The Golden State Warriors were once the rulers of the NBA, winning three championships in a four-year span from 2015-2018 and tacking on a fourth banner in 2022.
Since that point, though, they haven't even made the conference finals, and with their exit in the Play-In Tournament this season, the writing is on the wall for the end of the dynasty, if it's not already over.
One player that's been at the center of it all, Draymond Green, actually believed it's been somewhat over for longer than people may think.
Green Admits How Klay Thompson's Departure Changed Things
On Wednesday, Green made a guest appearance on the Post Moves podcast with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston. Among the many topics the trio discussed, one of them was about the Warriors' dynasty, where Green was honest about where he felt it changed.
"A part of this era ended when Klay (Thompson) left. When Klay left, it's a little different ... (but) when you walk in there, Klay is gone, but it's still rolling because all of us are still in here and we can all go back to those moments (of the dynasty)."
Even despite this, Green acknowledged just how blessed he was to be a part of it and to be given more opportunities, perhaps past the point that many organizations would have.
"I think we have the best ownership group in the NBA, and they have allowed us to ride the entire wave of it. We haven't won the championship since 2022 — normal for most, but not normal for us. If you look at the dynasties that we've all seen — the Spurs, four years removed from their last championship, they were all gone. For the Chicago Bulls, those guys were gone one year after. You look at any of the dynasties four years removed from the last championship, they weren't like, 'Man, we still got chances to do it.' Our ownership group has made sure that we've still had chances to do this."
Was Thompson's Injuries And Departure The End?
Thompson has always been the quiet member of the Warriors' Big Three. Between Steph Curry as the face of the franchise and Green as the emotional leader, Thompson was allowed to co-exist in the background, doing the dirty work on the perimeter on defense and cashing in on an absurd amount of three-pointers.
One could argue that things started to come to an end when Thompson's major injuries hit. Starting with the ACL injury that he suffered in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, which potentially led to the Warriors' loss, and then with the subsequent Achilles tear that ultimately kept him out for two and a half entire seasons, that may have been the beginning of the end.
Though the Warriors won in 2022, Thompson wasn't really the same level he was pre-injury, especially athletically, and without his quality defense to help alleviate Curry's burden on that end, things started to get a bit harder.
Since Thompson's departure in the 2024 offseason, the Warriors are just above .500 at 85-79. When he was on the team, the Warriors were 528-265 compared to just 112-118 without him. Raw records might not be the best way to encompass a dynasty, but either way, it's clear how much Thompson had an impact on this franchise.