PD Editorial: Dubs stand atop the basketball world

Dynasty.

Go ahead and say it. Heck, open a window and shout. Dynasty!

Better yet, Dub dynasty.

For the third time in four years, the Golden State Warriors are NBA champions after putting an exclamation point on a four-game sweep of the Cavaliers with a resounding 108-85 victory Friday in Cleveland.

We heartily congratulate Steph Curry, Klay Thomson, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, coach Steve Kerr and the rest of this entertaining - and history-making - team.

Thanks for another remarkable season.

It takes grit, determination and a little bit of luck to win one championship. Winning three in four years is phenomenal.

To reach this pinnacle, the Warriors persevered through injuries that took Curry, Thompson and other stars out of the lineup, and then overcame a stiff challenge from the Houston Rockets, who took them to a seventh game in the semi-finals.

Along the way, the Warriors played with the selflessness and joy that we've come to expect from this group, confounding opponents with nimble passing and deadly accuracy from three-point range.

For die-hard fans, and even casual viewers, it's an exciting brand of basketball. Better yet, these Warriors make it easy to believe that they don't just enjoy playing (and winning) together, they genuinely like one another. They share the spotlight. They share the ball. For all their star power, they are, in the best sense of the word, a team.

Let us also salute the fans. They loyally stuck by the Warriors through two decades of futility before Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team in 2010 and brought in some first-class basketball minds to build a contender. And what a contender they have built.

The Warriors stand proudly alongside the other storied Bay Area champions: the Oakland Athletics the 1970s, the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s and '90s and the San Francisco Giants of 2010, 2012 and 2014.

And after battling LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the finals four years in a row, the Dubs and the Cavs have taken their place as one of the legendary sports rivalries, a 21st century version of the Lakers and Celtics, Frazier and Ali, the Yankees and Dodgers.

We'll see you at the parade.

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