My emotions about the Golden State Warriors change a lot. This team is a definition of what I would normally hate in sports - they have all the dominant all-stars and keep winning championships. For me, that is no fun. When I say this out loud, it sounds that I have loser's mentality. And still, I always stick with the underdogs. That is why I refuse to root for the GSW even though they do it all to deserve that. However, I watched enough sports in my life to learn how to be objective, and I can tell you this - the Golden State Warriors are the most exciting and well-organized team in the NBA and maybe all sports. And I am not talking about their on-court performance (it's too obvious). This team is perfect off-court as well. Those guys enjoy playing the game.
Tonight, Klay Thompson scored 52 points and made 14 three-pointers. He broke Curry's record for the most three-pointers in a single game (Curry had 13 against the Pelicans in 2016). And you know what? Curry was all hyped for Thompson. So were the rest of the teammates who dedicated first 5 minutes in the third quarter to get Thompson those remaining four 3's. I can see that even DeMarcus Cousins, a guy with a terrible attitude, is having fun in the GSW and acts like a part of the team. Of course, we will need to see him play to make any kind of conclusions but I am pretty sure that Cousins will fit in this team perfectly.
I sometimes wonder what's the reason for sports? Why do we watch those athletes compete? The only logical explanation in the 21st century is that we watch sports for entertainment. Who could deny that the GSW are the most entertaining team in the NBA at the moment? Also, they managed to score 92 points in one half which is ridiculous, to say the least. I bet that Bulls' fans were not even mad to see their team getting killed on the court tonight because they could be part of the historic performance by both Klay and the whole GSW team.
Little by little, I understand all the bandwagoners who started cheering for the GSW a few years ago when they started winning. I still find it ugly, but I understand it. Some people don't care about sports and they just want to be entertained by the strongest team. With all due respect to the rest of the pack, the GSW are by far the best team in the league right now. It kills me to say that the GSW are actually showing a really good example of how a team should play, behave and deal with media. I cannot say anything but good words about the GSW if I am being objective.
We can talk about Kevin Durant as well. He did not do anything awful when he joined the GSW. You can pretend to talk about dignity, a winner's mentality and similar bullshit which makes sense in theory. However, if I gave you an offer to work in a much better place with a much better salary and sweeter environment where you can also achieve your life goals, what would you do? Of course, you would take that offer. That's what Durant did. He is just a man who looks after himself and makes decisions which benefits him not the others. We should understand that and start treating athletes as humans, not as some sort of objects which win titles for the club and city.
I often watch the NBA and see so many players being unhappy and whining about their team and minutes on the court. And I think to myself how stupid it is. I mean, these days athletes get paid a shit load of money to play and they have all the conditions to enjoy playing. And still, they are so often unhappy. That bugs me. However, you won't see many sad faces in the GSW camp these days. All the players and staff are rooting for each other and standing as one strong group. That is a rare thing, especially in teams with more than one superstar (and we are talking about 5 superstars in the GSW). Curry scored 51 points, made 11 three-pointers and could have easily gone after his own record, but when Kerr took him out of the game for the fourth quarter, Curry did not complain. He did not care about his personal records as long as his team won. That is something rare these days in professional sports. I respect that a lot.
People who say that the GSW should not be allowed to have 5 all-stars in their team are wrong as well. Just like players are playing on the court, GMs and scouts are playing off the court. Any other team could have had the same team that the GSW have now but they chose to give full contracts to Thompsons, Ibakas, Lopezes and other second-tier players who had a few great games. The fans can only blame their GMs for making bad decisions. Instead, many fans choose to blame the GSW for being awesome.
If I were a basketball coach of young kids, I would show them the GSW and tell that their goal is to be like them. After all, team sports are not about winning no matter what it takes - it's about winning and having fun both on and off the court. It's about loving your team and caring about your teammates no matter if they are better or worse players than you are. That's how teams earn respect and players become legends. I know that the GSW earned my respect throughout the years.
All that said, I will never start supporting them and I will hope to see any other team beat them this year. I guess I am a self-destroying nihilist when it comes to sports. Let's go LeBron!
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