Why Are The 2016 - 2017 Golden State Warriors The Greatest Team In NBA History?
By: Cohen Rasor
Date: 05/23/2025
There are a plethora of reasons why the 2016-2017 Golden State Warriors are the greatest team in NBA History and in this article I will be explaining why.
To start, they had debatably the greatest starting lineup of all time (6th man included) which included Stephen Curry (as the Point Guard), Klay Thompson (as their Shooting Guard), Kevin Durant (as their Small Forward), Draymond Green (as their Center and Power Forward), and Harrison Barnes (as their Power Forward). They also had Andre Iguodala “Iggy” as their 6th man, who was a runner up for the 6th man of the year award twice. This lineup was also nicknamed the “Death Lineup” due to the fact that unlike typical small - ball (a strategy that prioritizes agility and three point shooting over traditional big men and strength) lineups, they had the ability to defend great interior offensive players such as Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis, and even LeBron James.
To put this into perspective, Stephen Curry is a consensus top 15 basketball player of all time, he has two MVP (Most Valuable Player)s Awards and is the only unanimous MVP, He led his team to the greatest record in NBA history and is undoubtedly the greatest three point shooter to ever play in the NBA. He has won two three point contests in his long career and has the most three pointers made in the history of the NBA.
Kevin Durant was coming off of a MVP caliber season on the Oklahoma City Thunder when the warriors (led by Stephen Curry) came back from being down 3 - 1 in the western conference finals, crushing the star-powered Thunder’s hope at a championship. This inspired Kevin Durant to make one of the most controversial decisions in NBA history, signing with the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 offseason. He did this in order to win a ring and create a legacy for himself. Kevin Durant was a former MVP in 2014 and was now joining forces with one of the 15 best players in NBA history.
Klay Thompson was another star on this team and debatably a top 5 catch - and - shoot player of all time. Thompson’s role on the team was to get open and shoot the ball, he was an amazing three point shooter at this time, averaging 22 points per game off of almost purely threes. If Curry was getting double - teamed (which he usually was) the ball would go to Thompson and the warriors would get three points. If the other team guarded both of these players equally, then they would pass it to Kevin Durant who was unstoppable from mid-range.
That was the team's main offensive presence, but that doesn’t mean the team's skills are even close to over. They had one of the most elite defenses as well. Draymond Green is one of the most defensively skilled players of the generation, a consistent top contender for Defensive Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-2017. Green averaged 1.4 blocks per game and 2.0 steals per game. With this leading the warriors defense to an all time great defensive rating of 104.4 points scored on their defense per 100 possessions, compared to their rating of 111.7 this year. This team was formed after blowing a 3 - 1 lead against LeBron James’ Cavaliers in the finals, potentially the greatest comeback in NBA history, but let’s save that for another article. This mix of small - ball offense and versatile defense led to back to back NBA championships. With Kevin Durant starring in back to back MVP Awards (finals most valuable players).
Many people compare this team to the 1995 - 1996 Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan, but I would say this Warriors team is better. Offensively, I’d take the combined forces of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant over Michael Jordan’s individual offensive power. I choose this simply because it’s harder to guard two superstar players compared to one. Another topic is the 95 - 96 Chicago Bulls defense which some argue was great with the 2x Defensive Player of the Year Dennis Rodman and an amazing defender in Scottie Pippen, but I’d beg to differ. By 95 - 96, Rodman was out of his prime defensively. He was still an amazing rebounder but had not won a Defensive Player of the Year since 5 years ago in 1991, while Draymond Green won Defensive Player of the Year in the same season that the 16 - 17 Warriors team played and won a championship .
To conclude this article, I think the Golden State Warriors are the greatest team in NBA History due to their overall starpower, offensive and defensive skills, their ability to play a small ball offensive scheme, and their championship accolades.