The Warriors have appeared in a nearly unprecedented five straight NBA Finals but in professional sports streaks are made to be broken.
Unfamiliar challenges await the club this season, making matters more difficult. Golden State has had to rebuild its roster around two-time MVP-guard Stephen Curry in hopes of making it to the big dance once again.
The good news: Curry likes what he sees.
What he doesn’t see on the roster is superstar forward Kevin Durant. His departure in the form of a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets brought guard D’Angelo Russell to the Bay Area and set off a slew of additional moves for the Warriors and other teams.
The result has been a re-shaped roster, built with young players surrounding an established core of Curry, guard Klay Thompson and forward Draymond Green.
Those three have an abundance of postseason experience. The test will be figuring out how the new pieces fit together.
Here’s what Curry told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson about the new roster, from the American Century Golf Championship celebrity tournament in Tahoe, Nev.:
It’s a new challenge. I love the talent we’ve got. We just don’t know what it’s going to look like because we’ve never done it before.
Guard Shaun Livingston and forward Andre Iguodala are both gone as well, adding to the roster upheaval. Still, the Warriors will open the season with three All-Stars in Curry, Green and Russell. They’ll have four when Thompson recovers from his torn ACL.
The remaining cast will provide much of Curry’s new challenge. The Warriors will rely on their entire rookie class, led by first-round pick Jordan Poole. Additionally, Golden State is expected to place fifth-year center, Willie Cauley-Stein, in the starting lineup, though he’ll be aided by returning center Kevon Looney.
Young wings Jacob Evans and Glenn Robinson III are also expected to be rotation players. Omari Spellman, a second-year player out of Villanova, will also have a chance to contribute.
The task set before Curry and the other established Warriors is a difficult one. But led by Curry, the only unanimous MVP in NBA history, there’s cause for optimism — and no reason to give up on that NBA Finals streak just yet.
