretty rip off one at that. With four titles now and the experience of 2016 in the neck, nothing can shock the Big Three around Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green anymore. Celtics coach Ime Udoka put it well when he said the Warriors just don’t beat themselves.

They aren’t shy about trying out different lineups themselves in the finals, with the trio of Kerr, Kenny Atkinson and Mike Brown they have perhaps the best coaching trio in the league (or had, Atkinson and Brown are moving to Charlotte and Sacramento as head coaches) and manage to keep their bench players happy too.

Recall a few mid-season games when Andre Iguodala played otherworldly passes, Gary Payton II unwrapped pad after pad, and Juan Toscano-Anderson handed out posters on the assembly line. In these games one had the impression that nobody could do anything against this playfulness and this closeness of the team. Well, it finally came true.

NBA Finals – Warriors vs. Celtics: The Series at a Glance (4-2)