Mike D’Antoni has long been a proponent of a fast-paced approach to basketball, but it was Stephen Curry and the Warriors who made it a viable strategy.
The Golden State Warriors‘ impact on the basketball world is hard to ignore. In the early 2010s, while the NBA’s signature physicality had declined, the style of play had mostly remained the same.
The big, athletic wings who could get to the rim and score high-percentage opportunities were often dominating the conversation for the best in the world.
Players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, and Kevin Durant were adept at taking the ball to the basket on nearly every single play.
But when Stephen Curry and the Warriors began finding success by mostly shooting jumpshots and three-pointers, the NBA world took notice.
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In a sit-down conversation with Kirk Goldsberry, Meghna Chakrabarti, and Jonathan Chang, Mike D’Antoni applauded Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
He noted that the perimeter-centric style of NBA basketball would not be a viable approach to championship basketball if not for their success with it.
“What Steph did in the Warriors and Steve Kerr, they validated that you can win with a heavy 3-point shooting.”
“And before, there was always that question – you can’t win the championship, you can’t do this with that kind of shooting – and now they validated.”
“That’s where the floodgates opened up and the rest of the coaches went after it because of Steph’s ability to be able to make shots.”
D’Antoni is very familiar with Curry and the Warriors, having played against them during the late 2010s as his Houston Rockets teams came the closest to beating them at their best.
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Throughout his different stints as head coach in the NBA with the Suns, Knicks, and Rockets, Mike D’Antoni has tried to implement a ‘7 seconds or less’ offense, which often involves heavy outside shooting.
Steve Nash won two MVPs under D’Antoni, while Amar’e Stoudemire became an All-Star player. While it didn’t work out with the Knicks, perhaps the best version of this offense came in Houston.
With James Harden and Chris Paul as the two primary offensive outlets, D’Antoni and the Rockets also became a primarily perimeter-based team.
However, despite helping Harden win the MVP, D’Antoni and the Rockets failed to garner any legitimate postseason success, losing in a 7-game thriller in the 2018 Western Conference Finals to the Warriors.
