Ranking the Greatest Playoff Games of the Warriors Dynasty Era

The Golden State Warriors have played in 171 playoff games since Stephen Curry was drafted, which made narrowing them down to a top eight a challenge.

Here are the criteria I used for ranking the playoff games:
- Stakes: This was given the most weight. The deeper the Warriors were into the playoffs as well as the deeper they were into a series made the stakes higher.
- How close the game was: Each ranked game didn't have to be decided in the last minute, but there had to be at least some fourth-quarter drama.
- Whether the game had a legendary individual performance: Among the players who had iconic performances for this ranked list are Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Honorable Mentions

Game 5 of 2015 Finals: The Warriors pulled away from the Cavs due to Curry's 17 fourth-quarter points. The Dubs closed out the Cavs one game later.

Game 1 of the 2018 Finals: James had 51 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but it wasn't enough, thanks in part to JR Smith's not-knowing-the-score gaffe. The Warriors won in OT before sweeping the Cavs.

Game 3 of the 2018 Finals: Durant had 43 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to give the Dubs a 3-0 lead on the Cavs. Most notably, he hit a dagger three that was from a similar spot to a big shot mentioned below.

Game 5 of the 2019 Finals: Facing elimination, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run (two Thompson threes, one Curry three) to take a three-point lead with 57 seconds left. They held on for a one-point win over the Raptors.

Game 7 of the 2023 WC First Round: Curry had the first 50-point Game 7 in NBA history to eliminate the Kings.

8. Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Final score: Warriors 118, Cavs 113
Why it's here: KD's go-ahead three

The Cavs led by six with three minutes to go, but the Warriors closed on an 11-0 run. The highlight was KD's pull-up three to give the Dubs a one-point lead.

The Warriors were so dominant in 2017 that they didn't need to win this game. They were already up 2-0 in the series and were 14-0 in the playoffs entering the game. That's why it's not ranked higher.

Still, it was one of the most well-played games in the dynasty run. Durant (31), Thompson (30) and Curry (26) combined for 87 points while James (39) and Irving (38) combined for 77.

7. Game 6 of the 2019 Conference Semifinals

Final score: Warriors 118, Rockets 113
Why it's here: Curry closes out Rockets with 33 second-half points

With 3:10 to go, the Warriors held a two-point lead, and from there Curry and Thompson hit shot after shot to hold off the Rockets.

Curry made a deep three and a driving layup before hitting one of his most iconic threes over PJ Tucker.

Then Thompson hit the dagger three off perfect Warriors ball movement.

The Dubs eliminated the Rockets for the fourth time in five years.

6. Game 7 of the 2018 Conference Finals

Final score: Warriors 101, Rockets 92
Why it's here: Warriors storm back after 15-point first-half deficit

The most memorable aspect of this game is that the Rockets missed 27 consecutive threes.

That opened the door for a Warriors comeback, and they took advantage with a 17-2 third-quarter run fueled by Curry scoring 14 of those points.

The Rockets cut the lead to six in the fourth quarter, but they got no closer.

Durant (34) and Curry (27) combined for 61 points, while James Harden had a team-high 32.

5. Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals

Final score: Raptors 114, Warriors 110
Why it's here: Raptors win thriller to clinch first NBA Finals

The most memorable moment from this game was Thompson coming back from the tunnel to make two free throws after tearing his ACL.

The Warriors somehow hung around without him, but Curry missed a potential go-ahead three with about eight seconds to go, and the Raptors held on from there.

Overall, this game had nine ties and 18 lead changes. Thompson had a game-high 30 points despite missing the last 14 minutes.

4. Game 7 of the 2016 Conference Finals

Final score: Warriors 96, Thunder 88
Why it's here: Warriors complete 3-1 comeback

The Warriors trailed by six at halftime, but they used a dominant 29-12 third quarter to take control.

The Thunder cut the lead to four twice in the fourth quarter, but each time Curry responded with personal mini runs (5-0 the first time, 6-0 the second time).

Curry had a game-high 36 points, while Durant had a team-high 27.

Golden State's 3-1 comeback was one of the catalysts for Durant joining the Warriors in July 2016.

3. Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals

Final score: Warriors 107, Celtics 97
Why it's here: Curry scores 43 in virtual must-win game

Trailing 2-1 in the Finals, the Warriors had to have this game, and Curry responded with arguably the best performance of his career considering the circumstances.

Golden State trailed by four with five minutes to go, but from there it went on a 10-0 run fueled by a Thompson three, a Curry floater and a Curry three.

The Warriors went on to win the Finals in six games, and Curry was rewarded with his first Finals MVP.

2. Game 6 of the 2016 Conference Finals

Final score: Warriors 108, Thunder 101
Why it's here: Thompson leads furious comeback with 41 points to extend season

Trailing 3-2 and heading to OKC for Game 6 was a recipe for elimination, as was entering the fourth quarter with an eight-point deficit. But Thompson hit five fourth-quarter threes, and each one was pivotal.

- First three cut OKC's lead to five
- Second three cut OKC's lead to four
- Third three cut OKC's lead to five
- Fourth three cut OKC's lead to four
- Fifth three gave GSW three-point lead

In all, Thompson had a playoff-record 11 threes.

As noted above, the Warriors won Game 7, keeping their 73-9 dream season alive.

As noted below, they did not finish off the job this season, which one might argue takes away some of the meaning of this performance.

But at the moment the Dubs won this game, it felt like one of the most important games in recent NBA history.

1. Game 7 of the 2016 Finals

Final score: Cavs 93, Warriors 89
Why it's here: Cavs ended 50-year title drought by beating 73-win Warriors with first 3-1 Finals comeback in history

Two of the most iconic moments in NBA history sparked the Cavs to a thrilling victory.

The first was James blocking Andre Iguodala's layup. The second was Irving's go-ahead three with less than a minute left.

Draymond Green almost save the Warriors with a 32-point, 15-rebound, nine-assist masterpiece, but in the end the Dubs couldn't overcome off games from Curry and Thompson.

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