Can the Warriors become a defensive stalwart again?

It might be the key to a successful season.

When the Golden State Warriors first started their run of hanging banners a decade ago, all eyes were on their offense, and understandably so. Steph Curry was single-handedly changing the sport of basketball in front of our eyes and Klay Thompson — the second-best shooter on his own team — was making a strong case for being the second-best shooter ever, too. Steve Kerr’s motion offense was breaking NBA defenses, and when they added Kevin Durant to the mix, well ... it really felt like a video game at times.

But while the offense got so much credit, the defense — led by Draymond Green and some excellent schemes — was quietly just as impactful. In their first championship season in 2014-15, the Warriors dynamic offense produced the second-best offensive rating in the league, trailing the LA Clippers (all stats via Cleaning The Glass, which removes garbage-time numbers.) But their defensive rating? First in the NBA by a mile.

Two years later, with Durant in the fold, the Warriors pulled off a true showing of dominance, leading the league in both offensive and defensive rating. When they repeated during the 2017-18 season, things had started to change ... the offense was still second in the league, but the defense had fallen to ninth. But that felt like an inaccurate description of their talents, and more a sign of their complacency. With Curry, Thompson, and Durant leading an explosive offense, the defense seemed to take the break that it knew it could afford to take, knowing it would dial it in when necessary. And indeed, when the playoffs rolled around, the defensive rating was tops among all 16 teams, by a comfortable margin.

The surprising run to a fourth title in 2021-22 is where we really saw the power of their defense. Despite Curry still playing at an MVP level, Thompson returning for the second half of the season, Andrew Wiggins emerging into an All-Star, and Jordan Poole taking flight, the Warriors finished the year with a below-average offense, ranking just 17th in the NBA. But their defense came in at a clean second place, trailing only the Boston Celtics — the team they’d beat in the NBA Finals.

There’s a case to be made that Curry is the greatest offensive player in NBA history. But the Warriors championship runs have been built on the backs of elite defense. For those who weren’t keeping score, that’s two times having the best defense in the league, one time having the second-best defense in the league, and one time taking their foot off the gas because they knew they could, but dialing up the best defense when the playoffs started.

So, can they get back there? That seems to be the primary goal after finishing just 15th in defensive rating last year. At this week’s pre-camp press conference, Kerr and GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. stressed the importance of returning to high level defense. Dunleavy, as transcribed by The Athletic, said that, “We’ve got to get back to defending at a high level,” with Kerr adding that, “Our transition defense fell off the map last year. A huge emphasis in camp will be to shore that up.”

There are certainly reasons for optimism. Green seems as motivated as he’s been in a long time, and will likely be more available this year, after missing 27 games a season ago. Critically, Gary Payton II — quite arguably the team’s second-best defensive player — is fully healthy, after injuries limited him to just 44 games last year ... and he looked compromised in the bulk of those games.

And then there’s the departure of Thompson. When his statue is placed outside Chase Center, we’ll all remember his sensational defense in the prime of his career ... but he was a shell of that last year. And while Buddy Hield, who will get many of Thompson’s minutes, isn’t exactly an All-Defense candidate, De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson are, and minutes will be opened up for Moses Moody, as well. Indeed, by the respected stat Estimated Plus-Minus, Anderson ranked 38th in the NBA last year defensively, while Melton ranked 66th ... which put them ahead of everyone on last year’s Warriors team other than Green (10th) and Payton (30th).

The bones are there for a good defensive team, but it will take something extra for them to become a great defensive team. A defensive leap from Jonathan Kuminga or Trayce Jackson-Davis might do the job. A return to Defensive Player of the Year levels from Green could get it done. Wiggins looking more like the player who was an All-Star and locked up Jayson Tatum in the NBA Finals would go a long ways. A tweak in defensive scheme could be all that’s needed.

Whatever the route, it’s something the Warriors need to do if they want to contend again this year. 15th in the league in defensive rating simply won’t cut it. They probably need to be a top-10 defensive team to cruise into the playoffs, and a top-five team to compete for another title.

Both are doable. But they require some work.