Sustaining a dynasty in professional sports is incredibly rare. Championship teams have giant targets on their back and get the best out of every opponent every single night, as everyone wants to top the proverbial kings of the sport.
In ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” we’ve seen how difficult staying at the top of the NBA was for the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. Warriors general manager Bob Myers also understands the pressure and accumulated tension that comes with being the class of the league.
"The second time with Kevin [Durant] it felt like, 'Well, we just did what we were supposed to do, and great job,'" Myers told ESPN’s Nick Friedell of winning the championship in 2018. "It wasn't joy.”
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"I'm sure a lot of people felt differently. It wasn't anybody's fault. I think there's just a weight to everything. And so I'm sure [the Bulls] felt that weight of everything, weight of relationships."
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Those who saw all three of the Warriors’ championship runs could clearly see the difference between the unchecked jubilation of that 2015 NBA Finals-winning team and the 2018 squad that ran roughshod through the playoffs and swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games. Obviously there’s no feeling like capturing your first title, but the weight of sky-high expectations and unrelenting vitriol from the rest of the league took a toll on that roster.
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"Winning and doing it all together is really hard," Myers said. "And maintaining relationships is hard. ... There's a lot more ways for it to come apart than keep it together."
Myers and the Warriors will try to recapture that dynastic magic in 2020-21 as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are both expected to return to the lineup after the pair missed all but five games this season.