The Golden State Warriors’ 2018-19 NBA regular season is behind them. The reigning champions finished with a 57-25 record, are first in the Western Conference and will tip off against the eighth-seed Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1, Round 1, of the NBA Playoffs tomorrow (Saturday, April 13, at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC).
Considering the post-All-Star break slump that saw the Warriors lose six of 12 games between Feb. 18 and March 18 — with four of those losses handed to them by teams that didn’t come close to making the playoffs — many questioned this team’s ability to hang onto the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference (let alone repeat for its third-straight championship).
Yet, here we are, with a look back at the topsy-turvy Golden State Warriors’ season that was. Featuring the good mixed with the bad — on the court and off it (in no particular order) — here are the biggest stories from Golden State’s 2018-19 season:
First: Stephen Curry scores 51 points
Stephen Curry scores 51 points
The stat is big enough on its own. But add in that he did it in just three quarters (against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 24), and the feat is astounding.
Naturally, a ton of those points came from made three-pointers — Curry shot 11-of-16 from three-point range.
Next: Klay Thompson scores 52 points
Klay Thompson scores 52 points
Not to play second fiddle to his fellow Splash Brother, Stephen Curry, Thompson lit it up against the Chicago Bulls a few games later (Oct. 29), scoring 52 points, to one-up Curry in style.
Like Curry, Thompson did it in three quarters and, subsequently, was able to clock out early as well.
Next: Kevin Durant puts up a cool, quiet 41 points
Kevin Durant puts up a cool, quiet 41 points
Durant’s 41-point performance came against the New York Kicks on Oct. 26.
Durant’s big night was only overshadowed because it was sandwiched between Curry’s and Thompson’s even bigger nights. But collectively, for the Warriors, it was a five-day span in which the team’s superstars showed off their offensive firepower.
But Durant would have his moment a month later …
Next: Steph, who? Klay, what? KD takes center stage
Steph, who? Klay, what? KD takes center stage
Thanksgiving had just passed. While the rest of the country was getting back to their exercise routines to keep the extra pounds from sticking, Kevin Durant was not done feasting.
His meal of choice?
A smorgasbord, in endless variety, in three games from Saturday, Nov. 24. to Thursday, Nov. 29.
Durant dropped 44 points against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 24. Two days later, he scored 49 points against the Orlando Magic. Durant capped off the blazing stretch with a monster double-double against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 29: 51 points and 11 rebounds.
Yum.
Next: Jeopardy! round — 43 points on four dribbles is just another day at the office
Jeopardy! round — 43 points on four dribbles is just another day at the office
And 21 of those points were scored on three-point shooting.
Who is Klay Thompson?
Next: Nothin’ but coal on Christmas
Nothin’ but coal on Christmas
Kevin Durant’s 21 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists weren’t enough to save the Golden State Warriors from Christmas Day disaster against the Los Angeles Lakers. As would beleaguer the team for uncomfortably-long stretches this season, team-wide inconsistency and low energy resulted in an embarrassing, nationally-televised loss on Christmas Day.
On Dec. 25, the Warriors ended up on the wrong side of a 26-point blowout defeat. Guess we know who was naughty in 2018.
As would come to be the case all season, the Warriors bounced back from the Christmas Day loss, only to drop off again before spiraling downward once again.
But some of the lowest points of the Warriors’ season were due to intra-squad strife (which, of course, could impact on-the-court performance).
Next: Draymond Green moves the line — then crosses it
Draymond Green moves the line — then crosses it
NBA players spend a lot of time together. Like each other or not, those are the breaks. And an episode in the Warriors’ overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers exposed what may be bubbling behind the scenes.
On the final possession in regulation, Draymond Green refused to pass the ball to Kevin Durant, who had been calling for it. Green dribbled up the court, lost control of the ball and the clock ran out — sending the game into overtime, where the Warriors lost 116-121.
After the denied pass/botched possession by Green, he and Durant nearly came to blows in front of the Warriors’ bench. Green said something so toxic to Durant that the players lit into Green in the locker room after the game and the front office suspended Green for one game without pay.
Could an ongoing riff between the two players be at least part of the reason Durant reportedly wants out of Golden State?
But Green wasn’t the only Warriors player to cause trouble for his colleagues this season.
Next: Jordan Bell buys the candles, the Warriors light the fire
Jordan Bell buys the candles, the Warriors light the fire
Under Bell, basically, in a way that informed the second-year power forward of exactly where he stands with the organization. Bell’s one-game suspension started with what he described, via public apology, as a prank gone awry: charging items to assistant coach Mike Brown’s account while the team was on the road, staying in a hotel.
The Warriors suspended him because they suspected Bell had done this before, to other members of the organization.
No matter which way one cuts it, this was a bad look for Bell. He’s about to enter restricted free agency and his on-court performance isn’t close to stellar enough for the team to overlook his off-court antics. Bell averaged 3.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11 minutes per game in the regular season.
Next: Bigger than basketball — Clifford Dixon
Bigger than basketball — Clifford Dixon
Less than a month ago, news broke that Clifford Dixon, Kevin Durant’s longtime friend since childhood, had been shot to death outside of an Atlanta-area bar. Dixon was 31 years old and had been at the bar to celebrate his birthday.
Durant grew up in a rough neighborhood in Prince George’s County, M.D., and he has maintained close friendships with many of the now-men he knew when they were all boys.
On April 1, Durant was excused from practice to attend Dixon’s funeral in the Washington, D.C. area. Teammate Quinn Cook joined him on the red-eye journey, for support.
Making the burial of a longtime friend even more difficult was that it took place the day after rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle was shot to death outside his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles.
Bigger than basketball — Nipsey Hussle
Bigger than basketball — Nipsey Hussle
Rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle was shot to death outside of his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles on March 31. Shooting deaths happen every day in the United States, senseless violence that forever traumatizes the lives of the living. But Nipsey Hussle’s death sent shock waves far and wide, including throughout the NBA, where many players knew him personally or appreciated not only his music, but the transformations he was trying to make in notoriously crime-ridden South Los Angeles.
Nipsey Hussle had appeared in an episode of Stephen Curry’s YouTube series 5 Minutes from Home, and the murder of the man Curry considered a new friend apparently hit the superstar hard.
A celebration honoring Nipsey Hussle’s life took place yesterday (Thursday, April 11) in Los Angeles. He is survived by partner, Lauren London, and children.
Slideshow: Nipsey Hussle, Steph Curry behind-the-scenes on 5 Minutes from Home
Next: Bigger than basketball — Trump White House
Bigger than basketball — Trump White House
At this point, it would be fair to say that the Golden State Warriors have an adversarial relationship with the sitting president. Coach Steve Kerr has sounded off against Donald Trump on multiple occasions: here and here and here and here. With Trump having rescinded a prior invitation to the Warriors following their 2017 championship win, Kerr & Co. celebrated their 2018 NBA title with former president Barack Obama instead.
Warriors skip White House visit, meet with Barack Obama instead
Next: In happier news, here’s what Stephen Curry got right this season — off the court
What Stephen Curry got right this season — off the court
Warriors guard Stephen Curry seems like a genuine, good man. But no one really knows what he’s like at home, or in the locker room, when the cameras aren’t rolling — and that goes for everyone in public life (which is why turning humans into idols can be dangerous). Yet, in recent years, Curry has expanded his interest in philanthropy and social justice and, during the 2018-19 NBA season, he made some powerful moves in both areas.
In a wild coming-full-circle moment, Curry (and brother Seth) got to participate in the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in their hometown of Charlotte, N.C. For Curry, the event took place exactly 10 years into his NBA career. To give back to the city that gave him so much, he unveiled the renovations he and wife, Ayesha, made to a community center in Uptown Charlotte.
Steph Curry gifts Charlotte’s Carole Hoefener Center with a major upgrade
Additionally, he made big moves toward inspiring and grooming the next generation of basketball players — three-star ranked student-athletes who may be diamonds in the rough.
With the Underrated Tour, Steph Curry bets on the underdog
And he made major strides in the world of entertainment, too:
- executive producing a new reality competition show called Holey Moley
- releasing a documentary about his life called Stephen vs. The Game
- producing Emanuel: a documentary honoring the Emanuel A.M.E. church shooting victims, with proceeds going to victims and their families
Next: DeMarcus Cousins makes his season debut
DeMarcus Cousins makes his season debut
On Friday, Jan. 18, the Golden State Warriors got the 112-94 win over the Clippers in Los Angeles. It’s great the Warriors secured a win on the road, but it was also the game in which DeMarcus Cousins made his season debut after missing a year from professional basketball due to a torn Achilles’ tendon and the grueling, emotionally-challenging rehab required to get him back on the court.
In his first game back, Cousins scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished three assists, stole one ball and blocked one shot in 15 minutes of play.
Can DeMarcus Cousins’ Resurgence carry him to an NBA title?
Next: Andrew Bogut returns from down under
Next: Andrew Bogut returns from the land down under
It only took a secret phone call from Warriors coach Steve Kerr and a clandestine visit to Australia by someone from the Golden State front office — but, it worked. To shore up the center position in case Cousins’ return didn’t go well — or, in general — the Warriors got Bogut back!
Bogut has only played in 11 games since returning (starting five of them) and averaged 3.5 points, five rebounds and one assist in the regular season. Even if he doesn’t play big minutes or put up big numbers, his familiarity with the team’s schemes — along with his more slender physique (thanks to his diet of beer) — will make him an asset in the playoffs.
Next: Season’s best buzzer-beating, game-winning shots
Season’s best buzzer-beating, game-winning shots
Fans may chew their fingernails to the quick when a game is poised to be decided in final seconds. But when the favored team heaves and gets the win? Bliss.
Here are a few of the season’s best:
An unusual suspect: Jonas Jerebko needs just 0.3 second on the clock
Klay only needed to be himself
Curry just needed to dish and receive and issue a hard, behind-the-back bounce pass
Next: That championship bling
Here’s a rewind to the Warriors’ championship ring ceremony. These rings just get bigger and bigger by the year, so let’s just call it what it is: BLING.
Congrats to the champs! Can they do it again, in three-peat style?
Finally: Warriors finish the regular season in unbelievable fashion
Warriors finish the regular season in unbelievable fashion
As in, NBA-approved uniforms. To close out the season, the Warriors rocked their We Believe jerseys.
In a season of inconsistent play and roller-coaster ups and downs, is belief enough to win it all for the third straight year?
We’ll know soon enough.
The 2019 NBA Playoffs tip off Saturday, April 13, with the Warriors taking on the Los Angeles Clippers (8:15 p.m. ET on ABC).
