Death Lineup

Death Lineup
Stephen Curry
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Durant
Harrison Barnes

The Death Lineup was a lineup of basketball players on the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2014 to 2019. Developed under head coach Steve Kerr, it began during their 2014–15 run that led to an NBA championship. Unlike typical small-ball units, this group of Warriors was versatile enough to defend larger opponents, while also aiming to create mismatches on offense with their shooting and playmaking skills.[1][2][3]

The lineup featured the Splash Brothers, a three-point shooting backcourt consisting of two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, and perennial two-way All-Star Klay Thompson. It also featured versatile defender and 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala on the wing alongside scorer Kevin Durant, and 2016–17 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green at center.[4] Green's defensive versatility was described as the "key" that allowed the lineup to be so effective; although his natural position was power forward, he was able to play as an undersized center in lieu of a traditional center who might have been slower or lacked the playmaking and shooting abilities of Green.[5][6] The lineup originally included Harrison Barnes, who was replaced in 2016–17 by former league MVP and four-time scoring champion Durant; the new group began to be known as the "Hamptons Five".[7][8]

The Death Lineup was considered to be indicative of a larger overall trend in the NBA towards "positionless" basketball, where traditional position assignments and roles have less importance.[9][10][11] Their time together ended after the 2018–19 season, when Durant became a free agent and decided not to rejoin the Warriors and Iguodala was traded.

  1. ^ Tjarks, Jonathan (September 6, 2016). "The NBA's New Lineups of Death". The Ringer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Slater, Anthony (May 15, 2016). "A clash of styles: The Thunder's big lineup against the Warriors' small-ball unit". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016.
  3. ^ Dubin, Jared (March 7, 2018). "Golden State's Death Lineup Has Been DOA on Defense". Vice Sports. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "The Warriors waited until the right moment to unleash their greatest weapon, and the Cavs had no answer". Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Tsan, Pin. "How Draymond Green Drives the Golden State Machine – Warriors World". Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  6. ^ "Warriors' Draymond Green as NBA's top center? It's no joke". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "Warriors Monday Mailbag: What's up with the center spot? Death lineup overuse?". mercurynews.com. December 5, 2016. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "NBA Power Rankings: Warriors back into top spot, Raptors up to third". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "The Epitome Of Positionless Basketball – RealGM Articles". basketball.realgm.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Orlando Magic are embracing positionless basketball". Orlando Magic Daily. July 28, 2017. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  11. ^ "Positionless basketball defines NBA's copycat nature". Las Vegas Review-Journal. July 15, 2017. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.