If you ask anyone, the idea of winning back-to-back NBA Championships must be bliss. For the Warriors, especially in 2017-2018, their run was truly something special.
But, according to Warriors president Bob Meyers, it was void of the joy they experienced in years past.
(via ESPN’s Nick Friedell)
“The second time with Kevin [in 2018] it felt like, ‘Well, we just did what we were supposed to do, and great job,'” Warriors president and general manager Bob Myers said of the last time the Warriors won a title. “It wasn’t joy.
“I’m sure a lot of people felt differently. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. I think there’s just a weight to everything. And so I’m sure [the Bulls] felt that weight of everything, weight of relationships.”
Repeating as Champions is no easy feat. It takes a lot of energy and requires great consistency from the team and its stars. Steve Kerr echoed much of the same thing.
“To be honest, [The Last Dance documentary] is just confirmation of what I was saying to our team all of last year and 2018. The whole messaging for the year was based on my experience with Chicago and feeling that level of fatigue [and] emotional toll that had been over the previous four years. … And so watching this now is just a reminder of how difficult it is to sustain that kind of run.”
Of course, the Warriors haven’t won since those titles and we’re seeing the kind of toll it took on the team.
Years later, they’re a shell of themselves as a result of injuries, offseason departures, and locker room dramatics. We’ll see if they can return to form next campaign — but something tells me it won’t be easy either way.
