Remember when former Warriors used to go berserk on the Dubs as members of another franchise?
Like a young Chris Webber dropping a 40-point triple-double in Oracle Arena and making Warriors fans pull their
hair out in horror. That was the old Warriors DNA: develop someone brilliant, panic, ship them out, then watch them flourish elsewhere while we sorted through the wreckage.
The Steve Kerr era was supposed to end that cycle. We became the destination, the franchise that got player development right. Thursday night in Milwaukee, former Dubs’ proect Ryan Rollins scored 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting with eight assists in the Bucks’ 120-110 upset over a Warriors team expecting an easy win against a Giannis-less opponent. Suddenly we’re back in that uncomfortable space, watching discarded potential make us pay. When Kevin Durant dropped 32 points as a Phoenix Sun against us, it stung differently. KD left as an established superstar after three Finals runs and two championships. That wasn’t organizational failure. That was basketball’s natural evolution.
Jordan Poole’s 38-point performance in Washington? That hurt more. But at least the Dubs invested years of development, got a championship contribution, and maximized what he could be in Coach Steve Kerr’s system before the relationship fractured. Ryan Rollins got 12 games. Twelve total appearances before the front office decided they’d seen enough. Then they packaged him as trade filler to acquire Chris Paul, treating the 44th overall pick like contractual ballast.
Milwaukee saw something different. They extended him this summer on a three-year deal, betting on his offensive creation. Thursday validated that investment in ways that should bring the Rollins’ truthers out in full force in Dub Nation. The game flow tells you everything. Golden State clawed back from eight down, cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 104-106 on a Steph Curry three with 4:03 remaining. Then Rollins answered ten seconds later with his own triple, igniting an 11-2 run that sealed Golden State’s fate. He punctuated the performance with one final three in the closing seconds, just to drive the point home.
That’s not luck. That’s understanding leverage and having the confidence to attack crucial moments. Those instincts don’t develop overnight. Watching Rollins carve up Golden State’s defense with efficient scoring as Giannis supported from the bench? Bittersweet. Happy to see him perform well, just sucks that it had to be against the Dubs.
Chris Webber’s revenge games represented everything wrong with the old Warriors: rushed decisions, evaluation failures, organizational panic. This revenge game feels like how in the heck did we give away two guys in the same trade who would come back and bust the Warriors up for over 30 points!
