The Warriors are two wins away from advancing to their fifth straight appearance in the Western Conference Finals, as the rest of the NBA tries to dislodge their dynasty.
Golden State has reigned over the league since winning the NBA championship in 2015, but it was only a few years before that the Warriors were associated more with hard-luck losing than superstar-driven success. As Draymond Green recalled to The Athletic's Tim Kawakami, the team was an afterthought in the Bay Area during his rookie season in 2012-13.
At the time, Green said tickets to Warriors games weren't exactly the commodity they are now.
"There's no way we were a big deal back then," Green told Kawakami. "I remember when they were giving away tickets on BART in 2012. Literally giving away tickets. On BART. I remember that clearly."
In Green's first year with the team, the Warriors ended a playoff drought of five seasons. They haven't missed the postseason since, winning more championships (three) and regular-season games (398) than any other NBA team during that time.
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Save for the tail end of the "Big Three" Miami Heat, no professional sports team has dominated sports conversations quite like the Warriors, either. They capture attention not only in their own backyard, but around the world, too.
When Green came into the league, that simply wasn't the case.
"There's no f------ way we were a big deal back then," Green told Kawakami. "That's bull----. Put that in [The Athletic's] story."
They might not be a big deal much longer, if players and pundits who expect superstar Kevin Durant to leave the Warriors in free agency are to be believed. Becoming just the fourth franchise to win three straight championships this June, however, would probably be a big enough deal in Green's eyes.
