by Eshaan Kapoor ’23
Published Dec 14th, 2021
If there has been any NBA team on a roll this season, it has been the Golden State Warriors. Not only have they amassed an NBA best 21-4 record as of December 10th, but their well-known superstar, Stephen Curry, currently leads the MVP race.
Just looking at their preseason projections can convey how shocking their NBA best 21-4 record has been. In his NBA.com article predicting the league’s 2021-2022 standings, Sam Smith, a longtime NBA insider and journalist, wrote that the Warriors would finish as the 6th seed in the Western Conference, citing the general reason that the team is young and would struggle without injured guard Klay Thompson. However, the Warriors have shattered preseason expectations, setting a 68-14 pace if they continue playing at their current level.
With Jordan Poole rising to secondary option status, Draymond playing similarly to how he did in his prime, and Steph having an MVP-caliber season, the Warriors offense and defense is blooming; according to NBA.com, the team has the third-highest offensive rating along with the best defensive rating – creating the best net rating out of all 30 teams.
Out of the three players previously mentioned, none are more valuable than Stephen Curry: in fact, probably no one in the league has been thus far. He leads the league in win shares, an advanced statistic that comprehensively determines how much a player contributes to their team winning, at 4.4. He is currently averaging 27.7 points per game, broke his own record for fastest player to reach 100 threes in a season, and has led his team to a league-best start. As head coach Steve Kerr has said: “He’s Steph Curry, so anything is possible.”
With Steph currently only a couple three-pointers away from breaking Ray Allen’s record for most made in NBA history, and Klay’s return around Christmas time, Warriors fans are excited, and they have reason to be, as the team looks to return to playoff glory.
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