My Warriors' top five list isn't a list of who the best five players on the team are. It's more a top five list of guys who fit their roles and made the Warriors better. Just remember that this was a 29 win team.
I'll get to my exclusion first. Stephen Jackson isn't on my list because as the Warriors number one player, in my opinion, he was one of the worst number one options in the league. As a number two option on a team, he's a pretty good player. As a number three option, he's fantastic. Thus, I left Stephen Jackson off my list because while he definitely played hard and tried to lead the team, he's just not that kind of player. If my list was about effort, he'd be on here. But my list is about guys who excelled in their roles given their opportunity (for the most part), and though Jackson filled up the stat sheet, there were just way too many times where he had the ball and didn't perform late in games.It's probably a bit unfair to Jackson because he was called upon to be the guy and isn't that type of player. My apologies to Jackson fans, in advance.
1. Ronny Turiaf
Turiaf is never going to be a superstar in this league. He just doesn't have superstar talent. But what he lacks in the talent department, he makes up in tenacity and an understanding of how to use his big body. He's not terribly athletic, but he blocks a ton of shots per his alloted minutes, and he's developed a nice little go to jumper as well.
If the Warriors can supply him with another banger to play with, I can see his minutes be even more valuable to the Warriors. I didn't love him when they signed him, but I loved what I saw from him.
2. Kelenna AzubuikeHe's undersized and wasn't even drafted out of college, but you have to like a guy who just puts his head down and plays hard. Maybe it's because he played a few seasons with Baron Davis, but I see a guy who truly has confidence in his game. He shot the three ball very well and earned a ton of minutes this season.
3. Anthony Randolph
What's there not to like about this kid? He's a dead ringer for Ronnie DeVoe from New Edition. His athleticism is off the charts. He thinks he's unstoppable. He'll block a shot and scream. He'll dribble the ball off his foot and look at the sidelines like a deer in headlights. I'm not sure what his ceiling is. But I'm going to enjoy watching him get there.
You can see some Randolph highlights here.
4. Monta Ellis
What a terrible year this was for Ellis. From the injury to the lying about the injury, to the questions about whether the Warriors would dissolve his contract, to his overall unhappiness, and eventually his inconsistent play, it was really a lost season for him. But he showed flashes of brilliance, which is enough to make Warriors fans happy going into the next season. What they truly need is to luck out and draft a bigger point guard so that Ellis can play his natural shooting guard position.
. Corey MaggetteHow can I put Maggette here and not include Jackson? Well, I think Maggette can find ways to score in ways that doesn't hurt the team in doing so as much as Jackson does. However, with his contract, he should be better than what he is, but who thought he'd be better after watching him all those years in LA? The reason he's here for me is because he can get to the free throw line and make points them when you need them. On a 29 win team, that's not enough, but as a six man on a 45 win team, he could be valuable late in the game. Just as Nellie missused so many players, Maggette had to play a lot of his minutes at power forward and he was getting killed defensively.
It was tough to create a top five. It was kind of tough to create a top four. But that's my list for the 2008-2009 Golden State Warriors. It was a lost year and one that I would love to forget.
Photo of Stephen Jackson by Joe Gilmore and shared via creative commons (Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
Photo of Corey Maggette by iamgenious and shared via creative commons (Attribution 2.0 Generic)
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