Whether this year’s NBA season eventually resumes or is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Golden State Warriors’ run of dominance has undoubtedly come to an end. Following five straight trips to the NBA Finals, the reigning Western Conference champions will see their historic streak end.

Before the 2019-2020 season was suspended indefinitely, the Warriors had the league’s worst record. Klay Thompson hasn’t played since June because of a torn ACL. A broken hand limited Stephen Curry to five games. Draymond Green missed 22 games and wasn’t the same All-Star caliber player he had been in past years.

Golden State’s air of invincibility truly disappeared in last year’s playoffs. Kevin Durant suffered a calf strain in the second round, leaving the Warriors vulnerable. Durant returned in Game 5 of the NBA Finals with the team on the brink of elimination, and he suffered a torn Achilles early in the second quarter.

The Toronto Raptors beat Golden State in Game 6 to win the title, ending the Warriors’ bid for a three-peat. Durant left for the Brooklyn Nets in free agency a few weeks later.

The Warriors won the 2015 title after going 67-15 in the regular-season. Golden State set a record with 73 wins the following season as Stephen Curry became the league’s first-ever unanimous MVP. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers upset the Warriors in the 2016 Finals.

Golden State responded by signing Durant and becoming virtually unbeatable. The team won 67 games in the 2016-2017 season in Durant’s first year as a Warrior. Golden State went 16-1 in the playoffs, going undefeated until Game 4 of the 2017 Finals.

Despite winning six fewer regular-season games, Green recently acknowledged that Durant made Golden State a significantly better team. On Uninterrupted’s “WRTS: After Party” show with Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter, the forward said the 2017-2018 Warriors would have beaten the 73-win team by 20 to 25 points.

“The thing about that 2015-2016 team was we were always locked in, and we were always clicking,” Green said, via ESPN. “There was never really a moment we weren't locked in. There was games -- we lost nine games. That's absurd. So you figure nine of those games, seven of them we probably can't hit a shot. Really, more than that because we even won games because of our defense because we couldn't hit a shot.

“But the 2017-2018 teams were so much better than that team, but because we were so much better, we were never really locked in at all times.”

Golden State won its third title in four years in 2018. It proved to be the most difficult championship run.

During Golden State’s five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, the 2017-2018 season was the only time the Warriors didn’t have the No.1 seed. Without home-court advantage, Golden State needed seven games -- Chris Paul’s injury at the end of Game 5 also helped -- to defeat the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals.

“In 2018, once we finished 2017 as champions, we come back in 2018, we know no team's going to beat us. And so we're not taking that regular season serious,” Green said.

The Warriors went 58-24 in 2017-2018, suffering nine more losses than they did the previous season. The biggest drop off came on defense, where Golden State went from second to 11th in efficiency.

The 2016 Warriors allowed 102.8 points per 100 possessions. Two years later, even with Durant in his second season with the team, Golden State surrendered 106.8 points per 100 possessions.

“There was literally games during 2018 or times during the season where we're like, ‘Yo, let's go lock in on this game’ And if we said we're going to lock in, we'd beat somebody by 30. But we didn't do that all the time,” Green said. “At times, we were just showing up, and we're still going to win because we're just better. But we weren't necessarily locked in because we knew how good we were. That 2015-2016 team, we had to fight for everything we got at all times. It wasn't like that [later]. We were so good, we didn't have to fight, and so the focus was never the same with those later teams, but we were way better.”

The Warriors went 16-5 in 2018 playoffs. They swept Cleveland in the Finals.

Golden State averaged 64 regular-season wins from 2015-2019.

kevin durant draymond green warriors
Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts with Kevin Durant #35 against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first quarter in Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 3, 2018 in Oakland, California. Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
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