{"id":9481,"date":"2017-08-29T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T12:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=9481"},"modified":"2017-08-29T20:04:12","modified_gmt":"2017-08-30T00:04:12","slug":"greatest-golden-state-warriors-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2017\/08\/29\/greatest-golden-state-warriors-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Greatest Golden State Warriors Moment of the 21st Century"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Welcome to the <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-greatest-moments\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Greatest Moment series<\/a> at Last Word On Pro Basketball, where we\u2019ll present to you each NBA team\u2019s greatest moment of the 21st century. From draft lottery luck, to a franchise-changing trade, to the sweet taste of a championship, every NBA team has had its own special moment to look back on.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In this edition, we\u2019ll relive the greatest <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/golden-state-warriors\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Golden State Warriors\u00a0<\/a>moment of the 21st century: the team signing\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a><\/strong> to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/8576514\/stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors-agrees-four-year-contract-extension\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">four-year, $44 million contract extension in November 2012<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Greatest Golden State Warriors Moment of the 21st Century: Signing Stephen Curry to 2012 Contract Extension<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>The Risk<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After Golden State drafted him seventh overall in 2009, point guard Stephen Curry quickly showed the ability to shoot the ball confidently from anywhere in the gym. Curry&#8217;s game gave Warrior fans hope, and his earliest\u00a0tweets showed his commitment to the team:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Promise to all the Warrior fans&#8230;we will figure this thing out&#8230;if it&#39;s the last thing we do we will figure it out<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StephenCurry30\/status\/5639862962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 12, 2009<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, Curry also dealt with nagging ankle injuries throughout his early years. His earliest ankle injury surfaced during a December 2010 game against the <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/san-antonio-spurs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This initial tweak was re-aggravated several times during the season and lead to off-season ankle surgery in the summer of 2011. The surgery should have helped Curry stay on the floor, but the injuries kept coming. In the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, Curry missed 40 of the 66 total regular season games with his balky ankles. The future of Curry (and the Warriors) was seriously in doubt.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Moment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After some deliberation, the Warriors decided to bet on Curry&#8217;s potential and sign him to a four-year, $44 million extension. The contract was in line with other 2009 point guard draftees such as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a><\/strong> (four years, $41 million) and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lawsoty01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ty Lawson<\/a><\/strong> (four years, $48 million). At the time, Lawson&#8217;s extension made the most sense. By extending Curry, the Warriors went all in on the Davidson product.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Proving the Warriors Right<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Almost immediately, Curry began putting up stats that showed Golden State&#8217;s front office brass that they were right. In the 2012-13 season, Curry averaged 22.9 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game, playing in 78 out of 82 games. His 38.2 minutes per game mark is still his highest for a season. A year after being seen as a perennial injury risk, Curry became one of the biggest snubs for the 2013 All-Star Game.<\/p>\n<p>Curry caught fire down the stretch and led the Warriors to just their second playoff appearance since the 1993-94 season. The sixth-seeded Warriors toppled the third-seeded <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/denver-nuggets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denver Nuggets<\/a> (who were led by Lawson) in six games, and Curry introduced himself to the masses:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stephen Curry&#039;s INCREDIBLE 3rd Quarter\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Dbk7BlCShsE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As the salary cap continued to rise, Curry&#8217;s contract became one of the most valuable in all of sports. Over the next three seasons, Curry&#8217;s scoring average rose to 23.8, 24.0, and a league-leading 30.1 points per game, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>He blossomed into a back-to-back MVP and became known by most as the greatest shooter in league history. At only $11 million per season, Curry&#8217;s contract provided the Warriors with the flexibility to make moves around him.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Creating a Championship Team<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>With Curry in the fold on such a cheap contract, the Warriors were able to make several important moves:<\/p>\n<p>2013 &#8211; Signed versatile free agent and future NBA Finals MVP <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/iguodan01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andre Iguodala<\/a><\/strong> to a four-year, $48 million contract.<\/p>\n<p>2014 &#8211; Signed free agent <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/livinsh01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shaun Livingston<\/a><\/strong> to a three-year, $16 million contract. Livingston became a steady two-way contributor at the backup point guard spot.<\/p>\n<p>2014 &#8211; Extended starting shooting guard <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompkl01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Klay Thompson<\/a><\/strong> (four-year, $70 million contract through 2019), a vital secondary scorer in their championship runs. Thompson has been an incredible backcourt mate for Curry and a terrific fit in Golden State&#8217;s culture and playing style.<\/p>\n<p>2015 &#8211; Extended starting power forward <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greendr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Draymond Green<\/a><\/strong> (five-year, $85 million contract through 2020), the heart and soul of the Warriors. Green is the most versatile defender in the league and won the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year award.<\/p>\n<p>These moves all paid major dividends for the Warriors and helped them win the 2015 NBA championship, the franchise&#8217;s first title in 40 years.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Ultimate Free Agent Signing<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Of course, the Warriors made another pretty big move last summer, as well&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>2016 &#8211; Signed the most surprising and league-altering free agent on this list, 2013-14 MVP and seven-foot scoring machine <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The Warriors, coming off a historic 73-win season, were able to woo a top-two player in the world away from a conference rival. This was financially feasible due to an unprecedented salary cap spike. However, without Curry&#8217;s bargain contract, signing Durant would have been incredibly difficult.<\/p>\n<p>The acquisition of Durant helped the Warriors win the 2017 NBA championship in an act of redemption against the <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/cleveland-cavaliers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>. The entire 2017 off-season has consisted of teams trying to stack up against the defending champs. In other terms, the Warriors caused the whole league to become &#8216;shook,&#8217; all thanks to some balky ankles.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Nothing in professional sports is guaranteed. However, the Warriors look to be major players throughout the next two seasons and beyond. With two titles already (and likely more to come), <strong>Bob Myers<\/strong> and <strong>Joe Lacob<\/strong> have done a legendary job constructing this team.<\/p>\n<p>During this off-season, the Warriors brought back every major contributor, and Curry got a new contract. Unlike in 2012, Curry did not come cheap, as <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2017\/07\/01\/stephen-curry-agrees-re-sign-warriors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he signed a five-year, $201 million contract<\/a>. It&#8217;s safe to say that he earned every penny.<\/p>\n<p>The current iteration of the Dubs is arguably the greatest collection of talent in NBA history. A quartet of All-NBA level talents at their peak is not common due to salary cap constraints. Who knew that Steph Curry&#8217;s bad ankles would lead to the greatest stretch in Warriors history?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"Ecqyt_IcRmdKZlKLN7J5OQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/695344982\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Ecqyt_IcRmdKZlKLN7J5OQ',sig:'6mzjqzAt-v3Hj1trIx4GBu9FW2iUnAQ3u4kDcteb84k=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'695344982',caption: true ,tld:'ca',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The team has had an incredible amount of success recently, but what is the greatest Golden State Warriors moment of the 21st century?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2163,"featured_media":9547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1166,2,62],"tags":[65,182,96,408,48],"class_list":["post-9481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-warriors","category-best-moments","category-featured","category-nba","tag-basketball","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-nba","tag-nba-championship","tag-stephen-curry"],"modified_by":"Harrison Marcus","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}