The Golden State Warriors weren’t always the extremely dominant team that we know them to be. Six or so years ago, the team was just beginning to find its identity, and as the team helped changed the league into the way that it is today, it all began with a playoff upset over the Denver Nuggets.
Speaking to The Athletic as part of an oral history on the team, Draymond Green discussed how the Game 3 against the Nuggets was the loudest he had ever heard Oracle Arena. “I’ll never forget that Game 3 at Oracle, tied up 1-1. The crowd — loudest I’ve ever heard it here. It was amazing. We came back and went up 3-1,” he said. “Think they won one more game and then we closed it out here.”
Heading into the 2013 NBA playoffs, the Warriors headed into the postseason as a sixth seed that matched up against a 57-win Denver Nuggets team primed for contention. Of course, the Warriors were somehow able to upset the Nuggets in six games, kickstarting their belief that they were ready to play for a championship.
That postseason was also the first time Green saw an increase in playtime, thanks to David Bogut going down with an injury. “It was interesting. Because obviously David was an All-Star. And then he went down, it was kind of oh, shit, what do we do next?” he said. “I knew I would play more minutes, so I was excited about the opportunity. But I didn’t have much experience. It was just, like, all right, I guess I’ll try to figure this out.”
After a second round playoff exit and similar unsuccessful play the next year, the Warriors finally made it to the top of the mountain 2015, and haven’t looked back since, establishing the latest dynasty of the NBA. For Green and others, that first playoff upset was the catalyst of it all, and showed the team just how good they could be.
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