The Warriors' 2016-17 squad is one of the most talented and loaded rosters in NBA history. Some say that team, which featured Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, broke the league.
Over the years, hypothetical matchups between that team and other historically lethal lineups have been presented as a way to argue how good they really were.
But what about other teams in Warriors franchise history? Maybe on paper, the '16-17 team would be a no-brainer against anyone who ever wore a Golden State uniform. But according to Baron Davis, who played for the Warriors from 2005 to 2008 and was an integral part of the "We Believe" era, that team could give Curry, Thompson and Durant a run for their money.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"It's going to go seven games," Davis said to Dorell Wright about a playoff series between the two iconic Warriors teams.
"They got some firepower. We ain't gonna fold, though," he said. "The thing is, we're not going to try and punk them, you know what I mean? We're just going to play them hard. We're not going to bully them, but it's not gonna be like, y'all are about to blow us out. Everything is going to be mano-a-mano, a confrontation, and hold your man."
The "We Believe" team featured Davis, Al Harrington, Monta Ellis, Steven Jackson and Jason Richardson, and was a physical and scrappy team. Matchup-wise, they had far more size than the KD-era Warriors and because of that, Davis thinks they'd have a chance.
"I think we were more athletic, scrappier and we could actually match up with them," Davis said. "Like I said they had a great team defense. So we would have some issues figuring out where the mismatches were, but we were more pick-and-roll and iso-oriented. I like Al Harrington with Draymond Green one-on-one. I like myself posting up anybody on that team. We can post too. It would be interesting. It would be a hell of a series."
Golden State Warriors
Of course, the issue the "We Believe" team would face was the shooting the '16-17 Warriors featured. Slowing that or coming close to matching the volume of scoring Curry and Durant presented wouldn't be easy.
But to that, Davis has a simple response: "Stack ain't no punk ... You gotta think twice about putting 40 on a dude that will elbow you in your mouth because he's mad you're scoring 40."
RELATED: Baron has humorous response to Draymond's GOAT defender claim
The "We Believe" Warriors and the 2016-17 teams are two of the most iconic teams in franchise history, and as Davis pointed out, extremely different teams. One's a grit-and-grind team while the other had extreme finesse. One gave the Warriors and their fans new hope, while the other completed two championship runs. But both are the most iconic eras for the organization.
On paper, one might look better than the other. And because of that, Davis is done talking about hypotheticals. He wants to see it.
"Y'all want to do it? Set it up," Davis said. "Run it. Run it for a 10-day. If we win we get a 10-day. The whole squad. Run it."