It was almost unfair. You remember the feeling if you watched a single game that year. The Golden State lineup 2016 wasn't just a basketball team; it was a glitch in the matrix. They started 24-0. Think about that for a second. Two dozen games without a single "off" night where the shots didn't fall or the legs felt heavy. They were essentially playing a different sport than the other 29 teams in the NBA. It was "positionless" before that became a tired coaching cliché.
Stephen Curry was hitting shots from the tunnel. Draymond Green was screaming at everyone and somehow guarding centers twice his size. Klay Thompson would go nuclear for a quarter and then disappear into the background like a quiet assassin. It was beautiful. It was also, eventually, heartbreaking for the Bay Area.
The Death Lineup: Small Ball as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
Most people look at the starting five, but the real story of the Golden State lineup 2016 is the "Death Lineup." This was the tactical nuke Steve Kerr kept in his back pocket. When things got tight, or when they wanted to bury a team in a four-minute span, Andrew Bogut headed to the bench.
In came Andre Iguodala.
Suddenly, the floor warped. You had Draymond Green at the five, which sounded like suicide on paper against guys like Steven Adams or Tim Duncan. But it wasn't. It was a nightmare. Every single player on the floor could pass, dribble, and shoot. If you doubled Steph, he whipped it to Draymond at the top of the key. Draymond played 4-on-3 better than anyone in history. He'd find Klay in the corner or Iguodala for a dunk.
Opposing big men were forced to guard the perimeter. They hated it. They were gassed by the third quarter. It’s honestly hard to overstate how much this specific five-man group changed the geometry of the league. Harrison Barnes was the "weak link," and even he was a high-level 3-and-D wing who could switch everything. They switched every screen. There was no "mismatch" to exploit because everyone was roughly 6'7" with wingspans that felt like 10 feet.
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The Regular Season Grind to 73-9
We have to talk about the number. 73.
Breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72-10 was a spiritual obsession for this group. Some analysts, looking back with 20/20 hindsight, say they pushed too hard. Maybe they did. You could see the fatigue in April. But at the time? It was electric. Every Tuesday night game against the Kings felt like Game 7.
The Golden State lineup 2016 was led by an MVP season from Steph Curry that defies logic. 402 three-pointers. He didn't just break the record; he annihilated it. He was the first-ever unanimous MVP. He was shooting nearly 45% from deep on volume that would have gotten a player benched five years earlier. He made the 30-footer look like a layup.
Klay Thompson was the perfect secondary engine. People forget he averaged 22.1 points per game that year while taking the toughest defensive assignment every night. He was the safety net. If Steph was trapped, Klay was there.
The Starting Five Roles
- Stephen Curry (PG): The gravity. He drew two defenders 35 feet from the hoop. This created the space that made everything else possible.
- Klay Thompson (SG): The floor spacer and perimeter lockdown guy. He barely dribbled, which is the craziest part.
- Harrison Barnes (SF): The versatile forward. He was crucial for the switching defense, though his shooting vanished in the Finals.
- Draymond Green (PF/C): The brain. The heartbeat. The guy who led the team in assists, rebounds, and technical fouls.
- Andrew Bogut (C): The rim protector. He gave them a physical edge and elite screen setting before the game sped up too much for him.
What Went Wrong? The 3-1 Collapse
You can't write about the 2016 Warriors without mentioning the elephant in the room. They lost. Leading 3-1 in the Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the wheels didn't just come off—the whole car disintegrated.
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It started with the Draymond Green suspension in Game 5. A swipe at LeBron’s groin changed NBA history. Then Bogut went down with a knee injury. Suddenly, the Golden State lineup 2016 didn't have its interior defense. LeBron and Kyrie Irving started attacking the rim like it was an open gym.
Harrison Barnes went cold. "Cold" is actually an understatement. He shot 5-for-32 over the final three games. Every time Cleveland doubled Steph, the ball found Barnes, and the ball stayed out. It was painful to watch.
The nuanced take here isn't that they choked. It's that they ran out of gas and bodies at the exact moment LeBron James reached his final form. The "Death Lineup" became mortal because Andre Iguodala’s back gave out and Festus Ezeli was forced into minutes he wasn't ready for. In Game 7, the Warriors scored zero points in the final four minutes. Zero.
The Cultural Impact of the 2016 Roster
This team basically ended the era of the "Bruiser" center. After watching the Golden State lineup 2016, every GM in the league started looking for their own Draymond Green. They wanted "switchability." They wanted "spacing."
They also changed how kids play the game. Go to any local park today. You'll see 12-year-olds pulling up from the logo. That is the Curry Effect. It’s a double-edged sword, honestly. It’s beautiful when Steph does it, but it’s a disaster when a kid who hasn't mastered a layup tries it.
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The 2016 season was the peak of "Pure Warriors" basketball. The next year, Kevin Durant arrived. They got better, sure. They were unbeatable. But the 2016 squad had a chemistry and a "homegrown" feel that the KD years lacked. It was a group of guys who grew up together, failing in the early years and then suddenly conquering the world—until they didn't.
Real-World Takeaways and Strategy
If you're looking at this from a coaching or management perspective, the Golden State lineup 2016 offers a masterclass in leveraging unique talent rather than forcing players into traditional boxes.
Don't ignore the importance of "Screen Assist" stats and off-ball movement. The Warriors led the league in distance traveled on offense. They didn't stand around watching a superstar iso. They moved constantly. To replicate this, you need high-IQ players who don't care about "who gets the shot."
Understand the "Gravity" concept. In any business or sports team, identify your "Curry"—the asset that draws so much attention it creates easy opportunities for everyone else. If you have that, you don't need five superstars; you need four people who know how to exploit the space created by the one.
Actionable Insights for Basketball Enthusiasts:
- Study the 4-on-3 Break: Watch film of Draymond Green receiving the ball out of a Steph Curry trap. His ability to make the "next" pass is the most underrated skill in modern basketball.
- Analyze Defensive Versatility: Look at how the 2016 Warriors used 6'7" players to negate the pick-and-roll. Switching isn't just about effort; it's about having the personnel with similar lateral quickness.
- The Value of the Bench: The "Strength in Numbers" mantra was real. Shaun Livingston's post-up game and Leandro Barbosa's speed allowed the starters to rest during the regular season, which is how they got to 73 wins.
- Acknowledge the Risk of Record-Chasing: There is a legitimate argument that the pursuit of 73 wins cost them the title. If you are managing a long-term project, recognize when "great" is enough so you don't burn out before the "elite" finish line.
The 2016 Warriors remain the greatest team to never win a ring. They changed the league's DNA. They made the three-pointer the primary weapon of the modern era. Even without the trophy, that lineup is the blueprint for how the game is played today.