The Warriors’ dynasty that won four NBA championships in a span of eight seasons always will be remembered as one of the biggest success stories in all of sports.
The defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are viewed in a similar trajectory for being a young and formidable team that is projected to be a title contender for several years.
With all of their recent success, the Thunder have been viewed by a number of NBA fans as “villains,” which former Golden State center DeMarcus Cousins opposes.
“To call [the Thunder] a villain, I would have to disagree,” Cousins said Tuesday on FanDuel’s “Run It Back” show. “But it also kind of reminds me of the beginning days of the Warriors when they started their successful run. In [the Warriors’] first year, they were one of the most loved teams in the league. And eventually, they started to receive hate.
“[People] started to pick apart different things that they didn’t like about that group, and for the [most] part, the most physical and, I guess you can say, ‘dirty guy’, Draymond [Green] became that villain. I see the same thing happening [to] Lu Dort. Not to the same extreme, but it’s in the same field.”
“In this league, people hate success,” Cousins added. “The fans hate success, especially when it doesn’t seem like it’s coming to an end any time soon. So, I think it’s a way of hating from the outside, and hopefully it can tear them apart from the inside. But like I said, I don’t see this show slowing down any time soon, and buckle up because [the Thunder] are rolling.”
From 2014 to 2019, the Warriors appeared in five consecutive NBA Finals and won three championships, a period that also includes their record-breaking 73 wins during the 2016-17 regular season. Additionally, Golden State won an NBA title during the 2021-22 season.
Meanwhile, after three straight losing seasons from 2020 to 2023, the Thunder blossomed with a 57-25 record during the 2023-24 season that ended following a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.
Oklahoma City then finished the 2024-25 season with an NBA-best 68-14 record and won its first championship since relocating from Seattle. The Thunder currently are 60-16 with an opportunity to defend their title during the upcoming NBA playoffs.
With reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge alongside rising stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, it’s hard to imagine the Thunder not having sustained success similar to the Warriors from the past decade.
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