NBA: Which championship shines the most for the Golden State Warriors?
Since Steve Kerr took the coaching helm, the Golden State Warriors have won three titles in four years. But which of those three Larry O'Brien trophies can be considered the most precious of them all?
Let us take a closer look as we rank the last three championship titles of the Golden State Warriors won in the era of Stephen Curry.
#3 2017 NBA Championship
Moving on from a historical but forgettable season where they broke the NBA record in most wins in a single season with 73 only to surrender a 3-1 advantage in the finals to Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors got the biggest boost they could get by being able to sign the most coveted free agent Kevin Durant.
Buoyed by the record-setting 12-0 won-loss playoff start, the Warriors swept past Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs to arrange a third straight finals meeting with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In dominating fashion, Golden State extended the record to 15-0, winning the first three games of the 2017 NBA finals, before the Cavaliers stole a win in Cleveland to avoid a sweep, thus extending the inevitable.
However, there was no stopping the romp as the Warriors ended the series in game five to avenge the bitter loss dealt to them by the Cavaliers the season before.
#2 2018 NBA Championship
After almost missing the finals by being pushed to the limit by their respective conference rivals, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers arranged a fourth consecutive NBA championship series. As it turned out, the Western conference matchup against Houston Rockets was the only true test for the Warriors in the playoffs, as they swept past LeBron James in the 2018 NBA Finals, winning back-to-back titles at their expense.
That fourth straight title series between GSW and Cleveland turned out to be the first Finals sweep since 2007 and it was also the first NBA championship series since 2012 that did not feature either of the top seeds in each conference.
#1 2015 NBA Championship
The first GSW title since 1975, Steve Kerr denied LeBron James a chance to end Cleveland Cavaliers’ first title by turning what was supposed to be a close series into a dominant title run, scoring a huge victory while employing “small ball”. Winning the title in six games, Golden State overcame a Game one home loss by taking four victories in the last five games of the series, winning the last two decisively.
In the first ever NBA championship series between two rookie coaches, Steve Kerr outwitted David Blatt by maximizing the backcourt savvy of his two MVPs, Stephen Curry (regular season) and Andre Iguodala (finals) to overcome their inexperience, with no player having played in any championship series prior to the matchup, and a dominating LeBron James who was playing in his fifth straight finals appearance.
The series could have been much closer though as Cleveland lost both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to injuries one after the other in the finals. As a result, LeBron had to be his usual dominating self on both ends which he was able to do, only to fall short in the end.
This particular Larry O'Brien trophy shines the most not only because Golden State wasn't yet considered a "super team" when they won, but it was also the hardest in terms of the fashion it was won.