The Warriors’ return to the NBA finals is a remarkable feat of regeneration

With their 120-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors clinched the Western Conference championship and booked a sixth NBA finals appearance in the last eight years. History will remember this season as a continuation of the Golden State dynasty, especially if they go on to claim their fourth NBA title in less than a decade.

But the Warriors have been through a lot in the 1,079 days since their last finals appearance.

Two-time finals MVP Kevin Durant left. Klay Thompson was sidelined for two and a half years with injuries. Hand surgery meant Steph Curry missed all but five games of the 2019-20 season, in which Golden State finished with the worst record in the NBA. They were only marginally better the season after, creeping into the inaugural postseason play-in tournament, where they were dumped out by a young Memphis Grizzlies team.

The story of the Warriors’ 2022 finals run has not been one of a simple continuation of previous success. It has been a remarkable feat of regeneration and rejuvenation.

Golden State began this season with the clear intent to end their two-year playoff drought. They posted a league-best 17-3 record through the first 20 games, powered by the MVP-level form of Curry. The eight-time All-Star, who turned 34 in March, was the NBA’s leading scorer through that stretch, averaging 28.6 points per game while shooting 42.3% from three-point range.

Not that this is a one-man team. The Warriors’ resurgence has been founded on typically stout defense. Steve Kerr has alternated schemes to keep opponents unsettled, as well as adopting an intuitive approach to pick-and-roll defense, utilising hedges and drops to force opponents into poor shots. Draymond Green was a