#2 – Golden State Warriors
2017 NBA Champions
Number 2 Seed: Western Conference
The Golden State Warriors could very well be the best team ever. After losing in the NBA Finals to the Cavaliers in 2016, the Warriors bulked up big time in the summer, adding former league MVP Kevin Durant to a team that won 73 games a season ago. When the regular season started, the Warriors stormed out of the gates once again, winning 16 of their first 18 games, including 12 games in a row at one point. The wins continued to mount up, but when Kevin Durant went down with a knee injury at the end of February, the skeptics wondered if the Warriors could maintain their pace. The Warriors not only maintained their pace, they ripped off 14 wins in a row in April, proving they were ready for the playoffs. In the first two rounds, the Warriors swept the Blazers and Jazz by an average of 16.5 points a game. In the conference finals, the Warriors faced the Spurs, their most worthy adversary, by far. In Game 1, the Spurs jumped out to a 25 point lead before Kawhi Leonard went down with an ankle injury. The Warriors took control from there, coming back to win a close Game 1, and then blowing out the Spurs in the next three games to advance to their third straight NBA Finals, winning all 12 playoff games on their way. In the Finals, the Warriors would face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third time in as many years. After winning Games 1 & 2 in blowout fashion at home, the Warriors went to Cleveland for Game 3. Down most of the game, Kevin Durant hit a go-ahead dagger three with under a minute remaining to seize the lead, and eventually the game. The Warriors had now won 15 straight postseason games, a new NBA record. After losing Game 5, the Warriors went back home and closed out the Cavs in five games, to win their second championship in three years. Kevin Durant was named NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career.
2017 Playoff Stats
Playoff Record: 16 wins, 1 loss
Points Per Game: 119.3 | Opponents PPG: 105.8 | Difference: +13.5
Offensive Rating: 119.0 | Defensive Rating: 105.5 | Difference: +13.5
Full 2017 Warriors Stats available here
The Real MVP
NBA 2K17 Roster & Ratings
Bold indicates starter
SF – Kevin Durant (97)
PG – Steph Curry (94)
PF – Draymond Green (90)
SG – Klay Thompson (88)
SF – Andre Igoudala (82)
PG – Shaun Livingston (78)
PF – David West (77)
SF – Matt Barnes (76)
SG – Patrick McCaw (76)
C – Zaza Pachulia (76)
SG – Ian Clark (73)
C – Javale McGee (73)
PF – Kevin Looney (70)
C – Damian Jones (68)
PF – James Michael McAdoo (68)
2K17 Tournament Results
First Round (Best-of-7)
(2) 2017 Golden State Warriors vs (7) ’11 Mavericks or (8) ’95 Rockets
Results coming on 8/31/17
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