At long last, the season is over

It’s been more than 200 days since the Golden State Warriors last played a basketball game, a listless defeat to the then-championship favorites, the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s been many months since 22 teams convened at the Disney Resort in Florida, to conclude the 2019-20 NBA season, and thus officially end the Warriors season.

And when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned as champions on Sunday, it had been almost an entire year since the season got underway.

Now it’s over. Former Warriors JaVale McGee and Quinn Cook have added to their ring collections. James has once again staked his claim as the top player in the world. Giannis Antetokounmpo had yet another disappointing playoff exit that will only stoke the flames of rumors that he wants to bolt for royal blue and golden yellow greener pastures.

And we can finally turn our attention fully towards the 2020-21 season, even if it will likely just be the 2021 season.

The Warriors are officially no longer the defending Western Conference champions. They’re no longer riding a five-year streak of making the NBA Finals, or a seven-year streak of making the playoffs.

They’ve been in offseason mode for a while, with Bob Myers, Steve Kerr, and the entire front office months deep into scouting the draft, and researching potential free agents and trade targets. And now the rest of the league — and we, the fans — join them in offseason mode.

It’s a season we won’t ever forget, even if it will go down as one of the Warriors worst, by record. But it’s also an encouraging season, as it leaves the Warriors primed to welcome back a superstar in Steph Curry, a star in Klay Thompson, and the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft. That, plus a full season of Andrew Wiggins and a presumably motivated and healthy Draymond Green, means the Dubs have as good a chance as any team at knocking off the Lakers next year.

It feels weird to call it a meaningful week, seven months after the Warriors season ended. But it does feel that way. The bizarre and historical NBA season is over.

And now it’s time for a new one.