Golden State Warriors

NBA three-peat: Do Warriors have what it takes to make NBA history?

USA TODAY

Steve Kerr knows from his time as a player with the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s how difficult it is to win multiple NBA titles in a row.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr arrived at training camp with a specific message.

“The idea is to really focus on how lucky we are to be here together in this era, this time and place,” he said. “We’re well aware it’s not going to last forever."

This is an important season for the Warriors.They are trying to make NBA history while capitalizing on what may be the last year this group of players is together. It is their last season at Oracle Arena in Oakland before moving to a $1 billion arena in San Francisco.

"So we have a lot to celebrate – three titles in the last four years, a chance to add another one in our final season at Oracle (Arena). A bunch of free agents next summer. A lot could change. We don’t know," Kerr said.

"Obviously, we want to keep this thing going, but at some point, you just have to enjoy the moment, enjoy the now because there’s going to be so much speculation of what’s ahead.”

Enjoy the now. Nothing lasts forever.

The now begins Tuesday night with their season opener against Oklahoma City. Another banner will be raised; championship rings passed out.

Kerr knows of what he speaks, having won three consecutive NBA titles as a player with Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls only to see the success disappear when Phil Jackson stepped aside and Jordan retired following the 1998 title.

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The Warriors are chasing their third consecutive championship, their fourth in five seasons. With Kerr coaching and Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson playing, they are a dynasty. Their place in history is set.

And Golden State can add to the rarest of resumes. Teams have won three consecutive titles just five times in NBA history, just two teams have won four titles in five seasons and only one franchise (Boston) has played in five consecutive NBA Finals.

Kerr understands how difficult it is to win a title. In LeBron James’ final season in Miami in 2013-14 and the Heat trying to win its third consecutive championship, Kerr talked to USA TODAY Sports about the physical, emotional and mental drain of winning title after title after title.

"It's hard enough to win one," Kerr said, of his time with the Bulls. "When you start stringing them together, it's incredibly difficult and historic. …

"Think about the accumulation of the wear and tear, emotionally and physically, and you're doing that year after year and you're playing two extra months of games that are the highest-intensity games possible. ... While that's going on, everybody is plotting to beat you. They're building their rosters around guarding you. They're scheming to find your weaknesses. Over the course of a few years, it just gets harder and harder."

Kerr said that while still a TV analyst for TNT, before he took the Warriors job. It’s even more enlightening today, considering what Kerr and the Warriors are trying to accomplish.

The Warriors have played the equivalent of another full season in playoff games since 2015, squeezing five regular seasons into four years. Green, Thompson and Durant all played in the 2016 Rio Olympics, too.

Houston forced Golden State to seven games in the Western Conference finals last season, and Boston is built for versatility. Having a healthy Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving make the Celtics a legitimate contender, and while Utah and Philadelphia might not be ready to win a title now, they are moving in that direction.

The NBA changes fast, too. James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were supposed to dominate for a long time, and they spent four seasons together with the Heat. James, Irving and Kevin Love were supposed be together a long time in Cleveland, and they played just three years together. James and Irving are no longer with the Cavaliers.

Who’s to say this isn’t the final season with Golden State’s core All-Stars? Thompson will be a free agent after this season, and the Lakers, his dad’s former team, will have interest in adding a premier shooter next to James.

“I think when guys go into free agency, they’re searching for a situation like mine or similar to our team,” Thompson said. “I’m perfectly content here. Just look around the walls at all the art and to see I was a part of this buildup is what keeps me motivated and keeps me wanting to be a Warrior for my whole career.”

But that can change. As much as something can look stable, it can also look fragile.

Durant is keeping his options open after signing a two-year deal with an option to become a free agent in the summer. The Knicks and Lakers will have interest. Cousins can be a free agent, too, and after signing a team-friendly contract coming off an Achilles injury, Cousins is looking for that next big payday.

Following the championship in June, the Warriors embarked on getting a little younger and more athletic. Zaza Pachulia, David West and Nick Young are gone, and Cousins and Jonas Jerebko signed with Golden State in the offseason. Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, Quinn Cook, Patrick McCaw and Jacob Evans provide youth and more athleticism.

The Warriors are loaded, and Curry could be even better this season.

“This is probably one of the best summers I’ve had, in terms of my prep work going into a year, so I’m excited about what that will mean on the court,” he said.

Opponents beware.

“I don’t think our guys should feel a ton of pressure,” Kerr said. “I think they should feel the importance of trying to do it again because this may be the last time we have this current iteration of the Warriors, just given all the free agents and the money crunch and everything else. So, we don’t know what’s going to happen. So why not just go all out and enjoy every step of the way?”

For a team that hasn’t always enjoyed every step the past four seasons, it will be fun watching Golden State make its run.

Follow Zillgitt on Twitter @jeffzillgitt

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