Steph Curry Makes Bold NBA Prediction on Warriors Dynasty

In the wake of the departure of Klay Thompson to the mavericks this offseason, Warriors star Steph Curry had the opportunity to kick back and reflect on just how much the team had accomplished since he arrived in 2009, with Thompson coming to the Bay Area two years later.

The Warriors held their core—along with Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr—together for 13 years and, in that time, they revolutionized the game and won four championships, setting the league’s record for wins in a season with 73 and appearing in six NBA Finals altogether.

While folks in Boston, where the Celtics demolished the league this season en route to a convincing championship run, might take issue, Curry made a bold NBA prediction: We won’t see the likes of the Warriors again in the league.

“I don’t think [it will be replicated] just because it’s very hard to keep things together in this league,” Curry said from Team USA Olympic training, via ESPN. “A lot more player movement. Me, Klay and Draymond, we complemented each other so well for so long. We all brought something different to the table, so we’ll see. Records are meant to be broken. Dynasties come all different shapes and sizes, so we’ll see.”

Warriors Dynasty Boosted by Tough New Salary Rules

Curry makes a valid point about the inability to keep things together in the NBA these days, a notion that just got harder as the new collective-bargaining agreement comes into effect, with its first and second “aprons” heavily punishing teams that overspend by preventing them from signing new players, making trades and even using draft picks.

The new CBA’s restrictions are one reason the Warriors were reluctant to commit to Thompson beyond two years. It will force teams to be much wiser with their spending and even teams who draft well and make good trades—that’s how the Warriors built their dynasty team—will find it difficult to keep their groups together.

The NBA wants parity, wants players to move to lesser teams, and the new CBA will force that at a level never seen before.

Still, the Celtics were wise to put their group together last year, just before the most draconian aspects of the new CBA came into place. That should allow Boston to keep its current core together, at least for at least the next two seasons, before Kristaps Porzingis becomes a free agent. The other Celtics starters are signed for at least three seasons.

Steph Curry: It ‘Sucks’ Losing Klay Thompson

But there’s no telling how things will shake out with the Celtics. Injuries and chemistry issues could crop up—they derailed what might have been a longer period of Warriors dominance—or, maybe, the Celtics could get lucky in the draft and find a star player who makes them even better.

For now, Curry is licking his wounds over Thompson’s departure. Thirteen years playing alongside someone is a long time in any sport, and in any era. Not just now.

“Man, we talked about it a lot, the journey we’ve been on,” Curry said. “We would have loved to maintain the core and finish out together. But we obviously understand that things change. Having Klay head on to Dallas, it’s tough. It’s something I never imagined in reality. But I want him to be happy, I want him to enjoy the game of basketball. It does suck not having Klay, there’s no two ways around it. But we have to be able to celebrate what we accomplished, and then we’ve got to move on.”