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I know what you’re thinking. The Warriors are too good, too talented, with too many prime years ahead of them to allow their dynasty to be imperiled by the animosity that exploded near the end of Monday night’s loss to the Clippers — an unseemly scene that resulted in the one-game suspension of Draymond Green and free agent-to-be Kevin Durant apparently muttering, “This is why I’m out.”
Disharmony in the locker room? It just couldn’t happen that way.
But it could. We know because it’s happened before — to a championship Warriors team.
The mid-1970s Warriors weren’t a dynasty. But they were a mesmerizing shooting star. In the 1974-75 season they unaccountably won an NBA title, with a radically remade roster and a single All-Star caliber talent: Rick Barry. They validated their championship with a 59-23 record in 1975-76. They dispatched the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. The second round series against the Phoenix Suns went to a deciding seventh game.
But even as they navigated another postseason run, the dynamic of the team was evolving. In the title year, Barry was the unquestioned alpha male. His teammates were all too young, too old, with too many limitations. By the spring of 1976, the young and the limited players were growing into bigger roles. There was competition for the ball, and for what it represented.
Which brings us to the opening minutes of Game 7. Barry and Suns rookie Ricky Sobers squared off and began throwing punches. Such were the mores of the time that neither player was tossed from the game. But the altercation seemed to have an effect on Barry, who became uncharacteristically docile. Though he scored 14 points in the first half, he took just one shot in the third quarter and scored but six points in the second half. The Warriors lost 94-86.
Reading the post mortems, the principles seem to be dancing around an elephant in the room.
Said Suns guard Dick Van Arsdale: “Rick seemed disenchanted.”
Barry: “I don’t think I had my hands on the ball 12 times in the second half. And when I did get the ball I’d give it up and it seemed I’d never see it again. I felt totally left out.”
Warriors coach Al Attles: “Sure we ran plays for him. I specifically ran plays for him. But it’s not easy to get the ball when someone isn’t moving.”
In a May 2006 post on Grantland.com, Bill Simmons wrote out loud what some had thought at the time:
“Barry felt like his teammates hadn’t jumped to his defense (during the fight). At halftime he probably watched the highlights, confirming his beliefs, so when the the second half started, Barry decided not to shoot anymore. It’s one of the weirdest games ever, Barry playing hot potato for the entire half, never looking for his own shot, perfectly willing to let his teammates hang themselves to prove a point.”
Was there really strife in the Warriors’ locker room? Jamaal Wilkes should know. He was a rookie on the title team and played two more seasons for Golden State before throwing in with the Lakers before the 1977-78 season. Shortly after leaving the Warriors, Wilkes told Sports Illustrated:
“I haven’t figured out why we went sour, but the guys got tired of Rick’s making 20 times as much (money) and bossing all of us around, including the coach.”
Eventually even Barry wanted out. He bolted the Warriors for the Houston Rockets after the 1977-78 season.
It bears noting that the players from 1974-75 championship team have held a number of reunions, most recently at Oracle Arena last month before a Warriors-Washington Wizards game. They seem genuinely to enjoy each other’s company.
The final word here should go to Barry, who responded to the “prove a point” theory on a blog at legendssf.com:
“Anybody who knows me knows that there is no way in the world I’d intentionally do something that would jeopardize an opportunity to win a ball game, especially when we had a chance to win a championship. I didn’t pout. I didn’t try to prove a point. It means too much to me to win.”
Dray, KD, are you listening?