A Dynastic Reunion and a New Generation Spark Warriors’ Fourth Title in Eight Seasons
GOLDEN REVIVAL
Table of Contents Foreword..................................................................... 3 Pre-Season................................................................. 9 Regular Season......................................................... 19 Playoffs.....................................................................59 Finals...................................................................... 107 Parade.....................................................................149 Per Game Stats...................................................... 159
OPPOSITE | Warriors guard Stephen Curry is introduced before Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at Chase Center on May 13, 2022. The Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 110-96 to advance to the Western Conference finals. SANTIAGO MEJIA / THE CHRONICLE
INTRODUCTION • 7
REGULAR SEASON
Dec. 9, 2021
Screens unleash Curry’s offense How the Warriors mastered the art of getting their best shooter the sliver of space he needs BY RON KROICHICK • THE CHRONICLE
Draymond Green stuck with it. Late in the second quarter Nov. 26 against Portland, Green set a screen for Stephen Curry — and Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic both shrewdly followed Curry toward the sideline, determined not to let him spring free for a 3-point shot. Curry lobbed the ball back to Green and immediately sprinted toward him. Green handed the ball to Curry while simultaneously setting another screen on Lillard. This time, Nurkic not-so-shrewdly lingered a few steps back — and Curry buried a 30-footer, stretching the Warriors’ lead to 14 points and captivating the crowd at Chase Center. That play offers a timely reminder. Curry creates open shots off the dribble, yes, and he sometimes catches passes and shoots in blissful solitude. But more often he curls off a Green screen, or one from Kevon Looney, Nemanja Bjelica or Juan Toscano-Anderson, to find the sliver of space he needs. Call it the Art of Screening — and the Warriors are masters at the craft. As Curry approaches Ray Allen’s NBA record for most made 3-point shots in a career — he stands nine away entering Saturday night’s game in Philadelphia — it’s worth exploring
how he finds the room to show off his wondrous shooting skills. Setting screens is an unglamorous chore, akin to the offensive linemen who toil in anonymity protecting a high-profile quarterback. Kids playing hoops in the driveway work on their shot, not their screens. They dream of becoming Curry, not Looney. Or, as Curry put it, “Nobody on SportsCenter Top 10 ever says, ‘Check out this Draymond Green transition screen.’ ” But screens also are an indispensable part of Curry’s success, as he openly acknowledged. The Warriors built a dynasty in part on smart, rugged, creative, persistent screens, mostly for Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry doesn’t make 402 3-pointers in a season without those human road blocks, nor does Thompson drain 14 in one game. This highlights the team element of these Warriors, a mix of unselfishness, toughness and basketball intelligence. They understand the value of Green and Looney — or Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia previously — helping set up long-distance theatrics. “When Steph is hitting all those 3s, I feel like I’m hitting them,” Looney said, “just because
I’m part of the play, part of the offense.” Pachulia felt similarly during his two seasons with the Warriors. If Pachulia set a sturdy screen for Curry, Thompson or Kevin Durant, and it led to a bucket, the crowd’s exuberant reaction made Pachulia eager to do it again. He described his one season in Dallas, playing with Dirk Nowitzki, as great preparation for joining Curry and Thompson. Pachulia, now a Golden State front-office executive, said he never enjoyed screening as much as he did with the Warriors. He often counted to himself how many “screen assists” he collected. Green, similarly, views screens as the equivalent of an assist, on par with delivering a pass leading to a basket. “To be honest, screening is a will,” Pachulia said. “It’s not the most pleasant thing to do. … You get hit pretty bad. You get a lot of bruises.” Curry eased the pain with his gratitude. Even now, more than three years since he last wore a Warriors uniform, Pachulia marvels at Curry routinely going out of his way to thank teammates for screens, to recognize their dirty work. That meant a lot to Pachulia, as did head coach Steve Kerr (and his assistants) praising good screens during video sessions. Pachulia
OPPOSITE | Warriors forward Draymond Green screens Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell as center Karl-Anthony Towns switches onto Stephen Curry during a game at Chase Center on Nov. 10, 2021. SCOTT STRAZZANTE / THE CHRONICLE
REGULAR SEASON • 19
OPPOSITE | Curry gets past Portland’s Damian Lillard thanks to a screen from Zaza Pachulia in the third quarter of Game 1 of a first-round playoff series at Oracle Arena on April 16, 2017. SCOTT STRAZZANTE / THE CHRONICLE
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called it “powerful motivation” for the team’s big men. Curry, in a Chronicle interview last week, instinctively listed players whose screens propelled him to the brink of this record — not only the obvious ones (Green, Bogut, Pachulia) but also names such as Carl Landry, Andris Biedrins, Festus Ezeli, David West and JaVale McGee. “All those guys made it part of their DNA on the court,” Curry said. Green was one step ahead. He held the ball near the top of the arc Nov. 12, with Curry and Looney on his right. Green threw a bounce pass ahead of Curry, near the sideline — leading Chicago’s Alex Caruso right into Looney. Curry made the open 3. Or, to illustrate Curry’s power as a decoy, consider last Saturday’s game against San Antonio. Toscano-Anderson set a screen for Curry on the right wing, both defenders went with Curry and Toscano-Anderson slipped toward the rim. Green passed to him for an easy dunk. “There’s an art to screening,” Green said. “It’s not just run over and lay your body on somebody. It’s angles and body contact, but it’s also understanding your defender and how they’re guarding you.” Ball screens are most common, when a teammate sets a screen on the opponent defending the man with the ball (often Curry). The Warriors also like to set slip screens — see the Toscano-Anderson play above — to take advantage of the attention Curry invariably draws. Green also is adept at setting drag screens, essentially ball screens in transition. And the Warriors still occasionally use the “elevator screen,” when Curry (or another player) darts through an opening and two teammates slide over to set a screen, like an elevator door closing. But the most effective tactic, in some ways, is “flipping” a screen — starting to set a screen
on one side of a defender, then quickly flipping to the other side. The screener must become stationary when he makes contact with the defender, or risk an illegal-screen foul. Kerr pointed to Bogut and Green as especially good at flipping screens, and Looney also does it effectively. Still, the patent belongs to longtime Cleveland big man Anderson Varejao, who spent parts of two seasons (2015-16 and ’16-17) with the Warriors. Varejao is widely credited as the first player to make a habit of flipping screens, Kerr said. During last summer’s Olympics, when Kerr was an assistant coach on Popovich’s staff, Popovich used Varejao as a verb in meetings, saying things like, “The big guy would come out and Varejao.” Another part of the equation when it comes to the Warriors freeing Curry for shots: He’s good at setting screens, perfectly willing to mix it up with big men. Kerr called Curry the best guard screen setter since Hall of Famer John Stockton, saying he “uses screens like Reggie Miller and sets them like Stockton.” And those two skills are related. “A lot of Steph’s 3s come after he sets a screen,” Kerr said. “If he sets a back screen (standing behind the defender), generally people don’t want to leave him. So we’ve created a lot of layups for other people off his screens. “But then the next time down he sets a back screen, both guys go with the layup guy and Steph pops back and gets a shot. So I think part of screening is just deception. … “You’re really trying to make the defense make decisions. They might navigate the first decision well, or the second one. But the more decisions they have to make, the better the chances of them screwing it up — and that’s how you get open.” Kerr’s coaches, tracing to high school, always told him setting a screen was the best way to get open. Curry’s college coach at Davidson,
Bob McKillop, liked to tell his players, “Help somebody and you help yourself.” But not all players trying to set screens understand the subtleties — the proper angles or when to flip screens. Green realized this during the first two games of the 2020-21 season, as he nursed an injury and watched James Wiseman launch his pro career. Wiseman, who played only three college games at Memphis, put forth the effort but didn’t really know how to set good screens. So Green asked Warriors staffers to put together a highlight video of notable screeners — players such as Bogut, Kurt Thomas, Chuck Hayes and Tristan Thompson doing their thing. Green and his assistant, Looney, then led an impromptu session of Screen School in a Chicago hotel ballroom before the Warriors faced the Bulls on Dec. 27, 2020. They taught their young teammates, such as Wiseman, how to create space for Curry. “I’ve had the opportunity to play with some really good screeners, and I think it’s my job to pass that on to guys like Loon and Wise,” Green said. “That’s kind of where Screen School came from. I’ve learned from some of the best, and you have to share that knowledge.” Not so coincidentally, the Warriors — after getting blown out in their first two games — won four of five after Screen School, with Curry returning to form. Green didn’t mince words. In an April 2020 appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast hosted by former Warriors players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Green said, “I think I’m the best screen setter ever to play in the NBA.” Reminded of this statement in an interview this week, Green said flatly, “That’s a fact.” He also gave much credit to Bogut, the bruising 7-foot center who played for the Warriors during Green’s first four seasons in the league. Green said he was “privileged” to learn the nuances of screening from Bogut and noted with
admiration, “Bogut could f—ing crush guys.” Kerr, while raving about Green, called Bogut the best screener he’s ever seen (sorry, Draymond). Bogut brought imposing size and strength, Kerr said, but he also had more mobility than most big men and extraordinary timing in setting screens. Kerr understands the challenge, because he set many screens in his playing career. That was part of the Chicago Bulls playbook during their Michael Jordan heyday, a feature Kerr copied when he became head coach of the Warriors in 2014. One of Kerr’s most memorable screens came in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, a game mostly known for Jordan’s decisive shot over Utah’s Bryon Russell. Kerr (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) took no shots in 24 minutes but set a screen on Karl Malone (6-9, 250) to free teammate Toni Kukoc for a 3-pointer. “Malone just absolutely steamrolled me,” Kerr said. “But Kukoc made the 3. It was probably my best contribution of the night.” Kerr enjoyed a long career because of his shooting, but his recollection makes a salient point: Screens are a vital contribution in basketball. The Warriors rediscovered their mojo this season in part because Green, Looney and Co. are committed to the dirty work needed to spring Curry — and backcourt partner Jordan Poole — for open looks. Poole learned about this early in his first training camp two years ago. Looney set several hard screens on him, prompting Poole to complain to his fellow Milwaukee native. “I had to let him know this is the NBA now,” Looney said, smiling, “and that’s what I get paid to do.”
REGULAR SEASON • 21
| Curry dribbles as Draymond Green screens the Orlando Magic’s Frank Mason III in the first quarter of a game at Chase Center on Feb. 11, 2021. SCOTT STRAZZANTE / THE CHRONICLE RIGHT
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ABOVE | Warriors center Kevon Looney sets a screen for guard Curry against Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center on Nov. 12, 2021. STEPHEN LAM / THE CHRONICLE ABOVE LEFT | Green sets a screen against the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dennis Schroeder to free Curry in the first half at Chase Center on March 15, 2021. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE
| Curry drives as Green picks off Ball during the fourth quarter at Chase Center on Nov. 12, 2021. S TEPHEN LAM / THE CHRONICLE
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REGULAR SEASON • 23
Feb. 7, 2022
How Green’s speech changed the season Forward lit into his teammates — and lit a fire under them as well BY CONNOR LETOURNEAU • THE CHRONICLE
OKLAHOMA CITY — Warriors forward Draymond Green had seen enough. After watching Golden State fall to Indiana at home Jan. 20 for its sixth loss in nine games, he stood in front of his teammates during video study and demanded their attention. For more than five minutes, Green, sidelined by a nagging back problem, took issue with players’ body language, overconfidence and uneven effort. With a heavy dose of expletives, he explained that the Warriors — owners of the Western Conference’s second-best record — hadn’t accomplished anything. An NBA title was far from guaranteed. More than two weeks later, players recall that speech having an almost cinematic quality. Every sentence Green uttered seemed straight from a Hollywood script. As rookie guard Moses Moody put it, “It felt like the lights dimmed down, the focus was on him.” Green has delivered similar orations in recent years, but perhaps none carried such stakes. His message was unquestioned: The Warriors’ season had reached a crossroads. They could make necessary changes, or risk squandering all they had worked so hard to build. On Monday night, after a 110-98 victory
over the Thunder at Paycom Center pushed the Warriors’ win streak to nine games, you can see how Golden State’s players now might feel removed from the troubling circumstances that compelled Green to address the team. Even with Green still sidelined, the Warriors have been a blend between the Harlem Globetrotters and Hickory High on overdrive. The ball has seldom been held long enough for its logo to be read. Warriors defenders have switched off screens with such precision that opponents often look out of sorts, unsure whether to pass or shoot. Young players such as Moody and Jonathan Kuminga have hit big shots and made timely stops. Klay Thompson, less than a month removed from a 2 ½-year hiatus, is beginning to regain his signature brilliance. The career-worst shooting slump that plagued Stephen Curry and became a national storyline is a thing of the past. Even when the Warriors slip back into bad habits and embolden an inferior opponent, they recapture their movement-heavy success long enough to pull away for the win. That was the case Monday when, after letting a 16-point lead devolve into a five-point edge with 2:39 left,
Thompson hit two 3-pointers in a 78-second span and yelled, “This is my house!” The scene conjured memories of his historic Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference finals in this same building, when he sank 11 3-pointers to lift the Warriors to an improbable win. But as Thompson was quick to point out to reporters postgame Monday, that jubilation was fleeting, with Golden State going on to fall to the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Now, after back-to-back playoff absences, the Warriors have reclaimed their championship-or-bust mentality. This group is too loaded to settle for anything less. Though Kevin Durant is now on the Nets, the Warriors boast a depth that would have made those dynastic teams envious. With Green, Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica sidelined for all or part of this nine-game win streak, Golden State has maintained the league’s top defense and outscored opponents by a combined 97 points. In doing so, youngsters have gotten much-needed experience in crucial moments. Kuminga threw down several highlight-worthy dunks Monday on his way to 16 points, but he was most proud of the charge he drew early
OPPOSITE | The Warriors’ longtime Big Three of Draymond Green (left), Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry prepare for Thompson’s return to the NBA against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center on Jan. 9. Thompson returned to play after more than 900 days recovering from injuries. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE
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in the second quarter. Moody, after sitting the first three quarters, entered for the injured Iguodala at the start of the fourth and looked like a proven NBA wing. Jordan Poole continued to thrive off the bench, corralling eight rebounds, dishing out a career-high-tying eight assists and posting a plus-minus of plus-17 in 30 minutes. Making all this even more notable was the fact that Green missed his 15th straight game with that back issue. Outside of Curry and perhaps Thompson, no one means more to the Warriors. In addition to being the team’s defensive anchor, Green is its emotional leader, top facilitator and a trusted mentor. But even though Green can’t play, he is finding ways to help. There is no better example than that impromptu speech last month. In a matter of minutes, Green used straight talk to alter the course of the Warriors’ season. “It was really an eye-opening sort of thing,” Moody said. “When we were going through that little lull, we did team-bonding things. We played baseball and everything in the gym. But the truth is, none of that had near the same effect on the team as Draymond’s speech did.” That talk wouldn’t have happened if Green were healthy — not only because the Warriors probably wouldn’t have endured a 3-6 stretch, but because Green wouldn’t have the insight that comes from watching from the bench. Therein lies just one of the many positives to come out of Green’s extended absence. Unable to lean on Green during difficult on-court moments, other players have had to get out of their comfort zone and rise to the occasion. Moody and Kuminga became revelations. Thompson began to look like himself again faster than many expected. Role players such as Gary Payton II, Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson took turns in the spotlight. All this should better equip the Warriors for any possibility come the playoffs. As potential
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postseason opponents follow Golden State’s progress from afar, they’re left to grapple with a sobering thought: If the Warriors are this good now, how dominant will they be when Green and the others return? “It gives me chills thinking about how good we can be at full strength,” Thompson said.
| Thompson and Curry, with wadding in his nose to stop bleeding after he was hit in the face, cheer a play in the second half as the Warriors took on the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center on Feb. 3. ARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE C LEFT
OPPOSITE | The Warriors’ Juan ToscanoAnderson (right) reaches in to steal the ball from Maurice Harkless of the Sacramento Kings while Stephen Curry helps defend at Chase Center on Feb. 3. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE
REGULAR SEASON • 49
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NBA FINALS • GAME 3
June 8, 2022 vs. Boston Celtics • L 116-100
‘Swimming upstream’ in hostile waters In Game 3, Warriors get lost in electric TD Garden BY ANN KILLION • THE CHRONICLE
BOSTON — The atmosphere was as advertised. Green and mean. Hostile and historic. And it worked. TD Garden didn’t win the game, but it sure helped. In a Game 3 loss, the Golden State Warriors spent much of the game looking uncharacteristically rattled and out of sync. Stephen Curry was injured late in the game and is hopeful he can play in Game 4. Draymond Green had a difficult night and fouled out. And even though the Warriors rallied and took the lead at one point in the third quarter, the result was a 116-100 defeat. The Celtics lead the series, two games to one. The winner of Game 3, when a Finals series is even at 1-1, wins the championship 82.1% of the time. But that stat means that 17.9% of the time, the loser of Game 3 takes the title, and if there was ever going to be a team to beat the statistics, it probably would be the Warriors. A team that knows what it takes to win a championship and isn’t despondent by being down. So back to the drawing board to figure out some things before Friday’s Game 4. “It felt like we were swimming upstream
most of the night,” head coach Steve Kerr said. One of the things on the to-do list might be getting a shaman or a witch to cast a spell over TD Garden. Because it definitely is a role player in this Finals drama. The Garden is a magical, mystical place. It’s not the original Garden, but it’s right next door, and some of the progeny of the original Garden’s rats are probably running through the bowels of the newer place. The crowd, which packed nearby bars hours before tip-off, was loud and lit, from the parquet floor up to the rafters where the 17 championship banners swing, twisting in the collective heat and passion rising from the stands. The green T-shirts handed out said “It’s all about 18.” And the Celtics are now two wins away from winning the 18th title in franchise history. And the first since 2008. There was some voodoo leprechaun magic going around the Celtics’ arena. About two hours before the game, the Warriors players noticed in their warm-ups that the rim of their basket was too high. By a couple of inches. Yes, that’s the kind of thing basketball players can feel instantly. They asked the arena staff to
check and sure enough, the basket was too high. And you think that was simply just a coincidence? As expected, Warriors forward Green was the main target of the Celtics’ fans’ ire, public enemy No. 1 in Boston. The people in green hate the man with Green on his jersey. The “F— You, Draymond” chants started early. The “Draymond sucks” chants continued. “Classy,” Kerr said when asked about it. “Very classy.” Klay Thompson was also not amused. “We’ve played in front of rude people before,” he said. “Dropping F-bombs with children in the crowd. Real classy. Good job, Boston.” Green shrugged it off. “They did what I expected,” Green said. “I embrace it. I enjoy it. They waste a lot of energy talking to me, so it’s great.” For a long time, the crowd’s ire didn’t produce much of anything. Green wasn’t baited. But in the fourth quarter, when Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Curry tangled fighting for a ball and Green dove into the scrum, he was called for his sixth foul, ending his night and sending the crowd into ecstasy. Green said he got the foul trying to pull players off of Curry, who he
OPPOSITE | The Warriors’ Draymond Green (top), Andrew Wiggins (right) and Gary Payton II scramble for a loose ball with the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston on June 8. S COTT STRAZZANTE / THE CHRONICLE
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ABOVE | Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr and Gary Payton II, 0, celebrate the team’s 103 to 90 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE
| Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins, 22, holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after Game 6 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. ARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE C LEFT
OPPOSITE | Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, 30, holds the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 103 to 90 Game 6 to win the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ / THE CHRONICLE
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| Steph Curry celebrates from on top of a bus alongside his family in San Francisco, Calif. on Monday, June 20, 2022. The Golden State Warriors celebrate their Championship win with a parade down Market Street. EANNE FITZMAURICE / D LEFT
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE OPPOSITE | People at the Championship Parade along Market Street, Monday, June 20, 2022, in San Francisco, Calif. The Golden State Warriors are the 2022 NBA champions after beating the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. SANTIAGO MEJIA / THE CHRONICLE
PARADE • 151
