Wall Street Journal's Golden State Warriors Scoop Is Big, If True

The Golden State Warriors have a dynasty and that dynasty feels as though it will continue. They dominated the Portland Trail Blazers to advance to a fifth consecutive NBA Finals. They did this without Kevin Durant, opening the door for all kinds of debate as to which player is most instrumental to the team’s success.

The Wall Street Journal has waded into the waters this morning with a very accurate but somewhat obvious take.

The article is essentially a primer for anyone who hasn’t been following the sport for years.

"There has never been an NBA team that has won more games over a five-year stretch. The Warriors have been in 99 playoff games over the last five years. They have won 75% of them. That is a staggering degree of dominance. The Celtics and Lakers of the 1980s are the only teams to win 75% of their games over five regular seasons, according to Stats LLC, and there have only been 37 teams in the history of the league with a higher winning percentage in any regular season than their playoff winning percentage. So how did the Golden State Warriors do it? It’s because of the five players who have been essential to this magical run. The Warriors would not be a dynasty without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant. Every one of them was necessary to sustain a level of success that’s unprecedented in the modern NBA."

Here’s the thing about that, though. This is the exact type of content readers picking up the WSJ’s sports section can expect. The newspaper does interesting features but doesn’t exactly cater to either the hot-take or zealous fanatics looking for in-depth coverage. Listing and briefly explaining the five best Warriors players while taking the stance that they’ve all played major roles in the success is mostly harmless.

The main thesis, though buried, is that Durant is part of a machine and every cog has been needed to attain such great heights. On a base level, it’s tough to argue with that.

But, in 2019, when you’re producing content that feels like it was written by Magic Johnson, there will be some lumps. This tweet was an absolute layup to be dunked on. And the dunks are coming fast and furious.

I personally wouldn’t mind if the WSJ tried to replicate this piece in the future. Who wouldn’t enjoy an argument listing all 53 active players on the New England Patriots when they inevitably win their next Super Bowl? Who amongst us wouldn’t click on the batting lineup of the next World Series champion with text pointing out anything less would have resulted in an automatic out?

The golden age of content is here. Take a moment to enjoy it.