Top 10 Plays and Moments from Golden State Warriors' 2014-15 Season

The Golden State Warriors set a franchise record for most wins in a single season (67) in 2014-15 and did so while accumulating plenty of memorable moments along the way.

Between the mesmerizing performances that Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson put together and a little bit of off-court drama with a certain division rival, the Warriors did their best to keep their name in the headlines for all the right reasons.

Coming into the season, armed with a new head coach, nobody knew for sure what to expect from this squad. Would it be better or worse off without Mark Jackson stalking the sidelines? And why, all of a sudden, did Steve Kerr, a man with no previous coaching experience, become such a coveted candidate for a head coaching position in the NBA?

With definitive answers to those questions, and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference locked up, now is the perfect time to take a look back on the year that was before Golden State begins its journey to the Finals this Saturday.

10. The Chemistry

One of the most important ingredients that goes into constructing a championship-caliber team is chemistry. And while it might sound cliche, it's true. You can't win as many games as the Warriors did this season if you don't enjoy the company of the guys you're doing it with.

Take this example from a January 14 game against the Utah Jazz.

After Stephen Curry dribbles through traffic, he flips the ball back to Draymond Green who proceeds to knock down a long three-pointer. As soon as it rips through the net, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder calls a timeout, giving Golden State a chance to celebrate the play with one another. 

And celebrate it did.

Nearly every player on the bench came out to greet Green before joining the huddle with Steve Kerr and his staff. And nearly every player jumped to shoulder-bump with the combo forward. 

It's things like these that are the difference between a team that can seriously win a title and those who can't. Chemistry is an underrated factor and judging by the Warriors' success, more teams should strive to achieve that level of camaraderie. 

9. Andrew Bogut's 9-Block Game

While visiting the New Orleans Pelicans for an early-April game, Andrew Bogut did his best Anthony Davis impression by rejecting nine of the Pellie’s shot attempts.

"I'm not gonna sit back and pop champagne bottles like that's not what he do," Draymond Green said of the performance, via Diamond Leung of the San Jose Mercury News. "That's what he do."

Prior to that night, Bogut’s career high for blocks in a single game had been seven, which he’s done five times over the course of his tenure in the NBA.

The Aussie isn’t the most explosive or athletic center in the league, but his incredible instincts, coupled with exceptional timing, have made him one of the league’s better shot-blockers these last few years.

He finished the 2014-15 season averaging 1.7 per game, placing him in the top 20 for that particular category.

8. Harrison Barnes Putback Dunk Against Indiana

While Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are busy dazzling audiences with their array of three-point jumpers, Harrison Barnes is busy throwing down some of the more vicious dunks we see during an NBA season.

Although not nearly as memorable as his slam over the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Nikola Pekovic, Barnes left his mark on the Indiana Pacers when he put back a Klay Thompson miss with one hand.

Warriors’ play-by-play man Bob Fitzgerald went as far as saying that the dunk was somewhat Jordan-esque, leading Jim Barnett to say, “I know how you feel about Michael Jordan so, for you to say that, impresses me.”

Though we might want to slow our roll on the MJ comparisons, Barnes’ dunk was definitely one of the best of the year.

7. Front Office Elects to Keep Klay Thompson

There were plenty of mixed emotions in the Bay Area last summer as word went around that the Warriors were looking into trading away Klay Thompson for Kevin Love.

Ultimately, the front office decided it wasn’t in its best interest to move the sharp-shooting 2-guard and watched as Love made his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers to play with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

It’s hard to say definitively how things would have worked out for the Warriors had they acquired Love but, hindsight being 20-20, they’re probably glad they didn’t have to find out.

There’s no question that Love is a top-tier talent in the Association. But what Thompson does for Golden State is something that couldn’t have been done by Kevin Martin, who the Warriors would have also acquired in that same deal. Plus, had Love joined Steve Kerr’s club, there may have never been the opportunity to find out exactly what it had in Draymond Green.

6. Steve Kerr Sets Record for Most Wins by Rookie Head Coach

Steve Kerr broke Paul Westphal’s record of 62 wins as a rookie head coach as a result of a 123-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Westphal set the bar as the lead man for the Phoenix Suns during the 1992-93 season and, almost 25 years later, Kerr shattered his mark by notching 67 wins in his inaugural season on the sidelines.

“The ball was great,” Kerr told SI.com’s Adam Pincus. “The Gatorade … not so much. It was still pretty fun. A great scene in there. I wasn’t really thinking about the significance of the record. Those guys were. They presented me with the ball, and how lucky am I to coach these guys in my first year? Ridiculous.”

Hmm, probably almost as lucky as taking the job in Golden State over New York.

5. "Cool Story, Glenn"

Following a 106-98 win over—yet again—the Los Angeles Clippers, LA forward Dahntay Jones made the questionable decision to bump into Draymond Green as he was doing a postgame interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters.

Not only was the move disrespectful, it was also made on national television, significantly raising the magnitude of the situation. Green made it known he didn’t take too kindly to Jones’ actions, saying, via Micah Peters and Sam Amick of USA Today:

"

If [Dahntay Jones] gets suspended, they may not even notice. So I guess good bump-by, but I definitely expect to be reviewed by the NBA. You know, for him to look at me and look at me again, and bump me, when I’m doing a postgame interview, that’s really smart too, when it’s on ABC. And obviously the postgame interview is the highlight of that segment, and you bump somebody? He got some camera time, which he needed because there wasn’t much celebration from their bench today, so you didn’t see him much. So he got the camera time that he was looking for…He served his purpose in today’s game.

"

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers responded to Green’s comments a few days later, saying, per Jimmy Durkin of the San Jose Mercury News, “I guess that tough guy in Golden State, the bump was too hard for him, clearly, the way he reacted. My goodness. I thought that the guy was tough.”

Green later dismissed Rivers’ comments, focusing on his team’s success instead.

“Cool story, Glenn. Very cool story, Glenn. I’m done with that situation. We crossed 50 wins last night. In 62 games, that’s an incredible mark.”

Suffice it to say, these two teams definitely aren’t fans of one another.

4. Historic MVP Race

Whether he winds up taking home the league MVP trophy or not, Steph Curry has been brilliant all season long.

Averaging almost 24 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists while nearly putting together a 50/40/90 shooting slash line, Curry has more than just team success to hang his hat on.

Sure, he may have a lot more help than James Harden or Russell Westbrook do on their respective teams, but the Davidson product is the engine that keeps Golden State running. He sparks runs, sets up teammates in ideal scoring positions and he’s even started to make large strides on the defensive end of the floor.

Michael Lee of The Washington Post argues Curry’s case further:

"

Curry has become that one-of-a-kind player who is lethal in catch-and-shoot situations and shooting off the dribble. And yes, Curry can make defenders flail helplessly and stumble while trying to keep up with his nifty work with the basketball, but his closing statement was usually a net splash, not a celebration dance.

The game is changing. Curry has been at the forefront of that transformation—both in his individual performance as a play-making scorer and in making sure his team had considerable separation in a pack of new contenders. And for that reason, Curry deserves the game's top individual honor.

"

In the opinion of this scribe, Curry should absolutely be recognized as MVP of the 2014-15 season. But if he's not, he'll still be remembered as a key cog in what may end up being the tightest MVP race in NBA history.

3. Stephen Curry Dominates Clippers Defense

“That could be the greatest move I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Jeff Van Gundy, a man who’s been around the league for a long time and coached some top-tier talent in his own right, had that to say about Curry embarrassing the Los Angeles Clippers defense.

Not only did Curry seemingly keep the ball on a string as he made his way through a crowd consisting of Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Hawes, he finished the play with an incredibly tough off-balance step-back three-point jumper.

The original look of disgust on Steve Kerr’s face tells the whole story. A shot like that is something you throw toward the rim when there’s only two or three seconds left on the shot clock. However, Curry launched up this beauty about halfway through the 24-second countdown.

Whenever you can change your head coach’s mood from horrified to dumbfounded in about half a second, you know you’re doing something right.

Never change, Steph. Never change.

2. Stephen Curry Puts CP3 on Skates

Throughout the course of his career, whether with the then-New Orleans Hornets or Los Angeles Clippers, it’s hard to recall a time when an opposing player put Chris Paul on the floor with either a crossover or behind-the-back dribble move.

Stephen Curry changed that with a nasty double behind-the-back move along the baseline that sent Paul to the floor as he helplessly watched Curry drain a mid-range jumper to finish off the play.

The move set both the Internet and, more specifically, Twitter ablaze as Curry’s peers around the league reacted while fans created meme after meme of Paul reaching back trying to balance himself.

Making a point guard as great as Paul look that bad on national television is no small task. But that one move was probably just the icing on a cake chock full of Curry’s hypnotizing dribbling skills.

1. Klay Thompson's 37-Point Quarter

We’ll all remember January 23, 2015 as the night that Klay Thompson went absolutely bananas against the Sacramento Kings.

Finishing the night with a career-high 52 points and a whopping plus-minus of plus-38, Thompson spearheaded the Warriors’ 126-101 win by piling up 37 points on 13-of-13 shooting from the floor and 9-of-9 from long range in the third quarter alone.

The outburst broke a 37-year-old record set by George Gervin back in 1978. The Iceman dropped 33 in a single quarter against New Orleans on April 9 of that year and, despite Thompson besting him by four points, the San Antonio Spurs legend still believes he holds the record since he accomplished his feat without the benefit of the three-point line, per Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck:

"

"I don’t feel—and it’s funny, everybody laughs—I don’t feel he broke my record," Gervin told Bleacher Report in a phone interview. "I feel he set a new record. He set a new record for the new NBA."

He paused again to break into another contagious chuckle.

"Think about it, man,' Gervin said. "That’s like if we’re going to have a race, and you start on the 50-yard line and I start on the 1-yard line and we’re doing a 100-yard race. It’s not even."

He continued.

"I’m saying, like, wait a minute, y’all. Y’all are making it seem like what I did was just regular," he said, laughing again. "I ain’t mad at the kid doing what he did. But what I’m saying is, let’s let the fans know what really happened, and let them be the judge of it."

"

Regardless of what Gervin believes—or anyone else for that matter—there’s no denying that what Thompson did that night was special. In fact, labeling it as “special” still seems to be short-changing what went on at Oracle Arena that night.

It’s a record that seems like it will stand for another 30-plus years but, then again, Thompson threatened his own mark with a 26-point quarter in an April 13 matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.

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