They’re as bad as they want to be
SAN FRANCISCO — Are the Golden State Warriors villains?
Yes. Finally. As the Warriors embark on their quest for their fourth title in five years, which would include a third consecutive NBA championship, they hold that distinction.
But they had to grow into it.
The villain narrative has been out there for years, yet it used to seem like an odd fit. If you Google “Warriors Villains,” you will see stories from June 2016, when the Warriors were fighting the Cleveland Cavaliers for what would have been their second consecutive title. The word surface around the time Darymond Green, Golden State’s flamboyant forward, got suspended for his swipe at Cleveland superstar LeBron James. It earned Green earned a flagrant foul and worsened his reputation. Fans outside the Bay Area were outraged.
Sure, Green at times could play the villain, but the whole team? At that time, the only other badbehavior critics could point to was the time Warriors superstar Stephen Curry chucked his mouth guard at the crowd after a bad call. And let’s not forget the time team owner Joe Lacob claimed his team was “light years” ahead of the rest of the league. Tempers flare, owners are arrogant. It was all pretty tame stuff to be labeled the Voldemorts of the NBA. These weren’t the Detroit Bad Boys or the ’94 Knicks or the Portland Jail Blazers — all prominent teams in the pantheon of basketball bad behavior.
For Golden State, it was a slow simmer. In the summer 2016, the Warriors signed Kevin Durant, and the villain angle gained momentum.
“We live in this superhero comic-book world where you’re either villain or a superhero,” Durant said at his introductory news conference.
The problem was, Durant was a likable player. He broke down in tears and called his mom Wanda “the real MVP” in his 2014 award ceremony. Definitely not villain behavior.
And Curry has long been the league’s most likable player, the favorite of every kindergartener and grandma. The Golden State team was fun to watch, fun to appreciate, the players and staff did amazing charity work, community outreach, and they were thoughtful and interesting. Unless you were a Cavs or Thunder fan, what was there really to hate?
An ongoing process
Welcome to the 2018-19 Warriors, who finally have figured out how to live up to their villain reputation.
First, the team signed DeMarcus Cousins. For $5.3 million. Not only did this seem like absurd, over-the-top roster-stuffing, which angered the rest of the league, it also added another “villain” to the mix. Although Cousins definitely has an off-court low-key side, he still has to carry around the “Boogie” reputation that was honed in Sacramento. He has been described as a problem child, selfish, volatile. He never has met a call he agreed with, and his arms outstretched in complaint over officiating have become a part of the Warriors’ new look.
Then, Golden State started self-imploding. Green and Durant bickering with each other back in November, with the Warriors suspending Green after he called Durant a “bitch,” Durant’s pending free agency created a dark cloud over the team. “See,” said the villain enthusiasts, “all that chemistry stuff was just a lie.”
In December, a sports analytics site showed that, in a state-by-state survey, the Warriors were the most hated team in the NBA. The weekend he debuted with the team, Cousins said, “we’re the most hated team in sports.”
The dark cloud got gloomier in early February. Golden State is an unusually media-friendly team, cooperative and accessible even after years in the spotlight, despite a daily swarm of media. So, when Durant stopped talking to the media for nine consecutive days, a boycott that corresponded with speculation he might sign with the New York Knicks next season, it was weird. Then when he finally talked, he yelled at reporters to “Grow up!” Nothing helps the villain narrative more than getting the media involved.
Then there’s the whining
And then there is the constant, non-stop whining about officiating from the Warriors. Not just from Durant and Green, who tied for the second-most technical fouls in the league with 15, but also from Steve Kerr and Curry. who, after making a 3pointer at the controversial end of a recent game against Minnesota, pointed in an official’s face. Green, Curry and Durant were all fined after that game for their remarks ripping the officials.
Even Klay Thompson, the least villainous player you could meet, created a controversy for mildly criticizing the fans at Oracle Arena for not being loud enough. Of course, he apologized right away, but it was yet another tally in the villain column.
So, finally, after a threeyear buildup, the Warriors are fulfilling the destiny that was set for them long ago. Curry even started adding a hashtag — #RuinTheGame — to his signature.
From adorable upstarts in 2015 to Superteam in 2017 to, at long last, NBA villains in 2019.
Let’s see how the black cloak fits during this year’s playoffs.