35 games through the 2017-18 season, Golden State was 28-7 behind the play of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who would each earn All-Star nods as their team operated like a well-oiled machine.
After winning their second consecutive title, the team reloaded by adding DeMarcus Cousins — who was also selected for the 2018 All-Star game — to the picture. Though Cousins missed last year's All-Star Game with an Achilles injury that has kept him sidelined up to this point in the season, Golden State now features an unprecedented five players who were All-Stars in the previous season.
Now, 35 games through the 2018-19 season, the Warriors sit five games behind their pace last year at 23-12 and have already dealt with a number of speed bumps along the way.
As a result, the number of All-Stars the team has this season has gone from a definite to somewhat of an unknown.
So how many does this team truly have? Let’s take a closer look
Stephen Curry
First things first – Stephen Curry, who was the West’s leading vote-getter in 2018, will undoubtedly be an All-Star off of his popularity alone. Popularity aside, there’s no backcourt player in the conference that is worthier of a starting spot in this year’s game than Curry.
Amazingly, he continues to find ways to improve.
Despite missing 11 games this season, the two-time MVP is averaging 28.6 points, 5.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game; those are All-Star numbers if I’ve ever seen them.
Stephen Curry will be an All-Star starter.
Kevin Durant
While he may not receive quite as many votes as Curry – which is hard to do – Kevin Durant will definitely be one of the three leading vote-getters in the Western Conference’s frontcourt.
And rightly so.
Durant’s 28.8 points per game are good for second in the NBA this year and he’s doing so while shooting 50.5 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from deep and 92.8 percent from the charity stripe. While Curry missed time with injury, the back-to-back Finals MVP rang off three-consecutive 40-point games.
It’s more than just scoring, too – Durant is averaging 7.8 rebounds and a career-high 6.1 assists to round out his insane stat line. You’d be hard pressed to find any player more deserving of an All-Star selection than the 2014 league MVP.
Kevin Durant will be an All-Star starter alongside – or across from – his teammate Stephen Curry.
MORE: Who deserves to start in the West?
Klay Thompson
While Thompson’s season has been filled with ups and downs, he’s still averaging 21.0 points per game.
He won’t get the nod as a starter over James Harden or Russell Westbrook, but Thompson is still a top-five guard in the Western Conference and his numbers suggest as much.
While his season has been marred by some shooting slumps, Thompson still managed to set an NBA record when he knocked down 14 3-pointers in his 52-point performance against the Bulls on Oct. 29. That game alone makes him an All-Star in my eyes.
Klay Thompson will be an All-Star reserve come February.
Draymond Green
Like his teammates, Green’s season has had some highs and lows, but the lows have come more often than the highs so far this season.
The 28-year-old has missed 14 games this season and is averaging 7.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. The scoring figure is his lowest since his second NBA season and it is his first time averaging fewer than seven assists per game since his third season.
In addition to the bonafide frontcourt All-Stars of Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Paul George and LeBron James, the West features players such as Steven Adams, LaMarcus Aldridge, Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert, Tobias Harris and Karl-Anthony Towns, who all have stronger All-Star cases this year than Green.
With that being said, Draymond Green's streak of three consecutive All-Star appearances will come to an end this season.
The verdict
Though it's a minor step back from the past two seasons, Golden State will only send three players to Charlotte for the 2019 All-Star Game.
While an All-Star Game selection is a great honour, this Warriors squad has its sights set on a bigger goal: becoming the first team to three-peat since the Lakers did so from 2000-2002.
As Green is sure to find his way and the potential of Cousins returning to an all-league level, that bigger goal is still very much in sight.