"In five? I don't know about that" - Derek Fisher responds to Draymond saying the 2017 Warriors would destroy the 2001 Lakers
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Having played 18 NBA seasons through multiple generations, Derek Fisher was around long enough to see how much the game has changed. From his run with the Los Angeles Lakers to his brief stint with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, D-Fish knew what it took to win games.
For many years, the NBA community has debated eras and old-school teams versus modern squads. The cream of the crop has been the 2017 Golden State Warriors vs. the 2001 L.A. Lakers discussion. Fisher recently gave his two cents on this hot topic.
Appearing on 'The Draymond Green Show,' Derek was told by Dray that he thinks his Warriors would’ve walked over the Lakers of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Having been a part of those Purple and Gold championship teams, Fisher responded to Green’s lofty claim.
"In five, I think is... I don't know if you got the Lobos in there with you or what's going on," D-Fish began. "But in five, I don't know about that. Champs against champs, it should be a battle. And it depends on what rules are we playing. If I can foul Steph the way I play defense, we might have a chance because I'm beating him up. If I can hold and grab like we could in '01 compared to now..."
Green isn’t afraid to speak his mind about what he thinks. Like it or not, the 4x All-Star believes heart and soul that the peak Warriors would’ve bested any team from any era in the history of basketball. Having watched the best collection of shooting talent ever to share a court, Draymond is sold on the Dubs’ 3-point shooting being too good to deal with. If a hypothetical matchup took place with today’s rules, you can’t say Dray's sentiments on this debate would be out of bounds.
The Lakers’ dominance
However, the Purple and Gold had something no one else had: A 7'1", 315+ lb behemoth. O'Neal was as impossible to referee as he was to guard. Shaq blew the doors of the NBA during his patented 1999-00 season when he took home his first league MVP.
He was joined by a 22-year-old former high school prodigy known as Kobe. After a slow start to his career, Bryant’s productivity exploded through the roof by the turn of the decade. Together, these two created a tandem that even the best defenses couldn’t gameplan against.
Fisher, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, and others followed the lead of Shaq and Kobe to a dominating three-peat between 2000 and 2002. Even 22 years later, no team has been able to achieve the kind of dominance these Lakers showcased.
Golden State shot teams out of the gym
The Warriors of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond were equally as devastating through stretches of their run. Don’t forget former NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala coming off the bench. If you count the talent they had, it looks like they were the most unstoppable squad of all time.
Finishing the 2016-17 season with a 67–15 record, Golden State probably won most of those games going half-speed. Why would they need to go all out? Their margin of victory was a whopping 11.63. They were the league’s No.1 scoring team and the second highest rated defensively.
The Dubs stomped their way to a 16-1 record through the postseason. Had it not been for an absolute aberration of a performance by the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Finals, Golden State would’ve quite easily finished a perfect 16-0.
The Lakers of the 2000s were the best of their era, and the Warriors of the 2010s were the best of their era. Fair enough, right? One had a 300 lb wrecking ball. The other had the greatest shooter ever. Depending on who had the better day, both squads could have gotten the best out of each other.