The Golden State Warriors are one of the oldest franchises in NBA history. They’ve been in existence since the 1946 season and won the ABA title in their first season. They went on to make 36 playoff appearances in 76 seasons and won 6 NBA/ABA titles. Denver too was an ABA team that came into the league in the 1967-68 season. However, in the 55 seasons, they’ve made 37 playoff appearances and won 0 titles.
The Golden State Warriors have been a dynasty whilst the Nuggets still thirst for their first NBA title.
Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets: Playoff records
All-time stats in the playoffs | Golden State Warriors | Denver Nuggets |
---|---|---|
Wins | 8 | 3 |
Losses | 3 | 8 |
NBA Playoffs | Date | Matchup | Final Score | Series |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 Playoffs | 20th April, 2013 | GSW at Denver | 95-97 | Denver Lead Series 1-0 |
2013 Playoffs | 23rd April, 2013 | GSW at Denver | 131-117 | GSW Tie Series 1-1 |
2013 Playoffs | 26th April, 2013 | Denver at GSW | 108-110 | GSW Lead Series 2-1 |
2013 Playoffs | 28th April, 2013 | Denver at GSW | 101-115 | GSW Lead Series 3-1 |
2013 Playoffs | 30th April, 2013 | GSW at Denver | 100-107 | GSW Lead Series 3-2 |
2013 Playoffs | 2nd May, 2013 | Denver at GSW | 88-92 | GSW Win Series 4-2 |
2022 Playoffs | 16th April, 2022 | Denver at GSW | 107-123 | GSW Lead Series 1-0 |
2022 Playoffs | 18th April, 2022 | Denver at GSW | 106-126 | GSW lead Series 2-0 |
2022 Playoffs | 21st April, 2022 | GSW at Denver | 118-113 | GSW Lead series 3-0 |
2022 Playoffs | 24th April, 2022 | GSW at Denver | 121-126 | GSW Lead Series 3-1 |
2022 Playoffs | 27th May, 2022 | Denver at GSW | 98-102 | GSW Win Series 4-1 |
Since the beginning, the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets have been in the NBA but met only twice in the NBA playoffs. The first time came in 2013 and the second time is unfolding this season.
In the 2013 NBA season, there was a very interesting dynamic. It was Stephen Curry‘s first-ever NBA playoff appearance. His matchup in the first round was against the 57-win team the Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry was the out and out star for the Warriors but the Nuggets had a deep team and balanced team.
However, the Golden State Warriors pulled off the upset in dominating fashion. Golden State lost game 1 in Denver but tied up the series behind Stephen Curry’s 30 points. Curry seemed like he belonged in the NBA playoffs as he won the next 2 games in a row as well and led the series 3-1. In those 3 games, Curry averaged 30 points.
The Nuggets grabbed game 5 but could not complete the comeback as they lost game 6 and the series. It was Curry’s first real sign of stardom. He went on to blossom into the best guard of our generation and never looked back. His numbers are somewhat similar to that of Jordan Poole’s from this season showing great signs of success in Poole’s future.
Key matchups from the past
Stephen Curry vs Andre Iguodala:
You’d have to back years to imagine a time when Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala were not teammates but rivals. Andre Iguodala and Curry were at extremely different points in their career during this series. Curry was not yet an all-star at that point in his career while Iguodala already had an all-star game under his belt.
However, Iggy’s numbers weren’t as impressive as Curry’s even though his team had more regular-season wins. In the 6 games they played in the 1st round, Curry averaged 24 points, 9 assists, and 2 steals. Andre Iguodala averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
After that embarrassing loss in this series, Iggy joined the Warriors and went on to win the 3 NBA titles and 1 finals MVP. He was one of the first players that pulled a KD before KD did.
Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets: Current season matchup
The Golden State Warriors are the 3rd seed in the West whilst the Denver Nuggets sit in the 6th seed. However, Denver isn’t far off in the wins category. They have 48 wins and the Warriors have 53 wins. Denver isn’t winning this series but they did win the season series against the Warriors with 3 wins out of 4 games.
Golden State has been known for its offense but is the best defensive team in the NBA according to efficiency rating. The Nuggets have seen Jokic have an exceptional season which makes sense as to why they have a top 10 offense in the NBA. But so far we haven’t seen them utilize it to its full extent.
Can the Denver Nuggets mount the comeback against the Warriors carried on the back of Jokic and their offense? Or will GSW continue beating the Nuggets in the NBA playoffs?