Why the NBA Finals spells good fortune for Seattle

By: Eric Yin

Published 2022/06/17 at 5:21 pm

SEATTLE – The NBA finals have concluded, and the Warriors have won their fourth title in eight years. This is historic by all metrics. They are one of a handful of teams to make six finals in eight years. For two of the four chips, they only had ONE top 75 NBA player. And every year their core was healthy/not suspended, they won the chip. All of this occurs smack dab in the middle of King James’ tenure. And for all these reasons, this means a LOT for Seattle basketball.

Warriors big three wins their fourth championship. From left to right: Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry. Image by Bleacher Report.

The Warriors were built from the ground up. Almost every major contributor in this year’s finals was drafted by the Warriors or brought in from another team before the player became a significant all-star. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, and Kevon Looney were all hometown products, and major role players like Wiggins, Gary Payton II, and Otto Porter all saw career resurgences in the Warriors system. However, they are not built like other all-time great teams. While Steph and Klay are obviously all-time great shooters and talents right out of college, players like Payton II and Green were not lottery picks. Jordan Poole was undrafted. Steph Curry was the only top 75 player on the entire roster.

Andrew Wiggins daps up Jordan Poole. Former first overall pick Wiggins and undrafted Poole have saw career bests in the Warriors system. Image by NBC Sports.

Typically, the recipe to an NBA title is to stack superstar lottery talent and you will waltz your way into the finals a handful of times. The two ways to do so are through the lottery, or via free agency. Kevin Durant’s mid-2010s OKC Thunder drafted three MVPs in back-to-back drafts, a shining example of how to execute this through the draft. LeBron is obviously the most scrutinized example of stacking the deck via free agency. The Warriors have done neither, consistently drafting low after getting Steph and Klay, yet have maintained an iron grip on the league for the better part of eight years.

LeBron James Cavs and Kevin Durant’s Thunder represented different ways to build teams. Image by David Richard.

For Seattle basketball fans, this is promising. It shows us that roster construction does not have to be from tanking a decade for good picks (i.e., 76ers) or praying to the free agency gods (i.e., Lakers). Instead, you can draft low and develop well to still create your team. And that team will not just “compete”, it can be one of the greatest dynasties of all time. The hurricane of the Warriors dynasty revolves around a 6’3” three-point chucking point guard and a 6’6” center. The Warriors have fundamentally broken what we view as traditionally good basketball, by innovating and finding ways to maximize the talents of their players. They did so during the prime of LeBron James’ career, one of three players in contention for the title of the greatest player of all time. If the Warriors did not exist, LeBron might have had seven titles by now. Instead, the Warriors prevented one of the greatest players ever from winning multiple titles and did it with only one transcendently great talent on their roster.

The Warriors are the blueprint for Seattle. Seattle won’t be a major free agency destination and never has been one since the days of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. The fans will not want the team to suck for decades to accumulate talent either. The Warriors are the perfect in-between, showing how great roster construction around a few solid picks can turn a middling team into the greatest modern dynasty in NBA history.

The future Seattle team should do the same.