WEBVTT - Episode 2 - A Team is Built 0:00:03.789 --> 0:00:09.189 Dubb Dynasty is a production of iHeartMedia and the NBA. 0:00:09.469 --> 0:00:12.588 Hard We backs off on Tom's hold and he exploded 0:00:12.629 --> 0:00:19.909 it go. That was brilliant, every bit as good as 0:00:20.029 --> 0:00:23.029 Richmond's move in the first half. Pretty miraculous move. He 0:00:23.149 --> 0:00:25.029 left Isaiah just nailed to the floor. 0:00:25.109 --> 0:00:29.069 It got the entire Warriors bench on its feet. 0:00:29.069 --> 0:00:30.629 The killer Crossole. 0:00:31.789 --> 0:00:34.509 Slices and dice perfections. 0:00:35.709 --> 0:00:37.708 Five minutes to go on the third seal by. 0:00:37.629 --> 0:00:38.629 Redford behind the left. 0:00:38.669 --> 0:00:39.589 The hardaway, by the. 0:00:39.589 --> 0:00:43.189 Way, lays it up in there. Ron hagens better than 0:00:43.229 --> 0:00:44.269 Needle the wrichment. 0:00:43.989 --> 0:00:44.949 He does can. 0:00:46.349 --> 0:00:47.668 Richmond opened from nineteen. 0:00:48.149 --> 0:00:48.789 He kills it. 0:00:49.069 --> 0:00:51.949 He had a new season high for Mitt Richmond. 0:00:52.789 --> 0:00:54.189 Nolle runs out another rebound. 0:00:54.189 --> 0:00:56.069 He's opened from the perimeter down it. 0:00:58.749 --> 0:01:01.989 It's tip cold and standing intercepts a mask and the 0:01:02.029 --> 0:01:06.589 Warriors tip won game, the first Golden State playoff win 0:01:06.789 --> 0:01:11.749 at the Forum since nineteen sixty nine. The series is 0:01:11.908 --> 0:01:13.548 tied at one game apiece. 0:01:14.669 --> 0:01:17.029 Those were some highlights from one of the more popular 0:01:17.068 --> 0:01:21.509 Golden State Warrior teams that previously mentioned. Run TMC squad 0:01:21.869 --> 0:01:25.269 led by Tim Hardway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris mok The 0:01:25.268 --> 0:01:28.148 one that kickstarted my love for the NBA and a 0:01:28.188 --> 0:01:30.988 team that was beloved just as much as any of 0:01:30.988 --> 0:01:35.469 the championship Warriors. Since I'm Israel Gutierrez and this is 0:01:35.548 --> 0:01:47.509 dubb Dynasty. Those run TMC Warriors reached the second round 0:01:47.549 --> 0:01:50.868 of the playoffs in nineteen ninety one, beating David Robinson's 0:01:50.869 --> 0:01:53.629 Spurs in the first round, then losing to the eventual 0:01:53.709 --> 0:01:57.588 Western Conference champ, the LA Lakers. The team didn't get 0:01:57.669 --> 0:02:00.389 much of a chance to build on that momentum because 0:02:00.389 --> 0:02:03.789 the innovative head coach Don Nelson was also a bit 0:02:03.829 --> 0:02:07.349 of a mad scientist. He saw a new age six 0:02:07.349 --> 0:02:10.349 foot eight point forward named Billy Owens who'd been drafted 0:02:10.349 --> 0:02:13.469 by the Sacramento Kings, and Nelson had to have them. 0:02:14.429 --> 0:02:17.549 So he traded Mitch Richmond for Owens and tinkered with 0:02:17.549 --> 0:02:21.108 the chemistry that already seemed ideal. But what we all 0:02:21.189 --> 0:02:23.829 saw in those couple of run TMC years was a 0:02:23.829 --> 0:02:26.829 glimpse into the future. Nelson got the most of his 0:02:26.909 --> 0:02:30.429 small ball approach, it appeared, but maybe there was more. 0:02:31.508 --> 0:02:34.549 Was run TMC really just a decade's early preview of 0:02:34.589 --> 0:02:37.309 the famous death lineup? You'll hear about several more times 0:02:37.309 --> 0:02:42.229 in this series. Chris Mullin himself certainly credits Nelson for 0:02:42.269 --> 0:02:42.788 his vision. 0:02:43.228 --> 0:02:46.029 Don Nelson was an innovator way ahead of his time. 0:02:46.069 --> 0:02:49.909 As you said Israel, he had implemented that similar system 0:02:49.909 --> 0:02:52.909 in Milwaukee. A great, great team in Milwaukee with Marcus 0:02:52.948 --> 0:02:57.949 Johnson's City, Moncrief, Bob Lanier, Paul Pressey, Brian Winters. They 0:02:57.989 --> 0:03:01.108 had a really, really good team. But Nelly was still 0:03:01.189 --> 0:03:03.828 using bigs. He had Bob Lanier a Hall of Fame center. 0:03:04.549 --> 0:03:08.709 When he came to Golden State, Nelly went almost exclusively small. 0:03:08.829 --> 0:03:12.149 You know you referenced that San Antonio series, you know, 0:03:12.189 --> 0:03:15.109 that's that particular series. In the first round was five games. 0:03:15.508 --> 0:03:17.749 We lost the first game, we got blown out, and 0:03:17.829 --> 0:03:21.349 Nelly came in the locker room and said, we got him. 0:03:21.668 --> 0:03:23.189 So what Kyle Like, what do you mean we got him? 0:03:23.269 --> 0:03:24.108 He just blew us out. 0:03:25.069 --> 0:03:29.189 So they had David Robinson, Terry Cummings, Sean Elliott. They 0:03:29.228 --> 0:03:33.829 were a big traditional NBA team. Larry Brown was the coach. Nellie. 0:03:34.108 --> 0:03:37.509 The next game he started Mitch tim and I with 0:03:37.629 --> 0:03:39.709 Rod Higgins and Mario Ellie. 0:03:40.669 --> 0:03:47.269 That's right, Mario Eli making his first NBA start once 0:03:47.269 --> 0:03:49.909 he got Don Nelson has backing up as a lot 0:03:49.909 --> 0:03:50.949 of laa six. 0:03:50.749 --> 0:03:53.269 Foot five John camp Powder out of America in the 0:03:53.349 --> 0:03:56.749 National twenty seven year old rookie by way of the CBA. 0:03:57.149 --> 0:04:01.309 That was his answer to go extremely small. We wound 0:04:01.429 --> 0:04:02.749 up winning the next three games. 0:04:03.069 --> 0:04:06.749 Gold and State Lawyers advance to the semi finals to 0:04:06.829 --> 0:04:11.629 play the Los Angeles Lakers. This is their eighth con 0:04:11.789 --> 0:04:16.749 second win counting regular season here at the Coliseum. They 0:04:16.829 --> 0:04:21.429 lost the opener and then swiftly the next three. Larry 0:04:21.469 --> 0:04:28.149 Brown and the Spurs could never solve the small, quick line. 0:04:27.988 --> 0:04:30.988 Up and the big three of Golden State. 0:04:31.549 --> 0:04:34.269 So yes, way ahead of his time. A lot of 0:04:34.269 --> 0:04:37.308 teams are playing small now. You see four out, one, 0:04:37.389 --> 0:04:39.948 eight or five out at times, trying to spread the 0:04:39.949 --> 0:04:42.789 floor outside of three point line, penetrate the paint, off 0:04:42.829 --> 0:04:48.068 the dribble, kickoff for threes. But Nellie, you know, Nelly 0:04:48.229 --> 0:04:55.909 was old school teaching principles before he took plays. Spacing, pace, 0:04:56.509 --> 0:04:58.789 attack off the dribble, don't overdrible. If you don't beat 0:04:58.829 --> 0:05:00.709 you man at three dribbles, give it up. You know 0:05:00.748 --> 0:05:03.109 he didn't like guys over dribbling. But if you straight 0:05:03.149 --> 0:05:06.669 lines and beat your man, go make a play. But 0:05:06.909 --> 0:05:11.389 always Nelly always liked balance of attack. He loved he didn't. 0:05:11.469 --> 0:05:13.188 He liked a three point shot. We didn't shoot as 0:05:13.189 --> 0:05:15.549 many back then. We shoot it, but we didn't. But 0:05:15.669 --> 0:05:20.909 he loved. He would always preach shoot open shots as opposed. 0:05:21.029 --> 0:05:23.308 You know now you see with the defense is taking 0:05:23.349 --> 0:05:26.349 away his free point line in the layup, all that 0:05:26.428 --> 0:05:29.868 real estate in between, which analytics says is a bad shot. 0:05:30.509 --> 0:05:31.828 Nellie would call those layups. 0:05:34.709 --> 0:05:38.629 The small ball philosophy wasn't Don Nelson's alone, He just 0:05:38.669 --> 0:05:41.669 happened to be the most committed to it yet. In 0:05:41.748 --> 0:05:45.068 the big picture. While Nelly's tiny teams were fun to 0:05:45.109 --> 0:05:50.549 watch and occasionally surpassed expectations, the fatal flaws always remained true. 0:05:51.229 --> 0:05:55.229 Small teams didn't defend well enough, and eventually, when defenses 0:05:55.269 --> 0:05:59.109 reached playoff level, some of those jump shots either won't 0:05:59.109 --> 0:06:03.508 be open or just won't fall. It's why by the 0:06:03.549 --> 0:06:07.509 start of the twenty fourteen fifteen season, the Warriors had 0:06:07.509 --> 0:06:10.669 made a handful of adjustments to what was widely viewed 0:06:10.669 --> 0:06:15.269 as the classic dreaded jump shooting team. Part of what 0:06:15.469 --> 0:06:19.669 unlocked Steph Curry's potential wasn't just two full strength ankles. 0:06:20.589 --> 0:06:23.188 It was the Warriors moving on from a more stable 0:06:23.269 --> 0:06:29.709 body but less sustainable game in monte Ellis, well, they. 0:06:29.748 --> 0:06:33.789 Gave it right back to Ellis Elvans for the how 0:06:33.909 --> 0:06:36.229 pretty is he in the open boy? 0:06:39.189 --> 0:06:42.389 Check it out? Never booked at. 0:06:42.269 --> 0:06:46.629 The bath mante Ellis. 0:06:45.109 --> 0:06:48.549 Great breed anticipation by monte. 0:06:48.469 --> 0:06:53.229 Ux cut about it. Ellis Aldrick just left it. We 0:06:53.389 --> 0:06:54.828 can't leave Vonta Ellis. 0:06:56.069 --> 0:06:59.469 Ellis doing what he does best. Yeah, what he does best. 0:06:59.189 --> 0:07:04.948 Is score, though you cannot give him any space at all. 0:07:04.988 --> 0:07:07.229 Ellis had been a nice piece of the We Believe 0:07:07.308 --> 0:07:09.869 Warriors team that upset the Dallas Mavericks in the first 0:07:09.949 --> 0:07:12.109 round of the playoffs in two thousand and seven. For 0:07:12.229 --> 0:07:14.909 more about that team a little later, and by the 0:07:14.949 --> 0:07:18.429 time Curry was drafted, Ellis had graduated to the team's 0:07:18.509 --> 0:07:23.509 leading scorer and seemingly its centerpiece. But during Curry's rookie year, 0:07:23.909 --> 0:07:26.949 the six foot three Ellis infamously told the Bay Area 0:07:26.989 --> 0:07:30.229 media before the season ever started that he couldn't play 0:07:30.229 --> 0:07:34.589 with Curry, not in the Kobe Bryant era anyway, saying, quote, 0:07:34.909 --> 0:07:37.469 you can't put two small guys out there and try 0:07:37.509 --> 0:07:39.509 to play the one in the two. When you've got 0:07:39.549 --> 0:07:42.989 big two guards in the league, you just can't do it. Okay, yes, 0:07:43.029 --> 0:07:45.949 we're gonna move up and down fast, but eventually the 0:07:45.989 --> 0:07:49.229 game is gonna slow down. You can't do it. So 0:07:49.309 --> 0:07:51.949 count Ellis is a disbeliever and small ball if you will. 0:07:52.509 --> 0:07:55.189 But he was correct in a way. He didn't say 0:07:55.189 --> 0:07:57.829 the front court had to be huge. He just said 0:07:57.909 --> 0:08:01.269 two small guards couldn't survive in the NBA when the 0:08:01.309 --> 0:08:05.189 game slows down, so happens. At the same season Ellis 0:08:05.189 --> 0:08:08.349 got traded, the Warriors were playing a six foot five 0:08:08.469 --> 0:08:12.069 rookie two guard off the bench named Klay Thompson, who 0:08:12.109 --> 0:08:14.709 was about to prove to be the real reason Ellis 0:08:14.789 --> 0:08:18.829 was expendable. It would be a prophetic statement from Ellis then, 0:08:19.389 --> 0:08:21.669 because even after leading the Dubs and scoring for two 0:08:21.709 --> 0:08:25.349 plus seasons, the Warriors would trade their most popular player. 0:08:26.029 --> 0:08:29.509 This was during Steph Curry's most injury shortened season, a 0:08:29.549 --> 0:08:32.709 time when Golden State was still uncertain just how that 0:08:32.789 --> 0:08:35.349 right ankle of Curries would hold up after an off 0:08:35.389 --> 0:08:38.429 season of repair and care. And it was for a 0:08:38.469 --> 0:08:41.589 player who had never averaged as much as sixteen points 0:08:41.589 --> 0:08:44.269 a game in a season, a player who only had 0:08:44.349 --> 0:08:47.149 five playoff games of experience to his name, and who 0:08:47.189 --> 0:08:49.989 wouldn't play the rest of that season and miss a 0:08:49.989 --> 0:08:52.949 good portion of the following year because of injuries as well. 0:08:53.429 --> 0:08:57.989 That sounds like a gamble, to say the least. It 0:08:58.069 --> 0:09:00.509 was no surprise at all that the Warriors fans took 0:09:00.549 --> 0:09:05.149 it terribly when Golden State, still supposedly writing the excitement 0:09:05.149 --> 0:09:09.189 and potential of new ownership, traded Ellis to Milwaukee for 0:09:09.189 --> 0:09:13.989 former number one overall pick Andrew Bogan. David Lee had 0:09:13.989 --> 0:09:19.429 already experienced the organizational makeover and survived. This trade reaction 0:09:20.309 --> 0:09:21.309 was quite the site. 0:09:21.389 --> 0:09:25.309 Three years into my tenure there. It was all new executives, 0:09:25.389 --> 0:09:28.469 all new coaching staff, all new front office, even like 0:09:28.509 --> 0:09:31.389 the secretaries and the offices were different. The only people 0:09:31.629 --> 0:09:33.029 left on the team where me and Steph were the 0:09:33.109 --> 0:09:35.469 only two people that were held over. And so you know, 0:09:35.509 --> 0:09:37.229 we could see that when they were bringing people in, 0:09:37.309 --> 0:09:39.629 it mattered to them that the team that there were 0:09:39.709 --> 0:09:42.629 chemistry guys that could build a culture, and that was 0:09:42.629 --> 0:09:46.629 something that I think previously the ownership felt was lacking 0:09:46.669 --> 0:09:49.029 a little bit. They had some talent along the way, 0:09:49.029 --> 0:09:50.149 but not everybody yet along. 0:09:50.189 --> 0:09:52.829 Real well, the fans of the team weren't getting along 0:09:52.869 --> 0:09:58.309 with Warriors decision makers. I not to sound dramatic, but 0:09:58.349 --> 0:10:01.469 according to Golden State fans, the Ellis trade was the 0:10:01.509 --> 0:10:04.389 worst thing to happen to the franchise ever, and they 0:10:04.389 --> 0:10:05.189 were loud about it. 0:10:06.149 --> 0:10:08.309 I'll never forget going out at halftime they said, oh, 0:10:08.309 --> 0:10:10.229 we're going to introduce, you know, the new ownership, Joe 0:10:10.269 --> 0:10:12.109 Lakeup's going to give a speech. And him getting up 0:10:12.109 --> 0:10:14.069 there and after making that trade, he was booed off 0:10:14.069 --> 0:10:16.189 the court and I mean just sitting there and Boot 0:10:16.229 --> 0:10:17.869 and Pa and the fans are yelling at them because 0:10:17.869 --> 0:10:20.349 they were such monteo as fans. Rightfully, So and so 0:10:20.429 --> 0:10:22.669 Boga came in and not only did he arrive to 0:10:23.109 --> 0:10:25.589 the booze, but also didn't play his first year because 0:10:25.629 --> 0:10:26.829 he was coming off of an injury. 0:10:27.229 --> 0:10:30.349 What Lee didn't recall, That's how jarring the booze were 0:10:30.989 --> 0:10:35.709 with the fans. Did this during Chris Mullen's jersey retirement ceremony. 0:10:36.109 --> 0:10:36.869 I think we have one. 0:10:36.789 --> 0:10:39.629 Other thing to do that Noway, he saved the rest 0:10:39.709 --> 0:10:40.189 for last. 0:10:40.589 --> 0:10:42.829 Let's bring up the owner of the Gold's dead Warriors. 0:10:43.189 --> 0:10:54.269 Mister Joe Laiell, what. 0:10:59.229 --> 0:11:05.549 Tonight? How we got that over with tonight is about 0:11:05.789 --> 0:11:19.309 two things. Embracing history and respect the Warrior's ownership, the 0:11:19.349 --> 0:11:22.789 current Warriners our owners I think it's very important to 0:11:22.869 --> 0:11:26.149 embrace history. Something has been done in the past, perhaps 0:11:26.269 --> 0:11:32.589 as well. And when you speak of Warrior's history, there's no. 0:11:32.469 --> 0:11:40.789 One Chris Mullen himself would try to come to Lake 0:11:40.829 --> 0:11:41.429 Ofb's rescue. 0:11:43.269 --> 0:11:43.669 I got I. 0:11:43.669 --> 0:11:43.949 Got it. 0:11:45.549 --> 0:11:47.229 As the greatest fans in the NBA. 0:11:47.349 --> 0:11:51.989 As everyone stated, sometimes change is inevitable and it's gonna 0:11:52.029 --> 0:11:52.589 work out. 0:11:52.509 --> 0:12:00.109 Just fine. 0:11:58.509 --> 0:12:03.189 With your support and patience and use that passion and 0:12:03.229 --> 0:12:04.349 the direction. 0:12:04.349 --> 0:12:05.669 This thing is going in the right way. 0:12:06.309 --> 0:12:07.349 I've got great con. 0:12:07.229 --> 0:12:12.429 Since Joe Mark Jackson, everything will work out just fine, 0:12:12.709 --> 0:12:14.909 just a little bit of patience, use that. 0:12:14.909 --> 0:12:23.509 Passion that's so cringe worthy you don't even need to 0:12:23.589 --> 0:12:26.549 see it to feel it. It was such a sudden 0:12:26.589 --> 0:12:29.829 turn from optimism in twenty ten when Lake bought the 0:12:29.869 --> 0:12:34.229 team to this just two years later. But just as 0:12:34.269 --> 0:12:37.989 shocking about that clip was how precient Chris Mullin was. 0:12:38.989 --> 0:12:41.749 The Warriors not only turned it around, but they were 0:12:41.789 --> 0:12:44.869 a mere three seasons away from a championship and the 0:12:44.909 --> 0:12:49.029 start of one of the most incredible runs in NBA history. 0:12:49.069 --> 0:12:52.189 It's among the greatest. I told you sos in sports. 0:12:53.949 --> 0:12:56.669 Larry Riley, the same riot who pulled the trigger on 0:12:56.789 --> 0:13:00.349 drafting Curry, would get full throated blamed for moving on 0:13:00.389 --> 0:13:02.709 from the twenty six year old Ellis so hastily. 0:13:03.549 --> 0:13:07.749 We had just made the drunk and mister Joe lakem 0:13:07.829 --> 0:13:11.749 walked out to the court and boy here it just 0:13:11.989 --> 0:13:15.749 rained with booze and the media went not so they 0:13:15.789 --> 0:13:18.909 were on my case. Larry Riley doesn't know what he's doing, 0:13:19.509 --> 0:13:23.149 And there were all kinds of times like that. The 0:13:23.349 --> 0:13:26.549 reason that I thought we could do it was I 0:13:26.589 --> 0:13:30.589 still saw Clay as a player who wished about me, 0:13:31.149 --> 0:13:35.829 and I thought losing Mintey opened the door for Clay Thompson. 0:13:37.149 --> 0:13:40.469 There was that name, again, fitting that Clay Thompson was 0:13:40.589 --> 0:13:44.429 rather unassuming in his college days, despite having a father, Michael, 0:13:44.469 --> 0:13:47.069 who played in the NBA. Because it's how Clay would 0:13:47.109 --> 0:13:50.909 somehow remain despite being a major player in a sports 0:13:50.909 --> 0:13:54.229 soap opera. Clay would prove to be the perfect fit 0:13:54.269 --> 0:13:58.389 alongside Kurt the anti Monte if you will, in large 0:13:58.389 --> 0:14:01.709 part because he didn't snatch up all the attention, because 0:14:01.709 --> 0:14:05.429 he didn't need to dribble much at all. Because if 0:14:05.509 --> 0:14:09.309 Curry's jump shot was textbook, Clay's was biblical. 0:14:09.549 --> 0:14:13.229 The quick release, of course is important, but then the 0:14:13.389 --> 0:14:18.389 form and the rotation on the ball was always consistent, 0:14:19.269 --> 0:14:22.669 and I always felt like at the point of release, 0:14:22.869 --> 0:14:26.229 everything was right where it should be. There are some 0:14:26.349 --> 0:14:29.829 players who have got their elbow out a little bit 0:14:30.389 --> 0:14:32.629 when they start out, but when they get to the 0:14:32.669 --> 0:14:36.269 point of the release, if it's consistently where it should be, 0:14:36.829 --> 0:14:39.869 that's not even a problem. He had that point of 0:14:39.909 --> 0:14:42.789 release where it was quick and everything was where it 0:14:42.909 --> 0:14:46.949 should be. He wasn't making shots by luck, he was 0:14:47.029 --> 0:14:47.909 certainly a shooter. 0:14:48.389 --> 0:14:52.109 With the eleventh pick in the twenty eleven NBA Draft, 0:14:52.869 --> 0:14:53.989 the Golden State. 0:14:53.749 --> 0:14:58.149 Warriors select Clay Thompson from Washington State University. 0:14:58.989 --> 0:15:01.549 I'm I'm extremely excited about it because I've seen Steph 0:15:01.549 --> 0:15:03.309 play a lot, and that kid can pass the ball, 0:15:03.909 --> 0:15:06.509 and you know, with us in the backcourd on me 0:15:06.589 --> 0:15:08.069 on the wing, I just think we'll be able to 0:15:08.069 --> 0:15:10.589 space to floor so well together because you can both 0:15:10.589 --> 0:15:13.229 shoot that ball. So I'm excited. You have there and 0:15:13.269 --> 0:15:14.869 play with a point guard like him, because I know 0:15:14.909 --> 0:15:16.189 he really has a good knowledge. 0:15:15.909 --> 0:15:16.349 Of the game. 0:15:17.909 --> 0:15:21.469 Despite that praise, there was nothing obvious about Thompson that 0:15:21.549 --> 0:15:24.109 made him the Warriors pick at number eleven that summer. 0:15:24.589 --> 0:15:27.309 On the board was a potential star in Kawhi Leonard, 0:15:27.509 --> 0:15:30.829 who was drafted four picks later. Drafted just ahead of 0:15:30.869 --> 0:15:34.709 clay By the nearby Sacramento Kings was Jimmer fer Deck, 0:15:35.349 --> 0:15:39.509 a player with splash ability but certainly not the size 0:15:39.669 --> 0:15:43.429 or the complete game as Thompson, and had the Warriors 0:15:43.429 --> 0:15:45.989 gone with their other choice at the time, you would 0:15:45.989 --> 0:15:49.069 have seen Mark Keith Morris, one half of the Morris Twins, 0:15:49.389 --> 0:15:52.669 in a Warrior's uniform, trying to be the perfect compliment 0:15:52.709 --> 0:15:56.189 to Steph Kurt Minor. Note that seems a bit more 0:15:56.229 --> 0:15:59.149 significant now. Jimmy Butler was also on the board for 0:15:59.189 --> 0:16:02.589 the Warriors in that draft, but he went number thirty overall, 0:16:02.669 --> 0:16:05.509 the last pick in the first round, to the Chicago Bulls. 0:16:06.709 --> 0:16:09.349 When we come back the story behind how the Splash 0:16:09.389 --> 0:16:21.269 Brothers got their name and changed the games that twenty 0:16:21.309 --> 0:16:25.149 eleven twelve NBA season, Thompson's rookie season and the year 0:16:25.269 --> 0:16:28.189 step suffered his worst ankle injuries, and the year the 0:16:28.189 --> 0:16:31.909 Warriors traded Ellis also happened to be a lockout shortened season. 0:16:32.549 --> 0:16:35.549 It was a compact season where about the only thing 0:16:35.589 --> 0:16:38.829 that went right for Golden State was Klay Thompson finishing 0:16:38.869 --> 0:16:41.629 sixth in the Rookie of the Year vote. Even Bogan, 0:16:41.949 --> 0:16:44.749 who had little success in Milwaukee to start his career, 0:16:45.349 --> 0:16:49.149 didn't think of Golden State as any sort of favorable destination. 0:16:49.989 --> 0:16:51.909 We only went there once a year with a Milwaukee box, 0:16:51.949 --> 0:16:53.869 so I didn't get a real good experience there, but 0:16:54.629 --> 0:16:59.269 knew that they weren't really good. I don't have much success, 0:16:59.349 --> 0:17:01.629 kind of a turnstall of an organization. It's kind a 0:17:01.629 --> 0:17:05.709 similar to Milwaukee in away where people got their players 0:17:05.749 --> 0:17:07.469 got there, they didn't want to stay there long term. 0:17:07.789 --> 0:17:09.269 They used it as a year or two to get 0:17:09.309 --> 0:17:12.749 their numbers up and get paid somewhere else. So that's 0:17:12.829 --> 0:17:14.989 kind of the feel that I got when I got there, 0:17:15.029 --> 0:17:17.789 And it was kind of you know, when we got there, 0:17:18.309 --> 0:17:20.989 it was you know, there was a lot of fans 0:17:20.989 --> 0:17:23.629 that were just happy to see basketball but didn't really 0:17:23.669 --> 0:17:27.789 worry about winning. You know, it's still still sold out 0:17:28.029 --> 0:17:31.909 most games, or was close to full at Oracle even 0:17:31.909 --> 0:17:35.149 when they were you know, had twenty win seasons, which 0:17:35.189 --> 0:17:35.989 was really impressive. 0:17:36.909 --> 0:17:40.189 Basically, Boget wasn't sure if management knew what they were 0:17:40.229 --> 0:17:43.789 doing either. It must have made for the occasional sleepless 0:17:43.909 --> 0:17:48.429 night for the decision makers involved. The very next season, however, 0:17:49.029 --> 0:17:53.589 more of this extended story started falling into place that 0:17:53.629 --> 0:17:57.908 included a lovable nickname that, let's face it always adds 0:17:57.949 --> 0:18:00.989 to the likability factor of a team right run TMC. 0:18:02.909 --> 0:18:05.989 The Splash Brothers, as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson became 0:18:06.109 --> 0:18:09.189 known seems like a moniker that's been around since the 0:18:09.269 --> 0:18:11.349 day the first two stepped on the court. To get 0:18:11.389 --> 0:18:15.908 it actually took a couple of seasons. 0:18:14.549 --> 0:18:17.589 Les Splash Brothers getting rid of them play three. 0:18:18.469 --> 0:18:24.709 That's the two were such obviously great shooters that their 0:18:24.749 --> 0:18:28.429 first coach at at Tandem, Mark Jackson, would constantly make 0:18:28.469 --> 0:18:32.509 boastful claims about them, including calling them the best backcourt 0:18:32.549 --> 0:18:33.829 shooting pair of all time. 0:18:34.189 --> 0:18:36.309 But we got guys that can knock down shots. When 0:18:36.349 --> 0:18:39.509 you talk about you know, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, 0:18:40.109 --> 0:18:42.549 in my opinion, that the greatest shooting backcourt in the 0:18:42.589 --> 0:18:44.749 history of the game, and I'm a guy that's just 0:18:44.789 --> 0:18:49.589 not throwing that out there. I followed basketball my entire life, 0:18:50.149 --> 0:18:52.829 not only played covered, but I was a fan as 0:18:52.869 --> 0:18:56.949 a kid. I watched the great players, and these two 0:18:56.949 --> 0:18:59.189 guys were absolutely off the charts. 0:19:00.109 --> 0:19:03.149 The best shooting back court of all time doesn't quite 0:19:03.189 --> 0:19:06.589 roll up off the tongue is easier. Thankfully, a game 0:19:06.629 --> 0:19:11.989 in December twenty twelve helped condense it. The game was 0:19:12.029 --> 0:19:16.029 against Charlotte then the Bobcats, where Stephan Clay combined for 0:19:16.109 --> 0:19:19.668 twelve three pointers and forty seven points in a Golden 0:19:19.709 --> 0:19:20.349 State win. 0:19:23.029 --> 0:19:25.749 The second game in a row with Eagles, his career 0:19:25.869 --> 0:19:29.629 pass with seven threes, he. 0:19:33.709 --> 0:19:40.469 Does more threes in any game, and his tired career 0:19:40.589 --> 0:19:41.789 marks in the NBA. 0:19:45.269 --> 0:19:48.669 At halftime of that contest, a writer for the team website, 0:19:48.829 --> 0:19:53.029 Brian Witt, updated Stephan Clay's performance with the hashtag and 0:19:53.389 --> 0:19:57.189 splash Brothers. The team liked it and encouraged him to 0:19:57.229 --> 0:20:00.749 continue using it, so it took off from there. David 0:20:00.789 --> 0:20:02.589 Lee had a triple double in that game, by the way, 0:20:03.029 --> 0:20:05.949 but I guess snow lovable nickname for him, the Splash 0:20:05.949 --> 0:20:10.349 Brothers Moniker actually has Bay Area roots as another pair 0:20:10.389 --> 0:20:13.709 of fake brothers because they Cansako and Mark McGuire once 0:20:13.789 --> 0:20:16.549 dominated the sports scene as members of the Oakland Athletics. 0:20:17.629 --> 0:20:21.109 Those four giant forearms combined to hit so many home 0:20:21.149 --> 0:20:23.629 runs for the A's that they became known as the 0:20:23.669 --> 0:20:28.109 Bash Brothers, sending baseballs into the atmosphere and celebrating by 0:20:28.189 --> 0:20:33.069 high fiving forearms instead of hands. The Splash Brothers didn't 0:20:33.069 --> 0:20:37.069 have a signature celebration. Steph would certainly establish himself as 0:20:37.069 --> 0:20:41.389 the king of the signature sellys, but they did have 0:20:41.789 --> 0:20:46.229 a signature. They would rain jump shots, but there was 0:20:46.269 --> 0:20:50.269 a newfound defensive element to their approach. Mark Jackson wasn't 0:20:50.309 --> 0:20:53.629 just good at instilling confidence in players. He understood that 0:20:53.749 --> 0:20:57.029 defense was a necessary companion to win at a high level, 0:20:57.269 --> 0:21:00.229 and he taught it well. The Warriors had crept up 0:21:00.229 --> 0:21:02.549 from twenty seventh in the league in defensive raiding the 0:21:02.589 --> 0:21:06.509 previous season three spots from the bottom to fourteenth in 0:21:06.549 --> 0:21:10.869 the twenty twelve thirteen season. It was a significant jump, 0:21:11.109 --> 0:21:14.669 and one that propelled the Warriors into the twenty thirteen playoffs, 0:21:15.109 --> 0:21:18.229 their first postseason since two thousand and seven and just 0:21:18.269 --> 0:21:20.229 their second in eighteen years. 0:21:20.909 --> 0:21:21.908 Just listen to the crowd. 0:21:21.949 --> 0:21:23.989 You guys are the best fans in the NBA. 0:21:24.149 --> 0:21:24.949 You deserved this as. 0:21:24.949 --> 0:21:25.429 Much as we do. 0:21:25.589 --> 0:21:26.789 So Hooray to go. 0:21:28.469 --> 0:21:30.989 The six seeded Warriors beat the number three seed Denver 0:21:31.069 --> 0:21:34.389 Nuggets in six games, a lot like that run TMC 0:21:34.549 --> 0:21:37.109 team that upset the San Antonio Spurs back in nineteen 0:21:37.189 --> 0:21:40.789 ninety one. This scene the moment in time the Warriors 0:21:40.869 --> 0:21:43.429 truly made it on the NBA fan radar. 0:21:45.389 --> 0:21:56.309 Shot clocket six, Cream put a free stepping Couriers close 0:21:56.429 --> 0:21:56.829 four to. 0:21:58.469 --> 0:21:58.629 Give. 0:21:59.269 --> 0:22:01.789 It wasn't just that the team had won a playoff series, 0:22:02.269 --> 0:22:05.469 but they did it and rather vincent fashion, and because 0:22:05.469 --> 0:22:07.389 of an injury to David Lee in the first game, 0:22:07.909 --> 0:22:12.149 also went with a run tnc type mentality, going small 0:22:12.189 --> 0:22:15.629 thanks to versatile talents like Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green. 0:22:15.989 --> 0:22:19.429 Let's jap away by Thompson's good prop by loss of that's. 0:22:19.269 --> 0:22:20.149 Yet god. 0:22:22.189 --> 0:22:24.309 Going and steak go to the second round. 0:22:25.029 --> 0:22:26.669 Let's succeed keep them free. 0:22:28.149 --> 0:22:28.269 Well. 0:22:28.269 --> 0:22:30.789 I remember, first of all, to start that season, I 0:22:30.869 --> 0:22:33.589 remember reading on on ESPN they had an article, you know, 0:22:33.669 --> 0:22:36.549 the kind of season preview, and they gave us a 0:22:36.749 --> 0:22:39.829 zero percent chance of making the playoffs, not a five percent, 0:22:39.909 --> 0:22:42.549 not a seven zero percent chance. And I remember we 0:22:42.629 --> 0:22:44.269 put that up in our locker room and we said, 0:22:44.709 --> 0:22:47.469 so they're giving us no chance, and we make the playoffs. 0:22:47.509 --> 0:22:49.509 And we saw such an improvement that year, but we 0:22:49.589 --> 0:22:52.229 were going to face a very tough, you know, Denver team. 0:22:52.309 --> 0:22:53.989 I mean they were stacked. They had a lot of 0:22:54.029 --> 0:22:55.629 good big guys, they had a lot of guards that 0:22:55.709 --> 0:22:57.908 could really play, and they had home court against us. 0:22:57.949 --> 0:22:59.829 So we were going in saying, let's put up as 0:22:59.829 --> 0:23:01.789 good of a fight as we can try to steal 0:23:01.829 --> 0:23:04.509 one of these on the road. I tear my hip 0:23:04.549 --> 0:23:06.389 flexer in the first game, and it was one of 0:23:06.469 --> 0:23:08.909 those things that coaches like, look, you know, we're really 0:23:08.949 --> 0:23:10.869 going to struggle, but let's try to do something different. 0:23:10.949 --> 0:23:13.269 Let's go small ball and we'll have and we'll have 0:23:13.389 --> 0:23:16.349 Harrison and Draymond with a little bit of boget and 0:23:16.469 --> 0:23:18.549 let's just see what happens because Denver wants to get 0:23:18.549 --> 0:23:20.428 out and run. Anyways, and ended up being a perfect 0:23:20.509 --> 0:23:23.749 matchup and they won I believe, Game two, and then 0:23:23.989 --> 0:23:26.188 came back home and took care of business in that series. 0:23:33.869 --> 0:23:36.069 And I think that series was not only a turning 0:23:36.109 --> 0:23:38.909 point for the franchise to kind of announce it their back, 0:23:39.069 --> 0:23:41.549 but also it really caught the eye of a lot 0:23:41.629 --> 0:23:44.549 of people nationally where Golden State became one of those 0:23:44.589 --> 0:23:47.269 teams because of Stephan Clay's shooting that people were like, 0:23:47.829 --> 0:23:50.349 while we really like watching these guys and we can't 0:23:50.349 --> 0:23:52.069 wait to watch more of them in the future. 0:23:52.509 --> 0:23:55.709 And they happened to convince a certain all star forward 0:23:56.109 --> 0:23:58.349 that he might want to join the Warriors and free agency. 0:23:59.309 --> 0:24:02.349 Andre Iguidala was a crucial member of those George Carl 0:24:02.469 --> 0:24:06.949 coach Nuggets, but after the surprising series was over, Carl 0:24:07.069 --> 0:24:10.909 was accusing Iguadala of passing along team secrets to the Warriors. 0:24:11.669 --> 0:24:15.469 It was acclaim Agwadala and the Warriors readily dismissed, but 0:24:15.549 --> 0:24:18.149 Iguadala would make his way over to Golden State that 0:24:18.269 --> 0:24:22.229 offseason as a free agent, a move largely influenced by 0:24:22.269 --> 0:24:25.549 the crowds he experience in Oakland during that first round series. 0:24:26.349 --> 0:24:29.989 He also noticed a team that was breaking league stereotypes. 0:24:30.949 --> 0:24:33.589 Defense and toughness weren't supposed to be part of a 0:24:33.709 --> 0:24:36.069 team led by a couple of elite shooters with a 0:24:36.149 --> 0:24:41.269 cutesy nickname. Surely Iguadala was leaking intel if these Warriors 0:24:41.549 --> 0:24:45.669 were bullying the bullies. Andrew Bogitt is certain that wasn't 0:24:45.709 --> 0:24:49.589 the case, however, and that George Carl was reaching for answers. 0:24:50.029 --> 0:24:51.389 Yeah, he was trying to say that. I think that 0:24:51.509 --> 0:24:54.549 he was leaking stuff to it was a sneach or 0:24:54.549 --> 0:24:58.509 a spy, like leaking the game intel or scouting to us. 0:24:59.069 --> 0:25:01.629 I didn't hear that once, So I didn't hear Mark 0:25:01.709 --> 0:25:05.029 Jackson mention any of that to us. So yeah, I 0:25:05.149 --> 0:25:08.629 mean it would have if I'd assume if he tom 0:25:08.669 --> 0:25:11.189 Mark Jackson or someone on our staff and things, we'd 0:25:11.229 --> 0:25:14.029 have it in our scating report. We never had any 0:25:14.069 --> 0:25:15.429 of that. We didn't really need it, to be honest 0:25:15.469 --> 0:25:17.029 with you. They are pretty predictable with what they were 0:25:17.069 --> 0:25:19.909 going to do over the course of the series, so 0:25:20.069 --> 0:25:22.869 we felt like we had a pretty pretty good spot. 0:25:22.909 --> 0:25:25.149 But that was It was an interesting series on a 0:25:25.229 --> 0:25:27.429 number of fronts. You know, they were they were a 0:25:27.469 --> 0:25:32.109 team that we struggled with years before I got there, 0:25:32.149 --> 0:25:34.229 and a few other guys got there, and I think 0:25:34.389 --> 0:25:37.989 bringing some physicality and some guys that weren't scared to 0:25:37.989 --> 0:25:40.389 stand up to those you know, Kindeth th Reid and 0:25:40.469 --> 0:25:43.189 those kind of guys, I think was really important. And 0:25:43.909 --> 0:25:45.549 you know, we just we just outplayed him for the 0:25:45.589 --> 0:25:47.949 most part in that series. And you know, I think 0:25:47.989 --> 0:25:51.148 that was you know, coming our party for a lot 0:25:51.189 --> 0:25:53.469 of guys, but just shown that we had a versatile 0:25:53.549 --> 0:25:56.629 group that could I mean, given night, anyone could have 0:25:56.749 --> 0:25:58.069 fifteen twenty points. 0:26:02.269 --> 0:26:17.869 Probably tracing the town, resetting, hand off, curry off this 0:26:18.029 --> 0:26:23.229 foot boga, little game of trust, shot cock a truck, 0:26:24.869 --> 0:26:27.749 what get the us up in the four inside up 0:26:27.789 --> 0:26:28.749 pick in the town. 0:26:29.309 --> 0:26:32.189 And we could put physical you, we could outshoot you. 0:26:32.469 --> 0:26:33.709 And I think it really started to. 0:26:35.589 --> 0:26:35.869 For us. 0:26:36.229 --> 0:26:38.029 It changed narrative of us. Like I think a lot 0:26:38.069 --> 0:26:41.429 of people, you know, even even in the championship years 0:26:41.429 --> 0:26:43.269 and whatnot, it was always like we're a running gun 0:26:43.349 --> 0:26:45.949 team and we're just shooting a bunch of threes. People 0:26:45.989 --> 0:26:47.509 didn't realize that we were doing a lot of grunt 0:26:47.549 --> 0:26:49.509 work at the other end, and it kind of went unnoticed, 0:26:49.509 --> 0:26:51.429 which was good because everyone just thought we were this 0:26:52.589 --> 0:26:55.309 you know, d' antonio type and Phoenix Suns team that 0:26:55.589 --> 0:26:58.109 that that soft and just wants to shoot threes. But 0:26:58.229 --> 0:27:00.869 we weren't, and I think teams got a shop when 0:27:00.869 --> 0:27:02.589 they came into players because they thought it would be 0:27:02.669 --> 0:27:05.309 that easy pace with them. But defensively we will really 0:27:05.349 --> 0:27:05.949 solid as well. 0:27:07.469 --> 0:27:10.789 The Warriors would actually get even more solid defensively as 0:27:10.869 --> 0:27:14.269 that Denver series progressed. That's because an injury to David 0:27:14.349 --> 0:27:16.549 Lee in Game one kept him out of the final 0:27:16.629 --> 0:27:19.629 game of that series and opened the door for more 0:27:19.749 --> 0:27:23.869 Draymond Green minutes. Green was in his rookie season, still 0:27:23.949 --> 0:27:26.269 trying to find exactly where he'd fit in next to 0:27:26.349 --> 0:27:29.309 a former All Star like Lee and future greats like 0:27:29.389 --> 0:27:32.989 Stephen Clay. He was irregular in the rotation, but his 0:27:33.109 --> 0:27:36.749 minutes would vary greatly even late in his rookie season. 0:27:38.069 --> 0:27:42.749 Shooting thirty six percent from downtown Draymond Green what moved 0:27:43.349 --> 0:27:50.509 fading in the lane greene with an offensive rebound Thompson 0:27:52.509 --> 0:27:56.149 Lade Thompson stay tune was took Lady hardaway. 0:27:56.629 --> 0:27:57.109 Jack. 0:27:58.429 --> 0:27:59.789 Chap him by Green. 0:28:00.709 --> 0:28:04.188 Even after Green was drafted by now with Bob Myers 0:28:04.269 --> 0:28:08.469 promoted to general manager making final draft decisions, the Warriors 0:28:08.509 --> 0:28:11.829 weren't exactly sure how Draymond would translate to the NBA. 0:28:13.029 --> 0:28:15.429 Riley was still assisting Myers. At the time, the team 0:28:15.509 --> 0:28:18.589 was scouting Draymond and he noticed a winner's approach. 0:28:19.829 --> 0:28:21.229 I'm on board of Raymond. 0:28:21.309 --> 0:28:25.669 And here's why I go to watch I don't know 0:28:26.189 --> 0:28:29.589 two or three times at least. I go to Ohio 0:28:29.669 --> 0:28:34.509 State University late in the year, snow, I like predictions 0:28:34.549 --> 0:28:39.549 that snow blowing sideways and it's an afternoon game, great crowd, 0:28:39.869 --> 0:28:44.029 and Graymond just works and works and works. He rebounds, 0:28:44.349 --> 0:28:48.029 he fights people. He's a winner. And I came out 0:28:48.109 --> 0:28:53.989 of that gym shot the Stein Arena thinking, okay, if 0:28:54.029 --> 0:28:55.789 there's a way to get to this guy. 0:28:56.189 --> 0:28:59.149 Not maybe too high, but he is a winner. 0:28:59.709 --> 0:29:04.269 And then there's all the criticisms about it, listens being 0:29:04.869 --> 0:29:09.669 too small, too short, won't be able to rebound in 0:29:09.749 --> 0:29:14.029 the NBA like he has the college doesn't make shots 0:29:15.229 --> 0:29:21.189 and all those kind of things. Some of the shot making, Okay, 0:29:21.469 --> 0:29:25.989 I gather it. But this guy's a winner. He plays hard, 0:29:26.069 --> 0:29:29.789 he will defend, he will rebound. And I always felt rebounding. 0:29:30.149 --> 0:29:32.429 If you can rebound in college and you are a 0:29:32.589 --> 0:29:36.669 play it can't be a dud and just get some rebounds. 0:29:36.909 --> 0:29:38.909 But if you can rebound in college and you are 0:29:38.949 --> 0:29:41.549 a player that normally he's going to translate. 0:29:42.469 --> 0:29:46.509 Green's game began to transform around his splashier brothers in 0:29:46.669 --> 0:29:50.389 that Denver series. Once the second round series against the 0:29:50.469 --> 0:29:53.549 Spurs started, Green was playing thirty eight minutes in a 0:29:53.629 --> 0:29:57.349 double overtime game, still off the bench, effectively getting the 0:29:57.429 --> 0:30:00.669 important minutes that token starter and fellow rookie festus A 0:30:00.789 --> 0:30:05.829 Zili was not. Lee noticed Green's influence whether he was 0:30:05.949 --> 0:30:07.469 on the floor with him or not. 0:30:08.189 --> 0:30:10.989 He always had the attitude, always had the work ethic, 0:30:11.229 --> 0:30:14.789 always had the grit, and the knowledge of the game. 0:30:14.909 --> 0:30:17.469 Is a very smart player. But I'm not sure anybody 0:30:17.549 --> 0:30:20.029 expected a second round pick to come in and ever 0:30:20.109 --> 0:30:23.909 be a starter. And when given more opportunity, he played 0:30:23.949 --> 0:30:27.069 even better. And I think it became very clear that 0:30:27.549 --> 0:30:31.669 his relationship with Steph and his ability to find stuff 0:30:31.709 --> 0:30:35.149 and put Steph in positions to be as productive as possible, 0:30:35.149 --> 0:30:38.509 which with the player that Steff was becoming, that's what 0:30:38.629 --> 0:30:40.509 we needed was a bunch of guys around that could 0:30:40.509 --> 0:30:42.949 support Steph and make him better, and Draymond was the 0:30:42.989 --> 0:30:44.909 perfect guy to do that. Set a lot of great 0:30:44.949 --> 0:30:48.229 screens do all the dirty work. Steph defensively has gotten 0:30:48.269 --> 0:30:50.709 better at the time wasn't great, and Draymond was kind 0:30:50.709 --> 0:30:53.109 of that guy that was like, hey, when you get beat, 0:30:53.189 --> 0:30:55.069 I'm there and then I'm back to my man. So 0:30:55.149 --> 0:30:57.829 he did a lot of things that some people would notice, 0:30:58.029 --> 0:31:00.989 and you know, the casual fan would notice some of it, 0:31:01.509 --> 0:31:04.229 but when you really dove into the numbers, him with 0:31:04.429 --> 0:31:06.989 Steph was a great combo. And I mean you've seen 0:31:07.069 --> 0:31:09.829 that now many years since then it's proven to be 0:31:09.909 --> 0:31:10.229 the truth. 0:31:11.469 --> 0:31:14.549 The Warriors lost that series opener by two points after 0:31:14.669 --> 0:31:18.669 two extra sessions. They eventually fell in six games to 0:31:18.789 --> 0:31:22.309 a Spurs team that went onto the NBA Finals and 0:31:22.549 --> 0:31:25.309 was a defensive rebound away in Game six of those 0:31:25.349 --> 0:31:28.189 finals from winning it all. Who can forget that ray 0:31:28.229 --> 0:31:31.709 Allen three pointer that changed the course of NBA history. 0:31:32.349 --> 0:31:37.029 James Catchers clutch up with three. We'll go five sack 0:31:37.109 --> 0:31:42.189 count Adam his three second. 0:31:44.829 --> 0:31:47.629 Yet it was a series the Warriors felt they could 0:31:47.629 --> 0:31:51.109 have won if that opening game had just ended differently. 0:31:54.829 --> 0:32:15.909 Here's anoble but three time, I don't state dispersely. Is 0:32:15.989 --> 0:32:17.429 it upset with general things? 0:32:17.469 --> 0:32:18.349 Three point ten? 0:32:18.509 --> 0:32:19.069 There is? 0:32:19.149 --> 0:32:21.469 He's not upset on that three point a time of 0:32:21.549 --> 0:32:22.629 Mark Jackson made. 0:32:22.429 --> 0:32:25.309 Me upset with this defense because they did not communicate 0:32:25.349 --> 0:32:27.869 and they left the man wide open. 0:32:29.589 --> 0:32:31.509 Who knows what would have happened if the Warriors win 0:32:31.629 --> 0:32:35.189 that game that series, maybe go on to meet Lebron 0:32:35.309 --> 0:32:39.629 James in the NBA Finals a little earlier than scheduled. Still, 0:32:40.069 --> 0:32:43.629 the Warriors were able to benefit by not advancing, perhaps 0:32:43.669 --> 0:32:46.909 a theme that would continue in this story, because it 0:32:47.069 --> 0:32:51.589 kept Iguidala extremely interested in Golden State while Andrea was 0:32:51.629 --> 0:32:54.709 being pursued by the Nuggets, Kings, and Mavericks, all of 0:32:54.749 --> 0:32:57.829 them effectively maxing out what they could pay him. The 0:32:57.909 --> 0:33:00.749 Warriors were desperately trying to make room for the Do 0:33:00.869 --> 0:33:04.469 Everything Forward. It wasn't until they could move on from 0:33:04.469 --> 0:33:08.029 the contracts of Richard Jefferson and Andres Biadrin's Thank You 0:33:08.189 --> 0:33:11.869 Utah Jazz, that the Warriors could finally offer Igwadala what 0:33:11.949 --> 0:33:14.749 he needed to sign. It wasn't as much as those 0:33:14.789 --> 0:33:17.389 other teams were offering, but it was enough to get 0:33:17.429 --> 0:33:22.069 Iguadala into the fold. Yet the following season, despite healthy 0:33:22.149 --> 0:33:25.909 seasons from Steph Clay and Draymond, despite the Iguadala edition, 0:33:26.549 --> 0:33:30.269 despite another season under Mark Jacks and the additional bench 0:33:30.349 --> 0:33:34.069 boost from Maury Spates. The Warriors still lost in the 0:33:34.149 --> 0:33:36.989 first round in seven games to the Los Angeles Clippers. 0:33:37.869 --> 0:33:40.389 It probably should be noted that this was quite the 0:33:40.469 --> 0:33:44.549 moment in NBA history for another reason. While the teams 0:33:44.549 --> 0:33:47.909 were playing games three and four in Oakland, TMZ had 0:33:47.949 --> 0:33:52.149 released audio with Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks 0:33:52.189 --> 0:33:55.829 in a phone call with his then girlfriend Vistiviano. By 0:33:55.869 --> 0:33:58.029 the time the teams came back to Los Angeles for 0:33:58.109 --> 0:34:01.669 Game five, there was a strong possibility that both teams 0:34:01.909 --> 0:34:04.349 would walk off the floor and pro test and not 0:34:04.509 --> 0:34:07.749 play the game. It was mere monthson to Commissioner Adam 0:34:07.829 --> 0:34:12.949 Silver's tenure, and the players were demanding action. Eventually, Sterling 0:34:12.989 --> 0:34:15.989 would have the team taken from him, but the drama 0:34:16.069 --> 0:34:20.309 of that moment was unmistakable. Perhaps it helped push the 0:34:20.349 --> 0:34:24.189 Clippers to a close victory in the series. Regardless, the 0:34:24.269 --> 0:34:27.829 Warriors took their painful l in a very chaotic series 0:34:28.949 --> 0:34:29.709 clippings up. 0:34:29.909 --> 0:34:33.909 Being seven and then advance to the second line. The 0:34:34.069 --> 0:34:38.469 turns of dry the defense of the coach Trump Rivers. 0:34:44.229 --> 0:34:45.308 There was a sis drink. 0:34:47.149 --> 0:34:50.069 They weren't fully healthy, as Andrew Bogett missed the series 0:34:50.109 --> 0:34:52.989 with an injury, but there was still a lingering sense 0:34:53.069 --> 0:34:56.748 of disappointment. Hurts even more because you tasted it before. 0:34:56.829 --> 0:34:58.788 You taste a little bit of success and you want more. 0:34:59.549 --> 0:35:02.469 So definitely stings a little more. 0:35:02.469 --> 0:35:05.549 In last year, the Warriors were supposed to be growing, 0:35:05.989 --> 0:35:08.389 not being surpassed by a team with Blake Griffin and 0:35:08.469 --> 0:35:13.869 Chris Paul. Would a change be necessary Under normal NBA timelines, 0:35:14.269 --> 0:35:17.429 Mark Jackson would have gotten another season at least more 0:35:17.549 --> 0:35:20.189 time to prove the first round exit was the low 0:35:20.269 --> 0:35:23.788 point and not a downward trend. But these Warriors front 0:35:23.829 --> 0:35:27.869 office folks didn't consider themselves traditional thinkers, not when it 0:35:27.949 --> 0:35:31.189 came to NBA decisions, and there was enough bubbling up 0:35:31.309 --> 0:35:34.549 internally that confirmed some of the doubts the front office 0:35:34.629 --> 0:35:37.909 had about Jackson. So just three days after losing that 0:35:38.029 --> 0:35:41.789 Game seven, the Warriors fired Jackson, shocking a lot of 0:35:41.869 --> 0:35:46.589 folks within and outside the organization. Bogitt was one of them, 0:35:47.509 --> 0:35:49.269 but he also understood the thinking. 0:35:49.749 --> 0:35:53.348 Look, I was shocked at they made that decision because 0:35:53.349 --> 0:35:55.828 it was a tough decision. I think as far as 0:35:55.829 --> 0:35:58.509 the organization goes, you know, we just the Warriors had 0:35:58.549 --> 0:35:59.949 I mean, in the playoffs for so long, there's a 0:35:59.989 --> 0:36:02.349 lot of media noise around. They finally made the playoffs, 0:36:02.749 --> 0:36:07.509 you know, two years in a row. But I knew 0:36:07.589 --> 0:36:10.349 that Mark Jackson had done a great job. But I 0:36:10.469 --> 0:36:12.788 thought that he team taking that team as far as 0:36:12.869 --> 0:36:15.829 it can go for a number of reasons. I know 0:36:15.869 --> 0:36:18.309 there were Smith Cord issues that marquad with the organization, 0:36:20.269 --> 0:36:22.029 and I know the locker room was kind of split 0:36:22.069 --> 0:36:23.828 the all guys that loved him and guys that kind 0:36:23.869 --> 0:36:26.589 of were left on the outer I was. I was 0:36:26.629 --> 0:36:28.109 thrown in the middle of that, saying that I was 0:36:28.109 --> 0:36:29.629 one of the guys. I was neither here or there. 0:36:29.669 --> 0:36:31.429 I was kind of I was always my own guy, 0:36:32.429 --> 0:36:34.069 and there was there were some things that went on 0:36:34.229 --> 0:36:36.748 that I didn't agree with, but I supported as part 0:36:36.829 --> 0:36:40.429 of being part of a team. So I think that, 0:36:40.909 --> 0:36:44.789 you know, his started coaching kind of was a springboard 0:36:44.869 --> 0:36:46.828 for Steph getting to where he was because it gave 0:36:46.909 --> 0:36:48.269 him a lot of confidence. He put the ball in 0:36:48.309 --> 0:36:50.429 Steph SAMs a lot. But he was kind of an 0:36:50.429 --> 0:36:53.909 old school New York mentality coach, where you know, if 0:36:53.949 --> 0:36:55.949 you made the last shot, you were getting the ball 0:36:55.989 --> 0:36:58.629 the next play, and you will We're throwing it to 0:36:58.749 --> 0:37:00.788 you until you missed, and then you missed your shot. 0:37:00.909 --> 0:37:02.629 All right, let's go to a clean Now, now you 0:37:02.709 --> 0:37:04.109 get three or four touch as, we'll see how you go. 0:37:04.189 --> 0:37:06.189 And it's just not a fun way to play. It's 0:37:06.229 --> 0:37:08.629 a you know, the team team wasn't very involved with 0:37:08.829 --> 0:37:12.509 very isolation based. Our defense was pretty good under Mark Jackson, 0:37:12.549 --> 0:37:16.909 I think. But I think that that you know, from 0:37:16.949 --> 0:37:19.389 what we understood that there were rumblings between the front 0:37:19.429 --> 0:37:22.149 office and the coaching staff about is this a championship roster. 0:37:22.669 --> 0:37:25.229 I believe the front office staff kind of were inclined 0:37:25.229 --> 0:37:27.748 to say this is building towards a championship roster. I 0:37:27.869 --> 0:37:30.589 think there were people on the coaching staff that disagree 0:37:30.589 --> 0:37:32.229 with that as well. So the visions were a bit 0:37:32.309 --> 0:37:35.349 distorted from what I understand, and I think the change 0:37:36.109 --> 0:37:39.389 was had to be made for the longeviany of the franchise. 0:37:39.949 --> 0:37:42.989 Had to be made. It's not the type of vision 0:37:43.029 --> 0:37:46.189 you expect from team leadership, but it was the type 0:37:46.229 --> 0:37:49.429 of vision this ownership group would need to assure this 0:37:49.669 --> 0:37:53.029 wasn't just another two year flash in the pan. But 0:37:53.109 --> 0:37:56.868 who would match that energy, who was capable of picking 0:37:56.949 --> 0:38:00.309 up where Jackson left off and moving the team forward 0:38:00.629 --> 0:38:05.149 with no setbacks on the NBA. On team, Charles Barkley 0:38:05.189 --> 0:38:08.349 echoed the sentiments of many traditional NBA thinkers. 0:38:08.749 --> 0:38:11.509 Or you had mentioned this last night to Charles, you know, 0:38:11.869 --> 0:38:14.949 and we had even while Golden State was still playing, 0:38:15.029 --> 0:38:18.309 when he was saying, Hey, I'm coaching for my life 0:38:18.349 --> 0:38:19.788 here and that kind of thing. 0:38:19.869 --> 0:38:22.069 I have no idea why he was coaching for his life. 0:38:22.629 --> 0:38:22.789 You know. 0:38:22.909 --> 0:38:25.189 They made the playoffs the one time in seventeen years 0:38:25.229 --> 0:38:27.829 before he got there, and he got him to the 0:38:27.909 --> 0:38:32.388 playoffs back to back years. They were not the team 0:38:32.429 --> 0:38:34.229 that was going to beat the Clippers. The Clippers had 0:38:34.229 --> 0:38:36.469 a better team and they were Minos Bogan. 0:38:37.789 --> 0:38:37.989 Heeck. 0:38:38.109 --> 0:38:40.868 Phil Jackson probably couldn't be expected to make this team 0:38:41.189 --> 0:38:44.748 a champion within a year. But there was an executive 0:38:44.789 --> 0:38:47.269 in Phoenix who had also been a former player and 0:38:47.349 --> 0:38:50.589 a TV analyst, and he was interested in the job. 0:38:51.069 --> 0:38:54.149 Steve Kerr had worked with Rick Welts in Phoenix, and 0:38:54.309 --> 0:38:57.149 Welts was now in the business side of the Warriors franchise. 0:38:58.429 --> 0:39:01.469 Welts knew Kerr was the type of person Golden State wanted, 0:39:02.029 --> 0:39:05.549 one who already understood the relationship the Warriors business side 0:39:05.629 --> 0:39:11.268 and basketball side wanted to maintain. This was perhaps even 0:39:11.349 --> 0:39:13.869 more so than the drafting of Steph Curry, which was 0:39:13.949 --> 0:39:18.069 partially out of the Warrior's hands. The most important decision 0:39:18.229 --> 0:39:21.509 this ownership group would make. Choosing the next leader of 0:39:21.589 --> 0:39:25.389 this group would either unlock this collection of talent or 0:39:25.429 --> 0:39:27.589 it would be the one that would eventually crush this 0:39:27.709 --> 0:39:31.989 group's potential and have players with relatively short careers turning 0:39:32.069 --> 0:39:35.788 elsewhere to find their success. That's how fragile these things are. 0:39:35.949 --> 0:39:41.509 The NBA no pressure after the break. How does Steve 0:39:41.629 --> 0:39:46.069 Kerr keep a fractured team together? And his controversial move 0:39:46.269 --> 0:39:47.669 that was the key to the season. 0:39:59.549 --> 0:40:04.669 You know, I wasn't in the meeting meeting where he 0:40:04.789 --> 0:40:07.989 sat down and came in famously with his binder that 0:40:08.149 --> 0:40:11.189 basically he had, you know, laid out everything that he 0:40:11.349 --> 0:40:12.868 was going to do with the Warriors, and I think 0:40:12.949 --> 0:40:15.549 blew Bob and blew Joe Lake ofm Away. 0:40:16.949 --> 0:40:20.069 That's Rick Wilts Warriors team president at the time. 0:40:21.829 --> 0:40:23.709 But I, like I said, I had the benefit of 0:40:23.749 --> 0:40:26.549 being around it for a few years and observing how 0:40:26.669 --> 0:40:31.869 he interacted with everybody, with players, coaches, people in the office, 0:40:32.069 --> 0:40:36.748 and I knew that again, like as a human being, 0:40:36.869 --> 0:40:40.189 we were getting a really special person who knew a 0:40:40.269 --> 0:40:43.748 whole bunch about basketball, and you know, in terms of 0:40:44.269 --> 0:40:47.669 a face of the franchise, in terms of you know, 0:40:47.869 --> 0:40:51.149 how we knew the Warriors would be presented to the world, 0:40:51.269 --> 0:40:53.949 and how important he would be to that. It was 0:40:54.029 --> 0:40:56.549 everything you could have, you could hope for. He's a champion, 0:40:58.149 --> 0:41:02.589 he had an amazing has an amazing personality. He's a 0:41:02.709 --> 0:41:07.509 great community cater. He treats everybody incredibly well. I mean 0:41:08.309 --> 0:41:11.309 I always remember him walking around the office in Phoenix, 0:41:11.469 --> 0:41:13.789 like he would have a five minute conversation with the 0:41:13.869 --> 0:41:16.989 receptionist before he would ever, you know, come in come 0:41:17.029 --> 0:41:20.309 into the business offices. So like, he treats everybody with 0:41:20.469 --> 0:41:27.349 such respect and honesty and like a genuine, uh desire 0:41:27.509 --> 0:41:31.149 to form a relationship and have it be successful. And 0:41:31.229 --> 0:41:34.549 I think all those things you know for a coach 0:41:34.789 --> 0:41:38.748 are incredibly valuable x's and know's. It was a little 0:41:38.749 --> 0:41:41.469 bit of a risk, right, but I think it. 0:41:41.509 --> 0:41:42.069 Worked out for it. 0:41:42.869 --> 0:41:46.069 Kerr was also being pursued by the actual Phil Jackson, 0:41:46.269 --> 0:41:48.109 who was an executive with the New York Knicks at 0:41:48.149 --> 0:41:50.788 the time. The Warriors were also considering to stand Van 0:41:50.869 --> 0:41:54.948 Gundy a coaching free agent, but Kerr eventually turned down 0:41:55.069 --> 0:41:58.309 Jackson and the Knicks and Joe Lacob and the Warriors 0:41:58.749 --> 0:41:59.948 eventually chose Kerk. 0:42:00.309 --> 0:42:02.748 We picked Steve Kerr when we interviewed him, he was 0:42:02.829 --> 0:42:06.469 incredibly He's obviously very very smart. He had been around 0:42:06.669 --> 0:42:11.509 incredibly great coaches, has five rings. We all felt confident 0:42:11.909 --> 0:42:14.229 that he was the right guy to turn good into great, 0:42:14.309 --> 0:42:16.669 even though he had not coached before. 0:42:17.269 --> 0:42:20.748 I always loved the Warriors brand. I thought they were 0:42:20.909 --> 0:42:26.149 similar to the Sonics in that, you know, basketball crazy 0:42:26.309 --> 0:42:33.309 West Coast town with like, you know, really strong basketball history, 0:42:35.429 --> 0:42:38.829 you know, both at the collegiate level, and you know 0:42:38.949 --> 0:42:41.709 the talent that had come out of the Bay, you know, 0:42:41.869 --> 0:42:45.229 going back to you know Bill Russell and Casey Jones, 0:42:45.309 --> 0:42:48.269 and but then the you know, the the championship in 0:42:48.349 --> 0:42:51.989 the seventies, much like the Sonics, you know, captivating a 0:42:52.029 --> 0:42:55.868 whole region. Every time I came to to Golden State 0:42:56.149 --> 0:42:59.069 as a player to play the Warriors, even though the 0:42:59.149 --> 0:43:01.869 team was rarely good, there was always a buzz in 0:43:01.949 --> 0:43:05.349 the building. It just felt felt really like this is 0:43:05.389 --> 0:43:10.149 a special event, and so My perception of the Warriors 0:43:10.309 --> 0:43:13.069 was probably similar to Joe lakeabs when he bought the team. 0:43:13.229 --> 0:43:19.069 It's a sleeping giant, and so I was excited. My 0:43:19.189 --> 0:43:22.748 daughter was a student at Cal at the time. When 0:43:22.789 --> 0:43:24.909 they offered me the job, It's like, Wow, I get 0:43:24.949 --> 0:43:28.669 to you know, you get to go coach Steph Curry 0:43:28.749 --> 0:43:32.069 and go watch my daughter play volleyball at Cal. That's 0:43:32.149 --> 0:43:35.589 not a bad thing. So it all was such a 0:43:35.669 --> 0:43:40.589 perfect fit for me, being a California native and been 0:43:40.709 --> 0:43:44.789 being so excited about coaching staff and coaching the Warriors. 0:43:44.869 --> 0:43:47.268 It was an amazing opportunity. 0:43:49.589 --> 0:43:52.949 An opportunity. He had a detailed plan for it, hence 0:43:53.029 --> 0:43:55.389 the finder Wick Welts mentioned, Kerk brought with him to 0:43:55.429 --> 0:43:58.709 the Internet and one curR knew he had to start 0:43:58.869 --> 0:44:02.309 immediately that included a trip to the other side of 0:44:02.389 --> 0:44:06.669 the world to visit was starting center Andrew Bok. There were, 0:44:07.109 --> 0:44:10.589 as Bogan mentioned earlier, very big fans of Mark Jackson 0:44:10.709 --> 0:44:15.429 still in Lockwood, so Kerr wasn't just introducing himself but 0:44:15.629 --> 0:44:18.669 making sure he didn't isolate any players who might have 0:44:18.829 --> 0:44:19.829 questioned the decision. 0:44:20.029 --> 0:44:21.629 Yeah, when Steve got hired, I mean the first thing 0:44:21.709 --> 0:44:23.589 he did he went and visited all the guys. He 0:44:23.629 --> 0:44:26.149 actually threw out to Australia for literally forty eight hours 0:44:27.549 --> 0:44:29.908 just to meet with myself face to face and say hello. 0:44:30.069 --> 0:44:32.309 And he knew that it was a bit of frustration 0:44:32.509 --> 0:44:36.149 with the way things went the previous two years, you know, 0:44:36.269 --> 0:44:39.828 with the way we finished seasons off, and he kind 0:44:39.869 --> 0:44:43.789 of wanted to reiterate his kind of commitment to myself 0:44:43.909 --> 0:44:46.669 starting and being an integral part of the defensive unit 0:44:46.789 --> 0:44:48.629 and role and all that kind of stuff. So that 0:44:48.749 --> 0:44:52.669 was important. And then once once training camp started, it was, 0:44:53.789 --> 0:44:55.549 you know, the biggest thing Steve did. He knew that 0:44:55.709 --> 0:44:59.069 Mark Jackson was well liked by some guys in the 0:44:59.109 --> 0:45:01.869 locker room, so he didn't want to come in and 0:45:01.949 --> 0:45:04.069 say kind of throw the the baby out of the 0:45:04.109 --> 0:45:05.748 bath water, like we did a lot of good things 0:45:05.829 --> 0:45:08.069 under Mark Jackson, Like our defense was very good. We're 0:45:08.069 --> 0:45:09.589 going to tweak some things here and there, but we 0:45:09.709 --> 0:45:11.908 want to keep that same philosophies at the same court 0:45:11.949 --> 0:45:15.229 offensively and then run Adams out of our assistant oversaw 0:45:15.309 --> 0:45:17.349 that made and tweaks, but we kept a lot of 0:45:17.389 --> 0:45:21.629 that the same Offensively was where he really wanted to 0:45:21.709 --> 0:45:24.909 change things. And he really, you know, analytically, they got 0:45:24.949 --> 0:45:28.189 some numbers and our passes per possession as a group, 0:45:28.229 --> 0:45:30.629 we're really poor under Mark Jackson, which leads into what 0:45:30.709 --> 0:45:34.629 I said. We were very isolation based, and our turnovers 0:45:34.749 --> 0:45:37.828 were another big thing. We'd have periods where we all 0:45:37.909 --> 0:45:41.389 get loose with the ball. And his biggest thing was 0:45:41.509 --> 0:45:43.789 if we can limit turnovers and get him down to 0:45:43.869 --> 0:45:46.469 a smaller number, just by three or four turnovers a game, 0:45:46.549 --> 0:45:50.549 which is ten points at both ends, and we share 0:45:50.549 --> 0:45:51.949 the ball a bit more. We would try to get 0:45:51.949 --> 0:45:53.909 we always try to get at least fort to five possession, 0:45:53.989 --> 0:45:57.989 but passes per possession. We've got a chance win the championship. 0:45:58.029 --> 0:46:00.109 And you know, you hear all coaches come in, new 0:46:00.189 --> 0:46:02.549 coaches and you get to every team and every team 0:46:02.589 --> 0:46:06.069 says championship three. But did we really believe it at 0:46:06.109 --> 0:46:06.389 that time? 0:46:06.469 --> 0:46:06.869 I don't know. 0:46:07.789 --> 0:46:09.589 I kind of believe was still a little bit away, 0:46:09.709 --> 0:46:11.189 like maybe I have to prove ourselves, get into a 0:46:11.269 --> 0:46:13.908 conference finals, take out bumps, some bruises, and then maybe 0:46:13.949 --> 0:46:14.348 who knows. 0:46:14.789 --> 0:46:17.709 This wasn't the typical spot for a new coach, much 0:46:17.789 --> 0:46:20.989 less a first time coach. Normally a coach is being 0:46:21.069 --> 0:46:24.109 replaced because the organization has struggled and needs a reset, 0:46:24.869 --> 0:46:28.469 and with said reset comes room for air. This job 0:46:28.549 --> 0:46:34.109 came with expectations immediately, maybe not championship expectations, but some 0:46:34.389 --> 0:46:36.788 level of proof that the team was in fact better 0:46:37.069 --> 0:46:39.589 than the group that advanced to the conference semifinals two 0:46:39.669 --> 0:46:43.229 seasons earlier. The job also came with a high standard, 0:46:43.269 --> 0:46:47.549 the Jackson set, which Kerve found to be the largest obstacle. 0:46:48.029 --> 0:46:53.789 I think the biggest challenge was replacing a very popular coach. 0:46:53.909 --> 0:46:57.269 You know, Mark Jackson had done a great job, really 0:46:57.389 --> 0:47:01.509 had flipped the culture of the Warriors, turned them into 0:47:01.589 --> 0:47:05.189 a defensive minded team for the first time, and who knows, 0:47:05.909 --> 0:47:09.109 who knows how long, And I know Mark was very 0:47:09.149 --> 0:47:11.069 popular with the players for a good reason. He had 0:47:11.109 --> 0:47:15.429 done a great job and really empowered Steph and Clay 0:47:15.589 --> 0:47:19.828 to become the stars that they became. And so when 0:47:19.869 --> 0:47:22.749 I got the job, it was it was really unique circumstances. 0:47:22.829 --> 0:47:25.469 You know, usually you don't get a job like this 0:47:26.869 --> 0:47:29.869 where a team is on the rise and has this 0:47:30.109 --> 0:47:35.229 kind of hope right away. And so I just felt 0:47:35.309 --> 0:47:37.109 like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of 0:47:37.149 --> 0:47:41.349 the players, to really respect the job that Mark and 0:47:41.429 --> 0:47:44.269 his staff had done, and let the players know that, 0:47:44.669 --> 0:47:47.349 you know, we were we were here to try to 0:47:47.389 --> 0:47:50.069 help them take the next step, not not tear anything 0:47:50.149 --> 0:47:52.549 down because they had already built something really strong. 0:47:53.069 --> 0:47:56.749 How strong would be the question? Strong enough to convince 0:47:56.869 --> 0:47:59.109 Andre Gudala he should come off the bench for the 0:47:59.149 --> 0:48:02.709 first time in his career, a player who was still 0:48:02.749 --> 0:48:05.589 in his prime and who just took a discounted rate 0:48:05.749 --> 0:48:10.349 to play in Golden State. Apparently so, at least that 0:48:10.549 --> 0:48:13.229 was it with Dolla's assessment, because he made the move 0:48:13.349 --> 0:48:17.229 to the bench with no complaints. Kerr leaning on a 0:48:17.309 --> 0:48:20.309 veteran to make a sacrifice, a vet who happened to 0:48:20.309 --> 0:48:24.069 play at Karazama Mater Arizona was also a veteran like 0:48:24.229 --> 0:48:25.589 move from the rookie coach. 0:48:26.269 --> 0:48:33.748 Well, I mean, Andrea was the unsung hero of that 0:48:33.949 --> 0:48:37.549 whole season. You know he's he was the guy who 0:48:37.589 --> 0:48:43.069 gave up his starting job right away in the first game, 0:48:43.709 --> 0:48:46.268 first game, first time in his entire career he'd ever 0:48:46.349 --> 0:48:49.109 come off the bench eight hundred and something games played, 0:48:49.269 --> 0:48:52.069 and that first night was the first time he had 0:48:52.109 --> 0:48:54.749 ever done it. So I took a leap of faith 0:48:54.829 --> 0:48:57.109 on his part to trust me when I came to 0:48:57.229 --> 0:49:02.509 him with the idea. But I think also that he 0:49:02.709 --> 0:49:05.629 was at a place in his career where he had 0:49:05.749 --> 0:49:07.989 done everything else. He had been an All Star and 0:49:08.109 --> 0:49:11.269 made max money, and he wanted to win in the 0:49:11.349 --> 0:49:13.989 worst way, and so he was willing to trust me. 0:49:14.069 --> 0:49:17.069 I think because of our connection to loud Olsen and 0:49:17.509 --> 0:49:20.189 U of A, and you know, having both played in 0:49:20.309 --> 0:49:27.268 that program, we shared a very similar basketball perspective and philosophy, 0:49:27.469 --> 0:49:31.949 so he trusted me. It didn't take that long, but 0:49:32.029 --> 0:49:34.109 it did take a couple of months, I would say, 0:49:34.189 --> 0:49:35.949 for him to get comfortable in his role. 0:49:36.989 --> 0:49:40.229 Iguadala's role would famously change at the very end of 0:49:40.309 --> 0:49:43.829 curse first season because the Warriors had all the pieces 0:49:43.869 --> 0:49:47.149 in place. They'd set themselves up with a roster they 0:49:47.189 --> 0:49:49.909 were fond of and a coach they thought would get 0:49:49.949 --> 0:49:52.789 the most out of everyone involved, but they'd have to 0:49:52.909 --> 0:49:57.189 face months and months of doubt. Charles Barkley, the default 0:49:57.309 --> 0:50:00.069 voice of the NBA, set the tone back in the 0:50:00.269 --> 0:50:04.909 pre playoffs conference call, saying, quote, they had a terrific season, 0:50:05.429 --> 0:50:07.989 but I don't like jump shooting teams. I don't think 0:50:08.029 --> 0:50:10.189 you can make enough Jumpers to win four series in 0:50:10.229 --> 0:50:13.069 a row. I've said that for twenty five years, not 0:50:13.309 --> 0:50:17.829 just now. I think you physically manhandle them inside. Barkley's 0:50:17.829 --> 0:50:21.149 theory would certainly be tested throughout Kerr's first playoff run, 0:50:21.869 --> 0:50:25.629 and the Warriors would eventually have to face the ultimate Goliad. 0:50:26.829 --> 0:50:29.269 If it was physicality that would bring down the Warriors, 0:50:29.749 --> 0:50:32.789 the six foot eight face and frame of the NBA 0:50:33.189 --> 0:50:36.389 Lebron James would certainly be the person to expose it 0:50:36.869 --> 0:50:38.189 on the next dub dynasty. 0:50:39.789 --> 0:50:42.069 I remember we saw him get it going in the 0:50:42.149 --> 0:50:46.109 third as we'd come into the time out and he's like, Hey, 0:50:46.149 --> 0:50:48.989 I want to run this play and stuff's losen. He goes, David, 0:50:49.149 --> 0:50:51.308 We're not running any place. He's like, play, let's see 0:50:51.309 --> 0:50:52.549 how far we can take this thing. 0:50:53.629 --> 0:50:55.749 It was just still humming, and I think our defense 0:50:55.869 --> 0:50:58.989 was elite. Our rotations were a lead up bench was elite, 0:50:59.069 --> 0:51:00.749 like it will just feed in such perfectly. 0:51:01.269 --> 0:51:03.069 There were a lot of people who doubted sort of 0:51:03.669 --> 0:51:05.428 the way that they were approaching the game. 0:51:05.509 --> 0:51:10.109 Beginnick, it was just this crescendo that started to build 0:51:10.669 --> 0:51:12.349 and it just didn't stop. 0:51:13.509 --> 0:51:15.589 You know, this team had been in the playoffs, the 0:51:15.629 --> 0:51:18.469 previous two years, so they already had playoff experience, so 0:51:18.509 --> 0:51:21.469 it wasn't like I was preaching something that they weren't 0:51:21.589 --> 0:51:24.069 totally aware of, but there was a lot to get 0:51:24.149 --> 0:51:27.029 through to understand how hard it was still it seems. 0:51:30.429 --> 0:51:33.429 Dub Dynasty is a production of iHeartMedia and the NBA. 0:51:33.989 --> 0:51:38.709 For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 0:51:38.949 --> 0:51:40.309 or wherever you get your podcasts.