Throwback Team Thursday: 2007 Golden State Warriors

The 2006-2007 Golden State Warriors were far from a star-studded team. Led by Baron Davis, the Warriors were a group of gritty veterans that shot the three-ball well and refused to back down from anyone. Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson provided defensive prowess and heart while Jason Richardson, Al Harrington, and a young Monta Ellis lit up the scoreboard with a variety of flashy plays and deep threes. It appeared the team would miss out on the playoffs with the team sitting at 37-40 with just five games left, but that was when Stephen Jackson sparked a run that would take the Warriors further than they could have ever imagined. Jackson averaged over 20 ppg down the stretch, sneaking Golden State into the playoffs as the 8-seed, positioning them for a first round matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. This was bad news for Golden State, as this looked like it was Dirk’s year. The German big man was the league’s MVP, joining the prestigious 50-40-90 club and leading the Mavs to an impressive 67-15 record. Little did Dirk know, the Warriors did not plan on going out without putting up a fight. In their first playoff game since 1994, the Warriors shocked the world in winning the first game by 12 in Dallas. After Dallas easily won game two, the series went back to Oakland, where the league would learn about one of the best arenas in basketball. Whether it was excitement over a good team or just a bunch of Raiders fans in basketball uniforms, Oracle Arena quickly became one of the most difficult places to play in the NBA. With the crowd behind them, the Warriors took games 2 & 3, and eventually finished off the might Mavs in game 6. Golden State became the first 8-seed to take down a 1-seed in a seven game format, making NBA history and letting the world know Oakland had the best fans in basketball. The second round saw a matchup with the Utah Jazz, led by Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. After falling back two games to zero in extremely close games, the Warriors made a statement in game 3. In front of the raucous crowd, the Warriors beat the Jazz by 20, capitalized by one of the most vicious dunks in playoff history by Baron Davis. Click here to view the video on YouTube. Unfortunately, that is where the magic would end. The Jazz went on to take the next two games, ending the Warriors playoff run, their last one since advancing to the 2nd round in this year’s postseason. Despite a 2nd round exit, the 2006-2007 Warriors revived basketball in the Bay Area and proved that David is still capable of taking down Goliath. Other notable members of this Warriors’ squad include: Kelenna Azubuike, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Andris Biendrins, Mickael Pietrus, Adonal Foyle, and Josh Powell. -Langer

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