It’s hard to separate these Warriors from the iterations that immediately preceded them. The 15-win 2019-20 group was riddled with injuries, most notably to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Last year’s team again lacked Thompson, and again, ended short of a postseason berth.
It’s why leading into this year’s Finals, Curry expressed an appreciation for returning to the sport’s biggest stage. “You look up and all the work that you put in over the last two years has paid off,” he said. “All that stuff is just built into the context of what's happened since Game 6 of the 2019 Finals.