The Golden State Warriors are back for opening night. Imagine being a member of Dub Nation back in 2017 after Kevin Durant helped the Warriors lock the NBA in a death grip. What if you suddenly went into a deep hibernation, only to wake up today in 2023 not knowing anything that had happened since that season?
And as you came to and asked how Golden State was doing, your loved ones told you opening night was Tuesday and the Dubs were in the main event against a rival. I know what’s going through your mind at this point: RING NIGHT! SPLASH BROS! KEVIN DURANT! CHRIS PAUL!
Life’s funny though. Times have changed. The rings being handed out on opening night are not for the Warriors, as it’s the Denver Nuggets this time being rewarded for their championship in the night’s early game.
And yes KD and CP3 are in the building, except this isn’t 2017 when Durant was wearing the blue-and-gold as a Finals MVP. Now he’s the star of the Phoenix Suns, baby! And Paul isn’t an antagonist terrorizing Dub Nation as a Rocket; in fact he’s now A WARRIOR HIMSELF.
Crazy how these guys keep being major players in what the most entertaining basketball in the league is. And apparently it all keeps coming back to Stephen Curry.
How to watch Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns
When: October 24th, 2023 | 7:00 PM PT
TV: TNT
Radio: 95.7 The Game
Curry’s trio with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green has been a major constant in the swirling storylines of competition and drama of the NBA for the last decade. Durant went from being a rival, to a hero, to a fun opponent for Golden State fans. Paul…was perhaps the most universally despised hall-of-famer that competed against the Warriors, with Green himself saying that he for sure HATED him.
But one thing that those two names have in common is that in one way or another their best path to their best championship dreams were decided in battles against the Splash Bros. And now they have in common that they both eventually had to adorn the golden glory of the Warriors’ uniforms, with Durant turning the Warriors into the most maddeningly unbeatable basketball team of all time.
Will future generations of children even remember the Dubs had already won 73 games and a title by the time The Slim Reaper joined them and formed the Infinity Stones of hoops?
It’s a wonderful story that the Dubs have won a total of four championships through the Curry-Thompson-Green era (with major regards to Andre Iguodala). Durant’s pristine dominance helped drive two of those; the question is can Paul at 38-years old put some magic together to help glue the Dubs together for a title run?
Paul’s luck ran out as a teammate of Durant’s last season in Phoenix, as the team sputtered to a second round exit against the eventual world champion Nuggets. Paul suffered a groin injury that put the Suns into a tough spot against a team as versatile and dangerous as Denver. And anyone whose watched Paul’s career knows his history with dramatic playoff injuries that derailed his franchise’s championship aspirations.
Then again, I’ve spent a lot of my life watching different versions of the Phoenix Suns look good during the regular season before having something stunning (like Robert Horry’s hip check or Michael Jordan’s greatness) knock them out of the postseason.
But now the Suns have Bradley Beal, an All-Star super scorer who once edged out Curry in a race for the scoring title. Beal, Durant, and flamethrower Devin Booker could be quite problematic for a Warriors defense figuring itself out without middle linebacker Draymond Green.
