There did not need to be any more fuel added to the first-round NBA Playoffs showdown between No. 3 Sacramento Kings and No. 6 Golden State Warriors, with both teams each coming in with a chip on their shoulder. The Kings play-by-play announcer stirred the pot anyways when he said that the Dubs are not quite among basketball's all-time elite.
“They're not a legacy franchise…they wanna be the Lakers, they wanna be the Celtics, they wanna get that respect.” Kyle Draper said, via NBA Central.
The NBA has changed maybe as much as any major sport in the last few decades, but the lineage and prestige that has been cultivated in the first half of the league's existence still shines through. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers remain atop the hoops throne from a historical perspective with their combined 33 NBA Championships as well as having one of sports most storied rivalries.
It will be difficult for any other NBA franchise to reach those heights just based on the immeasurable impact they had on the growth of basketball. The Chicago Bulls did not maintain that luster when Michael Jordan retired, but the Lakers and Celtics brands continue to transcend their roster and the results they achieve on a given year. Still, the Warriors have been the model basketball organization for almost a decade and an unequivocal dynasty with four titles in eight seasons.
They have done enough to be considered a legendary franchise. Holding them to those currently unattainable standards will not change that. This series could mark the official end of an era, but that would require the Kings to accomplish their most remarkable feat in two decades.
They are underdogs in this series, despite being one of the most consistent teams in the NBA all season. If they do indeed light the beam against their road-averse opponents, then the landscape of the league could be looking quite different.
Regardless, though, the legacy mountaintop is unlikely to change by the result.
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