One ESPN analyst strongly disagrees with Draymond Green’s claim that the Warriors dynasty was the best era in NBA history.
The always-outspoken Stephen A. Smith could not contain his outrage at Green’s assertion.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Smith said Friday on “First Take.” “This is not about a team. I don’t mind him sitting up there and talking about the best team. You can argue that but I don’t mind that, three championships in four years. As elite as they were…I get that.
“He didn’t say team, he said eras. I mean, are you kidding me? Did you see Magic [Johnson] and the Showtime Lakers against the Boston Celtics in the 80s? Am I missing something? Did you see the road that the Chicago Bulls had to travel en route to six championships?”
.@stephenasmith can't believe Draymond Green said 2015-2019 was the best era in the NBA 😯
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 28, 2025
"He didn't say team. He said eras. I mean, are you kidding me?" pic.twitter.com/ZkOq4d3zqs
For Smith, the Golden State dynasty that made five consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-2019 was indeed impressive. However, the Warriors adding Kevin Durant to an already stacked roster in 2016 was a big point of contention for the ESPN analyst.
“In the end, when it came to Kevin Durant coming to Golden State, there was no era,” Smith said. “The fact of the matter is KD, because of his unquestionable, undeniable greatness, had so drastically shifted the balance of power; I would tell you it was one of the worst eras because it robbed [the NBA] of competition.”
Golden State Warriors
While it’s hard to compare eras in the ever-changing NBA, the Warriors' run was historic. The franchise changed how rosters were constructed while winning the NBA Finals four times. In the modern salary cap era, it’s impossible to build a team with so many superstars, so Golden State represents the last franchise able to pull off such a feat.
So much of the talk surrounding the best “era” in the league is colored by when someone began watching the NBA. For Smith and people his age, it’s hard to put any new eras ahead of the classic 80s or 90s. Undoubtedly, the next generation of sports pundits will hail the Warriors' era from 2015-2022 as the best.
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