Nick Young (a.k.a. Swaggy P.) has strong feelings about his short stint with the Golden State Warriors. In a recent chat on the Gilbert Arenas podcast, he even went so far as to call that 2018 Warriors team the "greatest in NBA history."
"Nobody is beating Steph and Kevin Durant together," said Young. "I don't see it. You got Klay Thompson, David West, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, and myself... Who gon' guard Steph [Curry] and [Kevin Durant]?”
The debate on the greatest team in NBA history is between three teams: the 1996 Bulls , the Kobe and Shaq Lakers, and the 2018 Warriors with Steph, Klay, and Kevin Durant . Since all three teams played in different eras, it's impossible to reach an objective conclusion but the Warriors have a pretty strong case.
The 2017-18 team was one year after Kevin Durant's arrival. After leading the Warriors to a championship months prior, Durant started that next season at the top of his game and fully committed to experiencing the joys of winning another title.
While the Warriors went 58-24 that season (a drop from their record in 2017), they were just as ready on both ends of the floor. With averages of 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game, Durant finished the season 7th in MVP voting. He also secured his second straight Finals MVP after putting up 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At the same time, Stephen Curry was having one of the best years of his career. In 51 games, the 2x MVP averaged 26.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game on 49.5% shooting. He was still in his prime at this point and his two-man game with Klay Thompson in the backcourt was just as deadly as ever.
Besides Durant, Steph, Klay, and Draymond Green, they had a solid support cast of veteran role-players, including Andre Iguodala, David West, JaVale McGee, Kevon Looney, and Shaun Livingston. Multiple-time champion Steve Kerr was leading them as coach on the sidelines.
Sadly, the Warriors fell apart the next summer and the core players would go their separate ways. Even today, however, that 2018 squad is still recognized as the best and one of the most stacked in basketball history.
Comparatively, while the 90s Bulls and 2000s Lakers had plenty of star power, it's arguable whether they would have had a chance to beat the Warriors in a 7-game series. As good as the Bulls were with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, they played an old-school game that leaned on interior play and relied heavily on the performance of Michael. If he didn't have it that night (which was rare), the Bulls were much easier to beat and that was evident in 1995 when they lost the Semi-Finals as Jordan was still working his way back into shape.
The Lakers had arguably the best duo in basketball history with Shaq and Kobe, but they would have had no answer for the trio of Steph, Klay, and Durant, who would have taken turns torching the Purple and Gold from three.
Sadly, we'll never get to see the iconic teams in a real matchup but it's hard to argue that the Warriors don't deserve a place in the conversation. Nick Young will never forget his place on that squad and the experience of what life was like on a team with such an impressive collection of talent.
Related: 10 Greatest Net Rating NBA Teams Of All Time
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