Warriors 2016-17 Gold-blooded Moment of the Year

Greetings Brethren and Sistren of the Golden Empire. Today, we here at GSoM are delighted to invite your participation in our first annual “Gold-blooded Moment of the Year” ceremony.

Gold-blooded definition: The pitiless, sadistic execution of basketball excellence displayed by a Golden State Warrior.

The Golden State Warriors are the cataclysmic basketball force and budding dynasty built on the wonderful axiom “Strength in Numbers.” Faith, selflessness, and sacrifice are the foundational precepts for the world champions’ unparalleled teamwork.

Occasionally though, the time begs for an individual Warrior to rise as a hero, to carry the load for his brothers. He must block out the noise, dig deep within himself, and unleash pure hoops fury. These moments of individual detonations are what keeps Gregg Popovich in prayer, cause LeBron James to stress out, and make the Dubs the #1 League Pass team. These moments are truly Gold Blooded.

With the new season rapidly approaching for the champs, it is only right that we take some time to honor and reflect on a few of last year’s historic, preposterous, individual performances. GSoM has curated the most Gold Blooded performances for your reading pleasure.

After you have reflected on the outrageous displays of excellence, help us to name a winner with your vote.

Thank you, and please enjoy.

Steph Curry breaks NBA’s single-game record for made three-pointers vs. Pelicans

After failing to keep alive his streak of most consecutive games with a made three in the previous contest, Steph Curry hits his next game with a historic level of vengeance.

Nov 7, 2016

Listen, by name’s definition, the most Gold Blooded moment has to belong to the franchise’s golden boy himself Wardell Stephen Curry. It may have not been the team’s most pivotal moment of the season, nor was it the best shooting spectacle of the year. But if this is truly considered The Splash Era for the Golden State Warriors, then the coronation of Curry as the one and only Splash God has to go down as this era’s penultimate moment.

Remember all the times Curry has been on pace to break that damn record only to have the coaching staff make him literally rest on his laurels due to demolishing opponents in less than three quarters?

Recall all the times he’s danced upon the cusp of earning that feat, only to pass up shooting opportunities down the stretch in order to get a better shot for a teammate?

Selfless, team-focused basketball has robbed us of this moment for years!

But in all seriousness, considering he failed to make a 3-pointer the previous game — and in doing so broke his record streak of 157 games — for him to comeback the very next game and etch his name into the record books like it was nothing goes to show how much of a killer truly lies beneath that beguiling baby-face of his.

Thirteen out of seventeen 3-pointers to end that legendary night and to essentially clip the Pelicans’ wings and become a recurring nightmare for poor Alvin Gentry once more.

The bottom line is, Curry is synonymous with the golden era the franchise is currently experiencing. And as such, the Golden Moment truly belongs to the game that saw his name finally placed next to the record that embodies the excitement and shooting prowess that he — and by extension this team — has become gloriously notorious for.

Presented by JMak.

Klay Thompson has 60 Points in 29 minutes vs. Pacers (for stealing Splash name)

Klay Thompson stares down “Splash Brothers East” and shows them what true Splash really is

Dec 5th, 2016

Klay Thompson’s 60 points in 29 minutes is hands down the Golden Moment of the year. Let’s set the scene. It was a cold December night in Oakland, December 5th to be precise. It was a Monday night, and you know, Monday’s can be brutal for all of us. The Indiana Pacers and former franchise player Paul George were in town. The Warriors came into the game with a studly 17-3 record.

Thompson entered the arena with one goal in mind: to roast the hell out of Monta Ellis. You could see it in his eyes; he wanted to end Monta Ellis’ career. Much has been documented about the odd couple that Monta Ellis and Steph Curry were as backcourt mates in Curry’s early years. When Ellis was a Warrior, it was his team. He wanted the be the franchise player and he believed Curry should have been traded. Fast forward many years later to December 5, 2017. It was time to prove that Ellis was a thing of the past, an old forgotten soul, washed away in Warriors past.

From the opening few minutes, it was clearly evident that Thompson had something going. Every year Thompson treats us to a spectacle unlike anything we have seen before. We say 37 in the unforgettable 3rd quarter, and 11-3pts in his legendary Game 6 performance in the 2016 WCF. He reminds us that on any given night he can be the best player on the court even amongst titans like Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant. Tonight was that night.

Thompson was hitting turnaround three’s and reverse layups on Ellis. Curry could see that pep in his step so he kept feeding Thompson, and Thompson kept making buckets. Thompson had 10, then 20, and then 30 and as soon as you could blink he was at 40 by halftime. Curry was running back and forth up the sideline like a madman. The team was going bananas; they became fans in their own respect. They could not believe what was unfolding in front of their eyes. Thompson could not miss.

Fans were holding their hands over their head in disbelief looking at each other asking whether this was real or whether they were in a video game. In the third quarter, the Thompson onslaught continued as he slung bucket after bucket off his mighty golden finger tips. The game was already well out of hand as the Warriors were up by 30 at the midway point. It could have been 100 to 10 and Thompson would have continued to put up buckets. That’s just how Thompson operates.

As the 3’s started to rain in during the third quarter, the crowd’s cheer roared louder with every rip of the net. It is dazzling performances like these that make it an incredible time to be a Warriors fan. The team was up by 30+ and Thompson was insistent on torching the hell out of Monta Ellis while he questioned his existence and considered retirement multiple times during the game.

60 points! Thompson puts up 60 in just 29 minutes of action. Steve Kerr pulls Thompson from the game after the third quarter. Thompson was on pace to pass Kobe Bryant’s record of 81 points and record the second highest output in NBA history and in franchise history! That’s right. Wilt Chamberlain put up 100 while with the Philadelphia Warriors.

Thompson happened to only have the ball in his hand for merely 90 seconds and took just 11 dribbles on 21 made baskets. He recorded the most points ever scored for a player that was on court for less than 30 minutes. Had Thompson played all 48 minutes, he was on pace to put up 99 points! Every year for one night Thompson will do the kind of stuff on court that Steph Curry couldn’t even imagine doing. This was the Golden Moment of the year because it was a record setting night unlike anything else.

Presented by Greg Thomas

Kevin Durant rips Cleveland’s heart out of its chest

KD goes off for 31 pts, 8 rebs, and 4 assists. Also daggers Lebron straight to hell to complete Warriors road Finals comeback.

June 7, 2017

Kevin Durant’s game winner in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland is the most Gold Blooded Moment of the year. Durant, in the signature moment of his first season with the Warriors, swiftly dispatched the Cavs with a vintage Durant silky smooth pull up three pointer to win the game for the Dubs.

There was a ton of pressure on the Warriors heading into that Game 3. Yeah, the Warriors had taken the first two games from the Cavaliers quite convincingly in Oracle, but they did that last year as well and we all remember what happened in that series (sadly). We all tried to find the ways that this year’s 2-0 lead was different from last year’s but we inevitably braced for LeBron James to lead his team to victory in Game 3 and really increase the stress felt by Curry, Durant, Thompson, and Green.

This game was the most exciting of the 2017 Finals. The first half was largely controlled by the Warriors, who lead by six at halftime. That said, while the Warriors never let Cleveland get the lead in the first half, they didn’t put them away either. This left the door open for a Cavs offensive explosion in the third quarter, with Kyrie Irving scoring a quarter-high 16 points to give the Cavs a five point lead heading into the fourth.

Durant, who had been having a great first half, only scored one point in the third quarter. But Durant took over the game in the fourth, scoring a quarter-high 14 points with seven coming in the final minute-plus of the game. Down by two with less than a minute to go, Durant grabbed the rebound off of a Kyle Korver three-pointer. Durant dribbled down, pulled up from 26 feet and drilled a three pointer as James struggled to get a hand in Durant’s face. Swish. Warriors take a 114-113 lead that they would extend to 118-113 by the time the final buzzer sounded.

This was the moment. This was his moment. Though Durant had been outstanding in both the regular season and the playoffs, this was the moment he was brought here for. Durant provided the coup de grâce, the swift retribution that the Warriors and their fans had been waiting all season to exact upon Cleveland. Though the Cavs would steal Game 4 and push the series to five games and back to Oakland, Durant’s cold blooded and Gold Blooded shot essentially put an end to the 2017 NBA Finals.

Presented by Thomas Bevilacqua

Draymond Green first player in NBA history to achieve triple-Dub without 10 points vs. Grizzlies

After losing two games to Memphis to start the season (including the blown 24 point in the Durant Meltdown game), Green out Grits-N-Grinds Memphis.

Feb 11, 2017

To truly understand why Draymond Green’s Triple Double was the most Gold Blooded moment of last season, we must understand the true context behind it. Who it came against and what it represented adds so much zest to this remarkable statistical triumph. Shall we take a look at what fueled the Defensive Player of the Year’s electric performance?

Ah yes. The Memphis Grizzlies. The meanest, biggest, craftiest bullies in the NBA today. The guardians of Grit-N-Grind. Their combination of size, power, and hustle provides the archetypical answer to the small ball puzzle currently engulfing the NBA. They, as Charles Barkley would say, “Bully midgets in the paint.” Did you know they won nine STRAIGHT against Mark Jackson’s version of the Splash Bros? This was the height of the “Warriors are soft” narrative. When Coach Steve Kerr took the helm, he added a free-flowing, pass and cut system that emphasized the Warriors’ shooting and quickness strengths. This formula led to the Dubs eventually eliminating the Grizz out of the playoffs in a difficult war during the first Splash Bros title run.

The next year, the 73 win Warriors had a comfortable handle on how to handle those ornery bears, sweeping the season series (including a 50 point deep sea drowning).

When Kevin Durant joined the team, the team’s delicate balance had to be fine tuned. The Grizzlies took advantage of the Dubs feeling out process with a 110-89 beatdown in their first meeting of 2016-2017. The second meeting, the angry Warriors went up 24 against their old rival. Stunningly, a second half meltdown led to the Grizzles stealing a game in Oracle 128-119 in overtime, with the enduring image being Draymond Geen aggressively scolding Durant for bogging up the offense late.

Social media had a field day. Green was front and center of the “Trouble In Paradise” storyline. Questions erupted about the team’s pecking order, Green’s volatile personality, and whether the Grizzlies were for real. In true Gold Blooded fashion, Green answered all of those questions the next time the Warriors went Memphis.

In Memphis, the Grizzlies were obliterated by a raging Dubs squad, 122-107. Green proved his true leadership by notching the most unique Triple Double in NBA history. His final line of four points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, and five assists was the first recorded Triple Double with less than 10 points. He was also the first player since 1973 to have a game with 10 steals and five blocks.

Green proved to his teammates that you don’t need to score to have your fingerprints etched into a game. "I’ve got to bring it on the defensive end," Green explained postgame. "A lot of guys on this team can score. We don’t need me to score." I.e. “Durant don’t hijack the offense because we won a ring without you already breh” (j/k lol).

All of those sexy numbers were the direct result of unbridled effort and sacrifice. To have the most dominant defensive game of his life against the biggest bullies in basketball showed why Green’s voice commands the Dubs locker room: HIS BLOOD IS PURE GOOLLLDDD!

Presented by Daniel Hardee

Kevin Durant gets last laugh over cupcake jokes, Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook talked trash after a Zaza Pachulia foul, gets smashed at home by Durant

February 11th, 2017

Perhaps one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen a sports fanbase do is troll a player by wearing a bunch of cupcake shirts to a game to taunt a player whose nickname is the Slim Reaper -- why on earth you’d ever want to toy with death is beyond me. Yet the hype leading up to that game, simmering ever since Kevin Durant made his decision to come to Golden State, was so over the top that the Warriors’ response as a team was memorable.

After the Warriors beatdown the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oakland on January 18, Russell Westbrook responded to a question about his flop ...er… a flagrant foul on Zaza Pachulia by saying, “I’ll get his ass back.”

So, of course, between that comment and that whole cupcake nonsense, some people assumed Russell Westbrook would come up big when the two teams met in Oklahoma City on February 11.

Alas, it was Kevin Durant who got the last laugh.

The fans booed Durant from the start, Westbrook played hard, and role players tried to make themselves useful by trying to be hard on the court, but in the end Durant dropped 34 points and had nine rebounds in a 130-114 win.

Westbrook had a “triple-double” while maybe trying a bit too hard to prove his point: 47 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 turnovers.

Actually, I don’t remember a whole lot about that game. Not because I didn’t watch, but because I did watch and the Warriors beat the Thunder down so badly that I eventually just muted it and went on about my life. The only time I did unmute it was when Andre Roberson decided to double down on the foolishness of that spectacle and try to mix it up with Durant.

Yet what stood out as most memorable was the Warriors’ response after the game. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green mocked the stupidity of the cupcake thing by embracing it in full, wearing cupcake shirts to their post-game interviews with reporters.

OKC fans tried to keep that thing going on social media throughout the season, but it was about as hard to maintain as “3-1” is for Cleveland Cavaliers fans now. Speaking of which, Durant was rocking an awesome hat after the Warriors won the 2017 NBA Finals.

Meanwhile, that Jan 18 game was the closest of any of the three between OKC and Golden State this past season. So I guess we should just wait to see if Westbrook gets his revenge this season? Individual of course, because it’s hard to imagine it being a team effort down there.

In short, this is not a team you want to mess with. Mocking them only seems to give them motivation and do you really want to give a team that has made three straight Finals extra motivation?

I dunno...I mean, those are just not life choices I’d make.

Presented by Nate P.