1. Golden State Warriors
To be honest, this is the perfect team for every bandwagon NBA fan this season. The Warriors were not only the best team in the league this season, but they were also the most fun, by far. Even when the Dubs came to US Airways Center, chants of “MVP!” broke out as Stephen Curry put on a show. It was easy to be mad he was slicing and dicing the Suns. It was even easier to enjoy the show.
Aside from it being easy to cheer for such a fun team, the Warriors also have players and personnel with Suns ties. Steve Kerr, the head coach, used to be the Suns general manager (let’s pretend the whole Shaquille O’Neal trade never happened, yes?). Assistant coach Alvin Gentry was a well-liked head coach for the Suns after Mike D’Antoni. And Leandro Barbosa, well…let’s just say watching him put up a vintage Brazilian Blur performance in the playoffs was super enjoyable:
On the one hand, it’s a little bittersweet to cheer for the Dubs with so many former Suns, especially since Phoenix could’ve had its chance at Stephen Curry on draft night in 2007. The Suns had a deal in place with the Warriors to trade their 14th pick and a package centered around Amar’e Stoudemire for Golden State’s No. 7 pick.
But no one was expecting Curry to fall to No. 7 in that draft, and when he did, the Warriors busted up the deal to select Curry for themselves. Oh, what might have been.
That being said, you really can’t blame the Warriors too much for backing out on the deal. The Suns would’ve done the same, and since Phoenix is 3-0 all-time against the Warriors in playoff series, Golden State is probably the most appropriate bandwagon for all you bored Suns fans to hop on.
Next: T.J. Warren: 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades