The Golden State Warriors are only one year removed from an appearance in the NBA Finals and five consecutive Western Conference championships. The Warriors have also won three NBA championships in the last five years. This season, however, has not been the story of success Warriors fans are used to. 

The Warriors are currently the worst team in the NBA, with a record of 12 wins and 46 losses and a winning percentage of just .211. As of right now, the Warriors have lost seven straight games, and they are 33 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division.

But how did such a significant fall from grace come about? Many Amador students point to the 2019-20 Warriors’ lack of star power and inability to play complete games. 

“…the Warriors seem to always play a competitive game for 3 quarters and then they just collapse in the 4th quarter. It’s probably a mixture of poor performances from players and Steve Kerr not knowing how to game plan a 4th quarter without Steph or Klay,” said Steve Furtado (‘21). 

A number of factors contributed to the Warriors extreme decline this season, but the loss of the star core they had in 2019, is no doubt a key factor. Demarcus Cousins, All-Star center for the Warriors, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in the off-season. Kevin Durant, one of the best players in the NBA, signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Finally, the “Splash Brothers,” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, have both gone down with injuries. Thompson will not return to the team this season, and Curry is expected to come back to the lineup at some point in early March. 

Though they’ve been far from the team that Amador’s Warriors fans have seen for the last few years, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future of the team. 

“The Warriors are setting themselves up for another championship run by trading assets for draft picks and rehabbing Curry and Thompson patiently and methodically,” said Vincent Wibawa (‘21). 

In their next match-up, they will face the Nuggets in Denver on March 3 at 6:00 PT.