5 iconic moments from Warriors-Kings rivalry

The Kings and Warriors have always played each other close, but it wasn’t until recently that they were both good at the same time.

Although their games against each other have historically been closely contested, the Warriors dominated the rivalry and were the better team in the early ’90s and during the Splash Brothers era led by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, whereas the Kings were much better than the Warriors in the early 2000s.

Unfortunately for the Kings, the Warriors performed most of the iconic moments in this rivalry, especially in recent seasons. The Splash Brothers Warriors teams have been some of the best and most entertaining teams ever, and their style of high-volume, high-efficiency shooting from deep will never be forgotten.

One such play that illustrates the Warriors’ offense from this time was when Curry did his patented no-look 3-point shot from the corner right in front of the Kings’ bench.

It was an extremely flashy and confident play and demonstrated how good Curry and his team were during this time period. Curry has a few memorable no-lookers from deep, but his make against the Kings is arguably the most iconic.

4. Shootout during Warriors’ winning streak

As alluded to previously, the Warriors were practically unstoppable during their peak. The team has won four championships with Curry leading the way, but they were actually at their best in 2015-16 during a season that they lost in the NBA Finals.

That year, the team won an NBA-record 73 games. In fact, they went on a 28-game winning streak that began in the season prior and included 24 games at the start of the 2015-16 season.

It was the second-longest winning streak ever, and while it ended right before playing the Kings, the team went on to win five more games, with their last win during that stretch coming over Sacramento.

The win over the Kings was their 33rd win in 34 games, and they did it in brilliant fashion. The Warriors’ 3-point prowess was on display, as Thompson and Draymond Green both had five 3-point makes, while Curry connected on six shots from deep.

The trio weren’t the only players that were hot, though. For the Kings, Omri Casspi had a career-high 36 points and made nine 3-pointers. It was an entertaining game that demonstrated the new era of basketball that the Warriors helped usher in, and Golden State ended up walking away with the win.

3. Klay Thompson’s single quarter scoring record

Like Curry, Klay Thompson is one of the best shooters in NBA history, and he has a number of records to his name. Perhaps the most memorable of his records is his points in a quarter record. Thompson scored 37 points in the third quarter of a game on Jan. 23, 2015, and of course, that performance happened to come against the Kings.

That record seems unlikely to ever be broken. Thompson was 13-for-13 from the field and 9-for-9 from deep. He had 37 of the 41 total points Golden State had in the quarter, and the Warriors earned a well-deserved win. Thompson ended up with 52 total points, which was his career high at the time.

2. Draymond Green stomps on Domantas Sabonis

Draymond Green is known for his antics. The Warriors’ star forward has had more than one altercation in his career, and it has led to plenty of ejections, fines, technicals, and suspensions. His most notorious incident might be when he stomped on Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 of the first round in 2023.

Golden State and Sacramento’s rivalry has been pretty even – Warriors lead the series 221-198 – throughout the two’s history, with both teams having eras of dominance over the other. Despite both playing in the Pacific Division, the teams didn’t face each other in the playoffs until last year, and the series more than lived up to the expectations.

Tensions were high, and the games were physical. In Game 2, Sabonis got knocked to the floor and landed on by Green. Instead of running around the Kings’ star, Green decided to stomp on Sabonis’ upper body. It made the villainous Green even more hated by Kings fans. But more importantly, the NBA suspended Green for the next game.

Rivalries tend to get physical, and the entire series between the two last season was crazy (more on that later). Green’s infamous stomp will forever go down as one of the most iconic moments in the Warriors-Kings rivalry, though.

1. Steph Curry in Game 7

Draymond Green stomping on Domantas Sabonis wasn’t the only iconic thing that happened in the Warriors and Kings first-round matchup in 2023. In fact, the series as a whole was memorable. The Warriors suffered a few injuries (and Green’s suspension), but they were able to push the series to Game 7.

The Kings were a team without much playoff experience, and that obviously wasn’t the case for Steph Curry. The four-time champion put on arguably the best Game 7 performance in NBA history, which is saying a lot considering the number of iconic Game 7s throughout the history of the league.

Curry is obviously one of the best point guards and best shooters ever, and his heroics were on full display. Curry became the first player ever with 50 points in a Game 7. He shot 20-for-38 from the field to help Golden State get a 120-100 win and advance to the second round.

Jayson Tatum broke Curry’s record later in the 2023 postseason, but the Warriors vs. Kings Game 7 game was still one of the most important postseason games ever, regardless. Nearly 12 million viewers tuned in to the game on ABC. That helped the series draw more eyes than any other first- or second-round series this century.