After taking a 2-0 lead in the 2017 NBA Finals with two dominant offensive performances, many have begun to wonder whether the Golden State Warriors possess the greatest offense of all-time. With four All-Stars on the roster including Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, along with an outstanding supporting cast, the questions are logical.
Throughout the years, however, there have been a number of outstanding offenses with one of the more memorable being led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal as the Los Angeles Lakers made their run in the early 2000s.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated asked Bryant whether he believed the Warriors had the greatest offense of all-time and Kobe had a simple response:
“Just watch the film I directed and wrote called The Golden Democracy. It’s all right there.”
In his Golden Democracy film, Bryant praised the Warriors offense for its team ball mentality. Bryant spoke on how the Warriors’ rare combination of individual talent, constant movement, and unselfishness makes it a strain on the defense to keep up.
Bryant also noted about how defense is all about communication and the Warriors, with so much movement and a large number of screens being set makes it easy for communication to go down which will ultimately kill the defense.
Kobe knows a lot about great offenses. The Lakers were a consistent top-5 offensive unit, especially under Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. Kobe and Shaq became arguably the greatest duo in NBA history, and they won three straight championships.
This Warriors team with Curry, Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green is a devastating offense that destroys teams in a number of ways. Whether they will go down as the greatest remains to be seen, but they will certainly be in the conversation with some of the best to ever do it.