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The Athletic recently ran its 2025 edition of its anonymous player survey, which reflected lots of interesting results. On the subject of which organization is the best in the NBA, 21.9 percent of 137 votes picked the Golden State Warriors, who are now in pursuit of another NBA title with Stephen Curry spearheading the team on the court.
The Warriors apparently developed a respected reputation in the league in large part because of who calls the shot from the sidelines and the management that makes the team go.
“They were first-class,” an unnamed player said about Golden State. “(Warriors coach) Steve (Kerr) came from San Antonio. He knew a lot of the principles. They do a really good job of taking care of the players and the families.”
Other teams that got notable results on the survey were the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics, who were picked by 17.5 and 15.3 percent of the respondents, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns all got just 1.5 percent of the votes.
While there were lows for the Warriors over the last several years, they surely attained the highest of highs in the NBA in the same span. Golden State has won four NBA championships and appeared in six NBA Finals from 2015 to the present. With Steve Kerr at the helm and with the core of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, plus the addition of Kevin Durant, the Warriors enjoyed immense success that made the franchise the envy of other NBA organizations.
Of course, there was the post-Durant era that saw the Warriors miss the playoffs two years in a row but the team managed to bounce back on its feet in 2022 when Golden State reclaimed its throne in the league by winning the NBA title. And after missing the boat to the postseason in the 2023-24 campaign, the Warriors are now back in the playoffs again, this time with Jimmy Butler in the fold as the Robin to Curry's Batman.
Golden State has indeed become some sort of a gold standard in the eyes of at least some players in the league, and winning another championship this season should only help bolster the Dubs organization's shiny reputation.
