First in 40: The Story of the 2014-15 Warriors | Ep. 1 – Foundation

First in 40: The Story of the 2014-15 Warriors | Ep. 1 – Foundation

Warriors and Spurs, it’s game three of the 2013 Western Conference semifinals coming your way. Gets a steal and he’ll take the three. [Applause] [Music] Here’s Denoli for three. [Applause] And it’s San Antonio wins this series in six games and they’re on to the Western Conference Finals. So much respect between the two teams throughout this hard four exciting series. The Los Angeles Clippers have won game seven and they advance to the second round with tears of joy down the face of their first year coach John Brooks. [Applause] It’s taken 40 years, but once again, the Baze team is the best team. The Golden State Warriors have won the NBA title. 2014, coming off of our first playoff experience and, you know, trying to take that next step to be even more of a serious contender. and we were coming in, you know, with all the confidence in the world. Then we got to the playoffs and lost a tough sevengame series against the Clippers, who were the rivals at the time and a really good team. It was super frustrating because we went to seven game series with the Clippers and they pulled it out at the end. And if you know anything about that rivalry, you know, we we didn’t like each other in that series. That was a a really tough blow. Yeah, for a young team, I mean, getting to the playoffs was a was a first important step. Obviously, the the Warriors had had one kind of playoff run, the we believe year, which we heard about every other day when we were there um for the last 20 odd years, right? So, we wanted to experience that. And then I think it just takes being there consistently and giving yourself a chance. we were starting to become a place where players that didn’t play for the Warriors said those guys seem to be having fun out there like we want to come join that as well. This is where we want to be and and that’s what starts a franchise going from being a team that can make the playoffs to now being a contender and also being a team that can build a dynasty over a course of many years. Guys in the locker room just saying like everybody get better. Um this all season got to be big for everybody. So, um, everybody attacked the summer knowing that we ain’t like that feeling of losing to the Clippers in the game seven. The Los Angeles Clippers have won game seven and they advance to the second round with tears of joy down the face of their first year coach Doc Rivers. Well, I mean, we knew Steph was Steph before everyone else really gave him the proper respect. And so we knew he was going to have a big year. We knew how good of a shooter Clay was. We knew how great of an on ball defender Clay was. But I think we also knew how good Draymond was before the rest of the league paid their proper respects to him. you know, bringing in a drive class like this and looking at the pieces that we already have, you know, I love winning and you put some places like this in place and with the guys we already have here, I think we can start winning some games. Coming off a first round loss to the Clippers, uh we felt like at least organizationally that we had build Mark and his staff had built a really good defense and we liked the personnel similar makeup to the team that lost to the Spurs in the second round. So we were coming off that 1314 that loss to the Clippers in the first round and it was a tough series and the Clippers were very good. Mark Jackson there was a defensive intensity, a defensive effort that started a spark of something where hey they can guard a little bit and then you you end up going to the 40, you know, 47 wins and the 51 wins and and you’re on your way. So, I think that defensive mindset and just the belief Mark had a great leadership quality of just, hey, we belong here. We’re we’re going to compete. We’re going to be something. When we make shots, we don’t celebrate and high five. We sprint back, contain the basketball. Way we win this game is not giving up anything easy. A funny story I always tell is Mark Jackson took the job and became coach. And this is crazy to think about now, but one of the first speeches he gave to us is he said, “You know, I I came in from Los Angeles today and I landed in Oakland.” And when we landed in Oakland, there’s the gift shops in the airport and they had Oakland A’s gear, San Francisco Giants gear. You couldn’t even buy Golden State Warriors apparel in the gift shop. Oakland Raiders gear as well. You couldn’t even buy Golden State Warriors. They had like one hat and a t-shirt. And he goes, “You know, if we get this thing going, I’d love for Golden State Warriors gear to be everywhere. This guy injected belief in all of us. He told us, “This is the one of the most talented teams I’ve ever seen.” Now, we don’t have any context of what that means. What does that mean to be one of the best locker rooms you’ve ever seen? Cuz this is all we know. And we’re watching Steph Curry come into his own and he’s putting on a show. Curry takes his far side, turns, and shoots the three. It’s ridiculous. Well, if you look up the definition of ridiculous, that’s it. Look out. That guy is hot. Curry for three. Wow. Unbelievable. Everywhere we go, he’s doing something spectacular. And all these performances, you know, is also followed up by Klay Thompson where he carries us in some games. [Applause] Thompson for three. Good. Setting. What a nice way to set him up. play Thompson with a three. Curry, as hot as he is, getting his partner rolling. And so now they have this nickname, the Splash Brothers. Mark Jackson comes out and says, “This is the best shooting back court in the history of the NBA.” And we’re all like, “Wait, wait, what?” A lot of people rolled their eyes at that. They They didn’t They stopped doing that after a little bit. So, credit to Mark and his staff for changing the tone. Do me a favor. I heard all you playing for me. I heard that you deserve it. You deserve it. You deserve it. We all deserve this thing. I’m coaching for you cuz you deserve it. Let’s go get this thing. Let’s go get it. Kind of like how he said that about them. He said that about us as a team and we started to believe it. We had a goal and we said we wanted to win an NBA championship. He really got them together as a team and the toughness that he brought to the organization in terms of the mentality was very very important and that was a tough decision. That was a really difficult decision and a lot of people questioned that and that’s fair cuz Mark had done a really good job. We were a pretty downtrodden place and I think the thing he did for us was he gave the fans and the players most importantly belief and confidence. The Warriors were a quality defensive team. Marks last year I think they were fourth in defensive rating but they were 12th or something offensively and they they did not move the ball as much. There was a lot of dribbling um and they were bottom third in passes and things like that. We thought that offensively we could get a little bit better um structure-wise as far as strategically and then always we’re trying to refine the roster. There became a choice however 3 years into that when we become a winning team. We’d won 51 games I believe and we felt we had to make a move with Mark. We just felt it it had a change had to be made to go from good to great. [Music] We appreciate everything that Mark was able to do for this organization over the last three years. He put us in a better place than when he arrived and we uh we compliment him for that. This was a difficult decision, but we believe he’s got a bright future and we felt it was a time to make a change. The hilarious part about it was they got rid of Mark Jackson who had never coached before but took him to two playoff series and replaced him with a guy who’d never coached before. Steve Kerr was somebody who had I had identified we had identified I knew him for since the early 2000s and then when Mark ultimately the decision was made to move on from Mark. I went back to Steve Kerr, first guy I went to, and I said, “Steve, I really, really want you to do this.” And he had was already in discussions with other teams, and one in particular happened to be the New York Knicks. I know philosophically we have a uh a strong connection. Whether he’s able to uh take a job like this, I don’t know. I will get in a conversation with him later on this month and talk to him about it and uh see where he’s at as far as his uh desire to coach and uh come out this direction. [Music] I was really far down the line with the Knicks. I was um ready to accept the coaching job with the Knicks. And when the Warriors called and they they said, you know, are you interested? I said, yeah, I’m interested. I said, where are you? He said, “I’m in Oklahoma City.” He was broadcasting and they had a game the next day. That that was a big miss obviously, but you know, for Oklahoma City, it’s pretty simple, right? I mean, you’ve been going to Westbrook and Durant all game. I think Westbrook is the guy to go to, particularly after that slip. We were in Florida. This is late at night. I said, “Meet me in Oklahoma City the next day at noon. We will get there.” They flew to Oklahoma City where I was doing the Thunder Clippers playoff game and we met in an airplane hanger um at the Oklahoma City airport. I knew Steve was the guy, but other people didn’t. And you know, I wasn’t going to go hiring anybody that Bob and everyone else hadn’t met. He was he was fantastic in the interview. I mean, you could sense his preparation. You could sense his conviction. He’s a great communicator. And we were just kind of blown away. And in the car ride leaving the airport hanger, I remember talking to Joe. She looked at all of us and said, “What do you think? What do you think?” I was second to last and said to Joe, I said, “Look, he’s we got to get to Kerr.” And he kind of looked around. He said, “Let’s go get him.” We spent three and a half hours and Steve came prepared with you know a an incredible I think as I recall 60page document of notes how he would establish himself as the coach who how what offense he would run what defense how what assistant coaches and so on. When I decided I wanted to coach, I was with Jeff Van Gundy speaking at a conference, a sports conference, and I asked him, I said, “What should I do to prepare to become an NBA coach, and he said, “Just start writing down all your thoughts and keep a file.” And it was the best advice I got because for the next two years, I just started writing everything down. Every time I saw a good play on on a game I was broadcasting or watching, I would clip it, put it into a video file and then, you know, by the time I started interviewing, I I had put it into a PowerPoint presentation and something I can pre present to whoever’s interviewing me. I was so impressed with that. So was Bob Kirk was I think there uh and actually we made an offer that day and that’s how we wound up with Steve Kerr. It’s quite the story. This is a leaguewide surprise, coach. Honestly, everybody thought that Steve Kerr one way or the other was going to end up with the Knicks. The Warriors to me always made more sense. They’re a heck of a team and, you know, their roster is in good shape. He was part of a terrific organization the whole uh Jordan years where he was with a really inspired organization, well-driven, well-led. He understood what it looked like. He participated in that leadership and he understood how those players interfaced. We wanted that cultural hogy. We wanted that element in the organization. Reggie and Steve, it has been a great pleasure once again. I will not be saying that to Steve a year from now because this is the new head coach of the Golden State Warriors. [Music] [Music] I’m 48 and um I have a lot of experience and I’ve done a lot of exciting and interesting things in my life. Um but I think it’s important to continue as you go through your life uh to grow and to meet new challenges. And so, you know, all of a sudden, I’m I’m fish out of water again. This is a great day for the Warriors, a tremendous day for Steve, and something our whole organization is incredibly excited about. I’ve been preparing for this, and I’m well aware that I haven’t done it, and I’m going to have a lot to learn, and I’m planning on putting in the work uh to learn as much as I can and to put the people around me to help me be as good as I can. One thing we knew we needed to do was uh retool our bench. So the goal in the offseason was let’s get another ball handling guard preferably big. And we targeted Livingston as a guy that we really liked and wanted. Creeps forward around a guard screen. Spins right to the rim and a two-and jam. [Applause] We previously had wanted Shawn the year before that, but he signed quickly, I think, back in Brooklyn. And I remember the day we signed him, we I was down in LA, and I met with Shawn. He had agreed to the deal, and it was the only player I’ve ever interacted with, whether it be draft, trade, free agency, where the first thing he says was, I said, “You got any questions?” And Sean said, “Yeah, tell me how I can help this team win.” And I was kind of like, “Oh boy, we got the right guy.” Uh what does it feel like to be here on media day for the Golden State Warriors? We’re excited. Uh you know, media day and and preseason is always a lot of buzz. I mean, you know, it’s a lot of excitement building uh this year for the team. Uh you know, we have to manage expectations, but at the same time, you know, expect a lot out out of ourselves. And, you know, I’m I’m competing for a championship. That’s, you know, that’s what we’re here for. So, you know, I was a free agent. Was kind of, you know, going from team to team, bouncing around, and was just, you know, looking for a home. I got the call from the Warriors and I just knew at that that moment what the Warriors had accomplished, you know, going to the playoffs, building the buzz, just the opportunity to play competitive basketball, play in the playoffs. Um, that’s what I was looking for. We wanted some punch off the bench. Um, Leandro had been so good in Phoenix. He just brings this energy and he brings it on the court, he brings it off the court. Here comes Barbosa spearheading the fast break. He’s gone coach to coach and he puts it in. Barbosa taking matters into his own hands. Another difficult shot off the glass. I remember how exactly happened. I was in Spain in Granada that with the national team. It was the championship and I didn’t have a team and the tournament is start. I start doing well and so I had a two offers in the middle of the tournament and it was Miami and Golden State. With the Golden State, I knew Steve Car who was my GM when I was with the Phoenix Suns. Also, I knew Luke who he played against each other for many many years. Bogot and Egodala, we played many, many times against each other, not only NBA but also national teams. So I thought that you know the diversity that we had with the Warriors it was more important for myself and not only myself my career as well and so I decide to choose the Golden State right top play got right now I’m only back there. So no matter what the defense does, we should always have it count. But it’s up to all five of us to recognize what the defense is doing. The goal is not a finite number of wins. It’s not a a seed. It’s let’s let’s put together a strong team that can win, that can play on both sides of the ball, uh, which the Warriors have established, which is very exciting to me, but uh, can have a shot year after year, can be consistent. I think everybody on the management side is is on board with that vision of we’ve got a chance to be really good for the next decade. Let’s just take a swing every year, but let’s let’s be consistent with our efforts year in and year out, and we’ll have our chances. We were a team that was right on the brink of doing something special. And I think he understood based on what Steve’s experience, you know, the coaches he had played for and being a GM, being an analyst that he could tweak a couple things that could give us um, you know, a better chance to win. Steve and I got along really well just because we spoke the same basketball language down to mannerisms or the vocabulary or the way they see the game can be totally different from someone else. So it was all it’s like that catchup. I had first met Steve and we’re talking he’s, you know, saying all these things. He called me during the Western Conference Finals and he said, “Man, I’m really excited to be the team. You know, I I really see us, you know, being here next year.” And I said, you know, Steve, you’ve never coached and we just lost in the first round to the Clippers. I don’t know how we’re going to overcome that. And you know, a lot of that summer, you know, he was just talking about, look, you know, if you just like I wanted a high level. I’ve been around a lot of great individuals, players, and coaches. If you just kind of trust in what I’m teaching and what I’m saying that things will will come to light. And so, I think for him and I, that was kind of like the start of our relationship. But I think with the team, he was really getting guys to buy into what he was trying to do. Really, what is the best thing about being here at summer league and getting things going? uh just getting started, you know, actually being on the court with the guys, planning practices, um getting together with the staff every day and talking things through and working with the players. It’s all this is the job. He and Pete Carol at uh Seattle Seahawks were buddies and I think Pete’s way of doing things impressed Steve and implemented it here and that is a system of trying to be joyful. You know, he wanted people to have fun. Most of the guys playing on our team today played the sport because it was fun. Pete Carol called him up into his office and said, “You know, Steve, what are you going to how are you going to coach your team?” And he said, “Well, what do you mean like what am I going to run?” He said, “No, X’s and O’s. Anyone everyone knows X’s and O’s like what are your core values going to be? What are your basketball values going to be?” And so to finally actually get to do it um has been great and it’s been a really good sort of training ground for me too to get my feet wet before we start for real in the fall. Steve’s philosophy coming in wasn’t throw the baby out with bath water which was kind of strategic in his own way because he knew Mark Jackson had a pretty good relationship with some of the team so he didn’t want to destabilize that. Yeah. I think I had to win the players over a little bit. You know, Mark was a great coach for the team and and had really empowered the players and so I got the job under strange circumstances and uh I knew that the players really respected Mark and and as they should have, he did a hell of a job. Uh so my my whole focus was let’s honor what Mark and his staff had had already built and let’s build on that. Let’s grow from there. Well, very few guys have the pedigree to go from broadcaster to head coach in this league. Doc Rivers did it. Mark Jackson did it. Of course, I think for Steve for things to go well for him and what’s going to help him is he played for some great coaches. Papovic, uh, Bill Jackson to name two guys. And I think that’ll bolt well for him moving forward as head coach. Where Steve really got on us was looking after the ball. So, it wasn’t so much about about the way we shot the ball, the way we guarded. It was looking after the ball and moving the ball. Once you get the defense’s attention, they’re like, “Holy he’s got a guard.” Now he can go. And some of our guys were losing their minds. Like Draymond, like, “Why are we doing this? We’re pros.” I remember when Steve first came into training camp, he’s like, “Yo, we need to move the ball. Like pass the ball here. You catch it, you don’t hold it. You catch it, you swing it.” And we’re all looking at this offense like, “Yo, that’s not really how it works here.” Like I don’t quite understand in this offense how these guys are getting the shots cuz every time we catch the ball, you’re stop at practice like swing the ball. Steph starts dribbling, move the ball, Steph, stop. And I’m like, that’s just not quite how it works here. If you’re not open, pass it. It’s sounds pretty simple, but you know, players want to make plays and and you have to ingrain in them that if you move it on to the next guy and he has a better opportunity, then we’re going to get better shots as a group and that will make everyone’s job easier. I remember the question at one point. I think somebody had a question. They were like, “Well, you know, like Steph is our guy. That’s the guy that makes the shots.” I asked him one day. I’m like, “Coach, like you keep saying swinger, but like how is Stephan Clay going to get shots?” And he was like, “The ball will find the guys who’s supposed to get the shots.” The ball will always find the person who it’s meant to find. Offensively, you know, it’s going to be a process. Um, but we’ve got to eventually be an efficient team, uh, good passing team. And that’s what I want to start to see is uh good execution, less risk takingaking, and um just more sound play. Yeah, I think the the one thing Steve came in and was really high priority for him was using our bigs to pass the basketball. So, we had, you know, Bogat and David Lee uh and Draymond to some extent. We started to use them as playmakers. It was just a full-on commitment to everybody starring in their role. We had a a system that was built around obviously me and Clay and our shooting ability, Draymond’s playmaking ability, and then you have so many high IQ, just tough guys around us that brought the best out of us and we brought the best out of them. So, I looked at the job and I thought, this is this is a hell of a team. Um, they’re ready to take another step. We look forward to an incredible season this year. We’re going to give you a lot of energy. We look forward to seeing you 41 times this year, plus the playoffs. Continue to get crunk for us. We thank you all for coming out. God bless. Good night. [Music]

In 2015, after a 40-year title drought, the Bay’s team became the best team.

Episode 1 of First in 40: The Story of the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors looks at how past tribulations and new faces propelled Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and the entire Warriors’ franchise to success.

Episode 2 drops August 14 at 2 p.m. PT.