>While I agree, Zeke wouldn't trade his career. The Warriors
>pretty much came out of nowhere and they've dominated the
>league's tougher conference for 4 yrs running. 2 of which were
>without KD. And they've had to face the leagues best player
>in the finals for 4 straight yrs.

in my mind, the difference comes down to the periodic reshuffling, and i launch Bron hate based on the same premise. Duncan retired, he wasnt clipped. OKC lost 2 of their big 3 in a 3 year window. Clips stayed injured. Houston couldnt find anyone to pair with Harden until the last two years (counting Capela first). same in the east, where Bron and his competitors coalesced twice. that affects more than just the team adding pieces...those pieces came from somewhere. Bron has played with the best guard in the East for 8 years running, and he accomplished that by taking his talents to wherever that guard was when he felt like leaving.

>Imagine if the pistons stayed relevant/contenders when the
>Bulls came of age and Detroit had to face Jordan every year
>while Boston was still title good and NY was on the come
>up...that's what G-State has done.

that wasnt realistically possible within the culture of the league at that time imo. the only team able to do that was LAL and only because of the insane longevity of Kareem. i feel like back then you built your team, waited for them to mature,and then blitzed the fuck out of your window. without LA adding David Robinson, or Boston adding Charles Barkley, or the Pistons adding Patrick Ewing etc etc...none of those teams were ever going to extend their windows.

it was just different back then, neither better nor worse, but different. is your imaginary scenario any tougher than
- having to come of age with a titan like Boston in your way in your own conference
- all the while staying sharp enough to avoid getting tapped by HoFers like Ewing, Barkley, and Nique
- getting rewarded with Showtime, playing well enough to win, and taking an L under a few smh worthy circumstances
- loading up and doing all of that AGAIN before closing the book on Bird AND Magic
- then loading up and doing it AGAIN under year 3 of the Jordan Assault
- all the while, your "biggest" deal that whole time is trading old Dantley for old Aguirre
?

im not sure it is and the last part is mostly why. moves back then were like trying to wrest B&O Railroad from my Depression-raised grandma in a family Monopoly game. no one wanted to deal with the Pistons, and they literally punched too many people in the face to ever want to share locker rooms with them.

GSW has achieved more of what i have previously referred to as "greatness" and i won't ever deny that. Steph has piled on accolades that Isiah never saw, at a historical rate.

but i dont think Steph has walked a tougher road than Zeke did, and i dont think he will ever have to.