The 2016-17 Golden State Warriors were one of the most talented teams in NBA history. They had two MVP-caliber players in Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, as well as two other All-Stars in Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. The Golden State Warriors dominated in the 2017 playoffs, only losing one game on their way to the championship.
A discussion that always comes up when talking about great teams is how they would stack up against other teams in history. There has been some recent debate about how the 2016-17 Warriors would do against the 2000-01 Lakers. When speaking to Zion Olojede of Complex, Stephen Curry has claimed that the Warriors could win against the 2000-01 Lakers, pointing out that nobody on that team would be able to guard him and Klay Thompson.
Between the ‘96 Bulls and the hypotheticals of a 7-game series, the 2001 Lakers and that hypothetical series, or every other hypothetical series that people say we should’ve lost because of an injury or because of whatever the case may be, those conversations are trivial. But at the end of the day, if you could match up in some alternate universe, us versus the 2001 Lakers, obviously we feel like we can win. I don’t know who would guard Shaq, but I don’t know who would guard me and Klay either. We rockin’ with that. And three is better than two.
The 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal both playing at a high level, and many view them as the most dominant star duo of all time. They are notably the only two stars that have managed to three-peat since Michael Jordan. Thus, there is no doubt that the 2000-01 Lakers would have given the 2016-17 Warriors a challenge.
With that being said, it’s clear that Stephen Curry believes his team could have beaten that legendary Lakers team. While we won’t see this matchup happen outside of NBA 2K, it is definitely fun to think about.
