If one were to make a list of the most dominant squads in league history, then the 2017 Golden State Warriors would definitely be included. With names such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green in the starting lineup, the Warriors dominated the league and won back-to-back titles with that core group. As good as they were, however, one former NBA champion isn't convinced that Golden State could beat his team back in the day. Rasheed Wallace, a key member of the 2004 Detroit Pistons championship team, claimed that his Detroit squad would get the best of the '17 Warriors.
He made the bold declaration in an episode of the Sheed & Tyler show. To start off, Wallace spoke about the Pistons' defense.
“We have an NBA record that will never be broken…when we kept, I think six or seven teams under 70 points…that will never get broken again. We were defense. We hung our hat on defense. We would have beat the sh*t out of them.”
The four-time All-Star then added that the Warriors would not be able to match up with the Pistons position-wise.
“They couldn't match up with us at any position. Steph's not a defender. He would have had to guard Rip (Hamilton). How many screens is Rip coming off?”
“Whoever they would have tried to put at point would be too little for Chauncey (Billups),” Wallace added.
Furthermore, when it was brought up that Kevin Durant would be defending Tayshaun Prince, Wallace wasn't too convinced by the idea.
“You're saying KD can't guard Tayshaun?” one of his co-hosts asked.
“No,” Wallace responded.
And lastly, Wallace reminded his co-hosts about the Pistons' hard-nosed style of play.
“They're not used to the physicality. Draymond's too little.”
"We would've beat the sh*t out of [the 2017 Warriors] because for the simple fact that they couldn't match up with us at any position... Steph [Curry] not a defender... Draymond [Green] is too little." — Rasheed Wallace 🤔 (via @UnderDogSheed)
Fans react to Rasheed Wallace's comments
While Wallace certainly has supreme confidence in his former team's abilities, plenty of others weren't in agreement. A number of X users reacted to his take, and the comments spoke for themselves.
i understand where he’s coming from, but i don’t get where he’s going with that cos they ain’t winning shit😭
That '04 Pistons team was definitely a gritty one. They had no superstar, but their team play and hard work resulted in a title. Nevertheless, if one were to be blunt, it would be difficult for them to pull off a victory against Golden State. The '17 Warriors just had too much firepower. Curry, Thompson and Durant were all in their primes, and Green won Defensive Player of the Year (in 2017).
After acquiring Durant, the Warriors bested everyone that stood in their way, even the formidable duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. After two championships, their core group eventually disbanded in 2019, when Durant departed for the Brooklyn Nets in the aftermath of Golden State's finals loss. One could question how that finals series against the Toronto Raptors would have played out if Thompson and Durant hadn't gotten injured.
Nevertheless, the '17 Warriors brought many great memories to their fans, and the team will always be cemented in the franchise's history books.
