2018 Golden State Warriors

This title took more work than the result suggests. Golden State went 58-24, a step back from the previous two seasons, and dealt with nagging injuries down the stretch. The regular season felt like a formality the team mostly tolerated.

Houston nearly ended it. The Rockets won 65 games and built a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals, then Chris Paul pulled his hamstring. In Game 7 Houston missed 27 consecutive three-pointers, and Golden State erased a double-digit deficit to survive.

The Finals were the opposite. The Warriors swept Cleveland, the fourth straight June meeting between the two teams. Curry buried nine threes in Game 2, a Finals record at the time, and Durant averaged 28.8 points to take Finals MVP for the second year running.

Kevon Looney grew into real minutes at center, and Quinn Cook filled in at guard when Curry sat. This was the last title of the core's first run. Durant tore his Achilles the next June and signed with Brooklyn weeks later.

The starting five was Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and JaVale McGee. Steve Kerr coached the group with Andre Iguodala as the primary bench scorer.

This was title number 2 in a Golden State Warriors run that stretched across consecutive or near-consecutive seasons. Repeat winners carried continuity from one year to the next.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Nick Young (bench shooter); Quinn Cook (filled in when Curry was hurt); Jordan Bell (rookie big).

The 2018 title came in the modern era of load management, threes, and switch-heavy defense. The Golden State Warriors still had to win four series, usually against teams built to contend rather than tank.

The Golden State Warriors share a lineage with other banners from 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2022. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 2017-18 Warriors repeated, sweeping LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the Finals for Golden State's third title in four years. Kevin Durant won Finals MVP again, and Stephen Curry set a Finals record with nine threes in Game 2. The harder series came earlier: down 3-2 to Houston in the conference finals, Golden State watched the Rockets miss 27 straight three-pointers in Game 7.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Golden State Warriors titles, use the franchise hub linked below.