Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Clippers

Lore & Background

While the Warriors and Clippers have had notable competitive moments in the NBA playoffs, these events are peripheral to the Brooklyn Nets' historical canon. The Nets' most memorable chapters involve their journey from the New Jersey Americans (1967) to the New York Nets (1968), joining the NBA in 1976, moving to New Jersey for the 1977-78 season, and eventually settling in their current era at Barclays Center. Their deep-seated competition extends beyond just the Atlantic Division, including significant historical clashes with the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.

In Their Own Story

The lights of the Barclays Center dimmed as the crowd chanted for a familiar Eastern Conference opponent, not a team from the West Coast. In this arena, legends were made against Knicks and Celtics, where every rebound and steal echoed the franchise's true history. The ghosts of Julius Erving and Jason Kidd watched over a game that belonged to New York, far removed from the Pacific coast battles of Golden State and Los Angeles.

Reader's Guide

The Brooklyn Nets' rivalry landscape is rooted in the Eastern Conference, specifically within the Atlantic Division. Their most fierce historical contests have been against the New York Knicks, driven by geographic proximity and a shared fan base dynamic that creates intense on-court friction. Other significant rivalries include the Boston Celtics, stemming from decades of playoff battles and contrasting team cultures, as well as the Philadelphia 76ers, who share a similar history of rising and falling alongside the Nets in the division. These matchups have defined the Nets' identity more than any Western Conference interaction could. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are prominent Western teams, but their conflicts do not intersect with the Nets' core historical narrative. The Nets' story is one of Eastern resilience, local bragging rights, and the unique pressures of playing in New York City.

Did You Know?

• The franchise originated as the New Jersey Americans in 1967 before becoming the New York Nets in 1968, joining the NBA in 1976, and relocating to New Jersey for the 1977-78 season.
• Julius Erving's tenure with the Nets established the foundation for their identity during their ABA years.
• The Nets' historical rivalries were not exclusively within the Atlantic Division; they included significant competition with the Indiana Pacers (Central) and Miami Heat (Southeast).

Historic Three-Point Dominance

The 2018–19 campaign solidified Golden State's reputation as the premier shooting franchise in NBA history, driven by unprecedented individual and team milestones. Klay Thompson shattered the single-game record for three-pointers made with 14 against the Chicago Bulls, surpassing his teammate Stephen Curry's previous mark of 13 set a year earlier. Thompson also achieved perfection from deep in a January matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, hitting all ten attempts without missing. His dominance extended to consecutive games, where he made at least five threes in his first seven contests of the season and maintained a streak of making a three-pointer in every playoff game played. The team collectively showcased this firepower by recording 17 three-pointers in a single half and combining for 43 total makes against New Orleans, capping a regular season where they secured the Pacific Division title with a league-best Western Conference record.

A Season Defined by Injury

Despite entering the year as back-to-back champions aiming for a historic third consecutive title, the Warriors' playoff run was catastrophically derailed by an unprecedented wave of injuries to their core stars. The postseason saw DeMarcus Cousins suffer a quadriceps tear in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers, while Stephen Curry played through a dislocated finger during the semi-finals. The situation deteriorated further when Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Finals and Klay Thompson tore his ACL in the same series. Additional setbacks included calf strains for Andre Iguodala and Durant, plus a fractured collarbone for Kevon Looney. These combined injuries resulted in 26 missed games by key personnel, yet the team still managed to defeat the Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers en route to the Finals. Ultimately, the depleted roster could not overcome the Toronto Raptors, ending their five-year streak of consecutive championship appearances.

Unprecedented All-Star Congregation

The roster entering this season represented a rare convergence of elite talent, marking only the sixth time in NBA history that a single team fielded five players named to the previous year's All-Star Game. This group included Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and DeMarcus Cousins, surpassing even the Boston Celtics' 1976 squad as the first since then to achieve this feat. The individual accolades were equally staggering: Durant was named the All-Star Game MVP, while both he and Curry earned spots on the All-NBA Team. Defensively, Draymond Green secured his fifth consecutive selection to the All-Defensive Team, tying Nate Thurmond for the franchise record. This depth allowed them to maintain a 50-win streak for six straight years, a new franchise high, even as they navigated a difficult four-game losing streak in November—the first such occurrence under head coach Steve Kerr since the 2012–13 season.

Franchise Milestones and Transition

This season served as a pivotal chapter in Golden State's history, marking their final year at Oracle Arena before relocating to the Chase Center in San Francisco. Their postseason resilience included a franchise-record 23 consecutive series with at least one road victory, surpassing the Miami Heat's prior mark. However, the season concluded with significant roster turnover; following the Finals loss, Kevin Durant departed for Brooklyn, DeMarcus Cousins signed with the Lakers, and Andre Iguodala was traded to Memphis. Despite these departures, the team cemented their legacy by becoming only the second franchise in NBA history, after the 1950s Celtics, to reach five consecutive NBA Finals.