Rapidly, the Golden State Warriors saw their opportunity to secure a threepeat slip away from them in the 2019 NBA Finals. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both went through devastating and team-altering injuries that left the Warriors with very little firepower.
Though Stephen Curry was still as skilled as ever, careful game-planning and an otherwordly team performance from Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors sunk the Warriors, leaving them without a Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time since 2016.
This year was the first year things felt very different for the Warriors.