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Warriors have multiple paths to properly celebrating franchise icons originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Sometime in the foreseeable future, perhaps by 2030, the folks calling the shots for the Golden State Warriors will begin the process of retiring jerseys and putting up statues outside Chase Center.
It will be fun, a dream come true for the team’s elite players.
There also will be at least a modicum of consternation.
Stephen Curry is the first obvious choice for both honors. He is a two-time MVP award winner and the grease within the gears that sent them to four championships in an eight-year span.
His statue will be the biggest, brightest of them all.
But will it be unveiled as part of a one-man show? Will it be Curry first and foremost, with the others to follow?
There is another approach that is conceivable if not altogether likely: Draymond Green and Klay Thompson go up with Curry. A trio statue, with the best player in franchise history flanked by longtime teammates who were All-Stars in their own right.
It would be an interesting way to go, as the argument can be made that Curry, Green and Thompson were one of the sport’s most accomplished triumvirates – as good as any in the history of the NBA. Though Curry is the true superstar, those six trips to the NBA Finals, yielding four championships, were a product of their alliance, which delivered more than a few moments of magic.
Curry would not have four rings without Green and Thompson, and they could not have come close to four rings without him.
There is no question, though, that all three merit statues, whether as a group or as individuals. No matter the artistic format, they’re all getting that treatment. No matter what happens over the next few seasons, they’ve already earned it.
Which brings us to Kevin Durant. His jersey is going up. That much has been confirmed by Golden State CEO Joe Lacob, who long ago conceded that Durant’s spectacular three-year span with the Warriors was enough to raise his No. 35 to the rafters at Chase.
But a statue, too? That’s another level of gratitude and decoration.
The strongest argument for a Durant statue…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-multiple-paths-properly-celebrating-143918238.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-09-19 14:39:18
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