Klay Thompson Explains How The Warriors’ Current Run Is ‘Close’ To Michael Jordan’s Bulls


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The Golden State Warriors are on an extended streak of dominance right now. They’ve won two of the last three NBA championships, made it to a third (and fell in seven games), are 207-39 over the last three years. This season, there’s no reason to think that they won’t be really good again.

We’re getting really close to the point where you can argue that we’re watching a dynasty on the west coast. For Klay Thompson, the Dubs are getting close to matching the league’s premier dynasty of the last 30 years: Michael Jordan‘s Chicago Bulls.

Thompson acknowledged that they’re not quite there yet, pointing out that the Bulls won six titles in eight years compared to two in three years for the Dubs. But still, he thinks that “it’s close” between the two teams and mentioned he sees a similar sense of importance league-wide when the Warriors come to town.

“Every time the Bulls came to town, that was the ticket of the year,” Thompson told Nick Friedell of ESPN while the Warriors were overseas in China. “Now it’s when the Warriors come to town, that’s the must-see game. And we don’t take that for granted; that’s such a cool position to be in. We rarely play in front of a crowd that’s not sold out. That’s so special. It’s hard to really grasp that as a player. So I think it’s close. I still think we’re not on their level yet, but that’s what we aspire to be of the 2000s. We aspire to be that dynasty that will be in the minds of NBA fans forever.”

The good news for the Warriors is that they have the perfect coach for managing the expectations of being the best team in the league, as Steve Kerr was on the Bulls for the end of their run. He stressed to Friedell that he’s making sure the team doesn’t think too big-picture when it comes to comparisons with the Bulls, saying that the Dubs “can’t match what the Bulls did,” and that “you have to stay healthy, and things have to go your way, so we’ll do our best and enjoy the ride while we’re on it.”

We might get to a point where Golden State — behind a core of Thompson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green that sticks together for the next 7-10 years — keeps accruing titles and makes this a debate. But while the Warriors are great right now, they still have a way to go before “Bulls vs. Dubs?” becomes a legitimate debate.

(Via ESPN)

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