The Warriors’ 2021-2022 Season: Everything You Need to Know so Far

By Ali S.

December 17, 2021

Even if you don’t follow NBA basketball, you’re probably aware that our local team, the Golden State Warriors, is a force to be reckoned with. The latter half of the previous decade has seen the Warriors make 5 straight NBA Finals, as well as a huge increase in fans across the Bay Area. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually, and the Warriors have declined from their perch in the past few years. Winning only 15 of 75 games, the Warriors were the lowest ranked team in the 2019-2020 NBA campaign. This year, however, has been looking excellent for the Warriors so far. The 2021-2022 NBA season has just begun, and they’ve instantly climbed to the top of the rankings. In just two years, this team went from being the worst in the league to the best. Feels pretty good.

Last season, the Warriors had  just barely missed the playoffs. The team was reeling from the injuries of star players Klay Thomson and James Wiseman. To replace them, they started Kelly Oubre Jr., a Washington Wizards veteran, and Kevon Looney, who’d played from the Warriors bench since his draft 2015. While Looney played well all things considered, Oubre was less promising. Oubre is without a doubt an excellent basketball player, yet, quoting one fan, “[O]ubre didn't fit in our system, period.”  His playstyle was more adept towards keeping the ball and driving, which never really fit with the game plan of the rest of the players. This led to numerous issues with team dynamics. Warriors player Draymond Green spoke about the lack of chemistry last year: “In reality, guys don’t know where to go. There are times I don’t know where to go!” 

Despite their issues last year, the Warriors were able to overcome most of the problems plaguing the team through the last season.

The Stars

Teams in the NBA can’t get far without excellent players. Rarely do teams without at least one “best of the best” player make the Finals. As of the past 3 seasons, the Warriors possess three of such players: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Curry is the household name of the Warriors, and without a doubt the best shooter in NBA history. Recently, he broke the record for most three pointers in NBA history, with an impressive number of 2,974 shots made. Klay Thompson dominated the NBA while he was still healthy in shooting and was according to one fan, “the best catch-and-shoot player in the league.” Draymond Green’s efforts, however, are more defensive. His stellar perimeter and post defensive abilities are unrivaled. While Thompson is unfortunately still injured with an ETA around early January, Curry and Green have been more than adequate for the team this year: Curry is currently the frontrunner in three-pointers, as well as being third overall in average points per game this season. Green’s performance, while not as numerically based, is still extremely impressive. Being the teams’ leading defender, he is largely responsible for the fact that the NBA ranks the Warriors defense rating as the highest in the league. The culmination of their performances is one of the driving factors of the Warriors’ success this season.

The Bench

A star player is notably not the entire team. Regardless of whether or not a player is a star, his value on the court is necessary to maintain success. In fact, the performance of a team’s bench players (players who aren’t stars), is arguably even more vital than the star players themselves. Between the two seasons, the Warriors acquired several veteran players to back up their starters, such as Nemanja Bjelica, a power forward who has taken the role as a center, and Otto Porter Jr an incredible perimeter small forward. The two, along with other notable bench players like recently returned Andre Iguodala and high energy Gary Payton II, continue to lead the offense even while the star players rest. 

Additionally, the development of younger, less experienced players has also seen incredible results. New players have been trained to fill niches in the Warriors’ current roster, effectively balancing out the team. This system resulted in the rise of Jordan Poole,  a player whose performance has been less than stellar these past few years and has seemingly out of nowhere turned into an all-pro player. His quickness on the court and athleticism earned him lots of new media attention, as well as a spot on the starting lineup until Klay Thomson comes back. The team gives newer players time to develop as well. They still average around eight minutes per game, despite the already stacked lineup. Development of the younger players serves as an investment in the Warriors performance over time, ensuring that the team is able to get the most out of each player. 

What comes next?

Now, despite the Warrior’s dominance, they are still not a perfect team. At the time of writing, the Warriors have 5 losses, and are at the top of the Western Conference.. Even with all that’s going well for  them, a good season is far from guaranteed. One fan explained what he thought the biggest issues were: “since we no longer have [Kevin Durant], Steph needs to step it up in clutch situations.” As of now, the team struggles when Stephen Curry underperforms. In the three games the team lost in the past month, Curry had rough nights, shooting less than 25% in each. Now that one of the previous star players, Kevin Durant, left, more weight is on the back of Curry to lead the team.

Regardless of the complications, it’s no doubt that the Warriors are one of the best in the league this year. Fans have a lot to look forward to. The team is playing better than ever before, and lots are setting their sights on the Finals.