Back in 2002, Bill Simmons — then still mostly known as “The Sports Guy” — rolled out one of his trademark reader mailbags on ESPN. The column, “Yup … These Are My Readers,” included a standout note from a fan named Bruce in Toronto.
Bruce’s take was blunt: the Golden State Warriors were the “worst NBA franchise of all-time.” Simmons didn’t fully agree, but he didn’t let them off the hook either.
Costly errors
At the time, Simmons wrote with his usual humor that he’d been knocked out by a strep throat-meets-Ebola combo after grinding through five straight columns in D.C. With his arm “resting,” he handed the floor over to his readers. One of them was Bruce from Toronto, who wasted no time firing off his hot take.
To make his case, he leaned on Simmons’ own recent column comparing star duos — Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber vs. Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant vs. Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter. Bruce’s punchline? Golden State either had, or could easily have had, five of those six players. The receipts were damning.
In the 1996 Draft, the Warriors passed on Bryant to take Todd Fuller, two spots ahead of Peja Stojakovic and just before Steve Nash and Jermaine O’Neal.
In 1997, they selected Adonal Foyle one pick before McGrady.
A year later, they traded the rights to Carter for Antawn Jamison — and even threw in cash.
Back in 1995, they had skipped Garnett to pick Joe Smith with the first overall pick.
And in 1994, they shipped Webber to Washington for Tom Gugliotta and draft picks, which they quickly botched.
Bruce then dug deeper into history, reminding us that this was the same franchise that, in 1980, sent Robert Parish and the pick that became Kevin McHale to Boston for Joe Barry Carroll.
In 1982, they dealt Bernard King for a fading Michael Ray Richardson.
In 1965, they gave away basketball icon Wilt Chamberlain in his prime for scraps.
And in 1991, they even broke up Run TMC — dismantling one of the most electric trios the league had ever seen, featuring Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin.
Simmons’ take
Bruce’s conclusion was simple: the case against the Bay Area team was “overwhelming.” Simmons, however, had his own take. But before presenting it, he first gave his reader his due.
“All terrific points,” the Ringer founder wrote, noting that Bruce had even overlooked how the then-Warriors front office let Jamaal Wilkes and Gus Williams slip away in the mid-70s.
Still, for Simmons — a lifelong Boston Celtics fan from Massachusetts — Golden State didn’t quite deserve the label in 2002. He reminded readers that the Warriors, led by the iconic Rick Barry in his prime, had won an NBA title in 1975 after sweeping the Washington Bullets.
“A team can’t be awarded ‘worst franchise’ status if they have a championship banner,” emphasized Simmons.
According to the 55-year-old, if the label had to go to someone, it would be either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Atlanta Hawks, two ringless teams at the time.
Still, Bill admitted there was room for criticism, stating that the Warriors could easily be considered “the most consistently dumb NBA franchise of the past 25 years.”
Looking at it from today’s perspective, these takes stand out for one clear reason. While back then the Warriors could have been criticized for major mismanagement, now they make the exact opposite case.
Since Steve Kerr took over as head coach in 2014, Golden State has won four rings and, in many ways, rewritten the modern game, ultimately becoming one of the best-managed franchises of the past decade.