A talented Big Three is key for any team hoping to make a deep playoff run, and the Warriors core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green is no stranger to postseason success.
But there’s one stunning statistic that puts into perspective just how good Golden State’s Big Three is when they start together in the playoffs. The Warriors have never lost an NBA playoff series when Curry, Thompson and Green are in every game from the start.
For those counting at home, that’s 14-0 in postseason series when the Dubs core is in the starting lineup. They won't get to add to that total this series after Curry came off the bench in Game 1 of the Warriors' opening playoff round with the Denver Nuggets, but there's still plenty of postseason left should Golden State advance.
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The Warriors' dynastic trio recently sat down with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kelenna Azubuike for the “Decade in the Bay” series, where they reflected on exactly what it is that makes them better together.
Curry put it simply: undeniable chemistry.
“To summarize it … we’re just some dogs,” Curry said. “We’re competitive, and we laugh and joke, me and Klay, and Draymond’s the fire of the group. It matters so much to win. I think we have that killer instinct inside of us that we just express in a lot of different ways. We all know what our strengths are, too, and we put them all together. It’s a pretty, pretty good recipe.”
It’s common knowledge that the Bay’s Big Three have won three NBA titles together over the last decade. Their incredible 14-0 run began in 2015, when the Warriors went 4-0 in playoff series and saw the core start every game.
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In 2016, Steph, Klay and Green only started in every game of Golden State’s Western Conference Finals matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The trio started in every game of the Warriors’ 2017 championship run, where they tallied four more series victories, and the 2018 and 2019 postseasons added two and three more series wins, respectively, with all three starting.
So how are Curry, Thompson and Green able to thrive when the pressure is at its peak?
They lean on each other, Thompson told Azubuike.
“I play off Steph, Steph plays off Draymond,” Thompson said. “Defensively, me and Draymond play off each other very well. I might not handle the ball that well, but Steph handles the ball incredibly well. Steph might have trouble guarding bigger wings, but I guard wings very well. And Draymond might not be the best scorer in the game, but he's certainly one of the greatest playmakers to play this game and he has enhanced me and Steph’s game to another level.”
That’s what makes any elite Big Three, well, elite. Even though they’re the winningest trio in NBA history, they still manage to make each other better.
Green knows that the Warriors’ success is something he, Thompson and Curry had a hand in shaping, and that has contributed to their chemistry.
“I think [we’re successful] because we built it together,” he told Azubuike. “And when you build something together, you can always go back to the fundamentals. You can always go back to the basics and pull from those experiences. And then you go to the X's and O's part of it, and I think we're a match made in heaven and have probably played better off each other's skill sets than anybody else in the league.
“The way we use each other, the way we know this is his strong suit, not so strong here, but I'm very strong here … When you have the opportunity to amplify each other's strengths, it covers up a lot of what could be weaknesses.”
RELATED: Klay after Game 1: 'We're not the Warriors' without Draymond
The Warriors are heading into Game 2 of the NBA playoff opening round against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, but it remains to be seen if they can add to their impressive 14-0 stat.
After seeing both Thompson and Green recover from injuries this season and find their rhythm in time for playoffs, Curry isn’t rushing his return to a starting role.
Their undefeated record when starting playoff series together will be put to the test should the Warriors advance to the Western Conference Semifinals with Curry back as a starter. But if history has taught Dub Nation anything, it's that doubters should never count the Warriors core out.
