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The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty
How money, guts, and greed built the Warriors dynasty--and then took it apart
The Golden State Warriors dominated the NBA for the better part of a decade. Since the arrival of owner Joe Lacob, they won more championships and sold more merchandise than any other franchise in the sport. And in 2019, they opened the doors on a lavish new stadium.
Yet all this success contained some of the seeds of decline. Ethan Sherwood Strauss's clear-eyed exposé reveals the team's culture, its financial ambitions and struggles, and the price that its players and managers have paid for all their winning. From Lacob's unlikely acquisition of the team to Kevin Durant's controversial departure, Strauss shows how the smallest moments can define success or failure for years.
And, looking ahead, Strauss ponders whether this organization can rebuild after its abrupt fall from the top, and how a relentless business wears down its players and executives. The Victory Machine is a defining book on the modern NBA: it not only rewrites the story of the Warriors, but shows how the Darwinian business of pro basketball really works.
The Golden State Warriors dominated the NBA for the better part of a decade. Since the arrival of owner Joe Lacob, they won more championships and sold more merchandise than any other franchise in the sport. And in 2019, they opened the doors on a lavish new stadium.
Yet all this success contained some of the seeds of decline. Ethan Sherwood Strauss's clear-eyed exposé reveals the team's culture, its financial ambitions and struggles, and the price that its players and managers have paid for all their winning. From Lacob's unlikely acquisition of the team to Kevin Durant's controversial departure, Strauss shows how the smallest moments can define success or failure for years.
And, looking ahead, Strauss ponders whether this organization can rebuild after its abrupt fall from the top, and how a relentless business wears down its players and executives. The Victory Machine is a defining book on the modern NBA: it not only rewrites the story of the Warriors, but shows how the Darwinian business of pro basketball really works.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2020
174 people are currently reading
1213 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
January 27, 2022
This book started out fine, but soon devolved into too many anecdotes and random reflections. The author is a journalist, who I would say had no idea how organize and write a book. It's more like a confused longform article.
I grew up in the Bay Area and have been a Bay Area sports fan all my life. I also played varsity basketball in high school, so know a bit about the game. I also know the Warriors well.
I am not going to put any energy into trying to dissect this author's hodge podge. But do want to share what I think was a significant factor in the departure of Durant.
KD is a classic personality type----the grandiose-depressive. He needs the limelight and, if he doesn't get it, he gets really depressed. A classic historical example is Winston Churchill, someone I researched and wrote about when I served as the historian for the Churchill Club in the Bay Area. Churchill was at the height of his glory and life when he led England against Hitler. But he had a lot of ups and downs, and the many years at the end of his life (at age 90) were extremely dark for him. He had no purpose and was no longer in the limelight. He called his depression the "Black Dog."
KD was used to being the limelight player. The hero. If you go to YouTube and look up his highlight reel almost everything on there shows Durant running coast to coast down the court to deliver a slam dunk. The crowd rises as one, cheering, ecstatic. (I found it interesting that only two of those highlights were in a Warriors uniforms)
In Oakland, Steph Curry was the man. The undersized underdog with serious ankle issues. He fought through that and, with the support of several amazing teammates, helped change the game. (Charles Barkley still hasn't figured it out. He's stuck in the 80's)
I read the Kindle version. I had ordered a paper copy for my son, as well, but just cancelled that order.
-----------------
I just did a search on Kindle version and there are exactly four references to officiating in the book. This represents a huge hole. Part of the Warriors story in recent years is also the story of squirrely officiating. All the Warriors games were televised in the Bay Area and my wife often watched them with me. She was the first to notice the imbalance in foul calls. She's in the investment biz and the numbers don't lie. We'd look at the post-game boxscores and Warriors opponents were getting 3x as many foul shot chances per game than the Warriors. During play you could see bogus calls on the Warriors and blatant non-calls where, for example, an opponent would take the head off off a Warriors player going to the rim or get "clotheslined" in the open court with no call. It seemed to be league policy to keep games close and it also played out in very blatant fashion in the Cavs win where all sorts of shenanigans went on to help crybaby LeBron get his Cleveland title. As far as I recall, Michael Jordan didn't get that kind of help.
In his memoir, The Sixth Man," Andre Iguodala is quite candid about it....
"Kevin Durant was averaging eight or nine free throws a game in Oklahoma City. In his first year with us, he averaged six. Steph, over his career, all with the Warriors, has averaged between four and five free throws per game, and I’ve watched him come into practice the next day with quarter-inch-deep gashes on his arms from plays that were not called. It’s hard to imagine a back-to-back MVP, unanimous the second time, only getting to the line a handful of times per game like that. Most guys who average 30 points a game shoot way more free throws.
I recently had an assistant coach from another team text me after we played them. He and I went way back to my teenage years. He wanted to congratulate us on keeping our composure during the game. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Our game plan,” he said, “is just to foul the shit out of you. We tell our guys every time-out, just foul the ball handler every time. We know they’re not going to call it.”
So we know that the scouting report on us for most teams is, essentially, rough them up. Knock them around. They’re not going to get the calls.
Even though this had been my sense all along, it was still surprising to hear it so obviously stated by someone else in the league. Why would this even be the case? Does the league feel like we’re too good? Like we could just blow teams out, which would drive down viewership?"
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I grew up in the Bay Area and have been a Bay Area sports fan all my life. I also played varsity basketball in high school, so know a bit about the game. I also know the Warriors well.
I am not going to put any energy into trying to dissect this author's hodge podge. But do want to share what I think was a significant factor in the departure of Durant.
KD is a classic personality type----the grandiose-depressive. He needs the limelight and, if he doesn't get it, he gets really depressed. A classic historical example is Winston Churchill, someone I researched and wrote about when I served as the historian for the Churchill Club in the Bay Area. Churchill was at the height of his glory and life when he led England against Hitler. But he had a lot of ups and downs, and the many years at the end of his life (at age 90) were extremely dark for him. He had no purpose and was no longer in the limelight. He called his depression the "Black Dog."
KD was used to being the limelight player. The hero. If you go to YouTube and look up his highlight reel almost everything on there shows Durant running coast to coast down the court to deliver a slam dunk. The crowd rises as one, cheering, ecstatic. (I found it interesting that only two of those highlights were in a Warriors uniforms)
In Oakland, Steph Curry was the man. The undersized underdog with serious ankle issues. He fought through that and, with the support of several amazing teammates, helped change the game. (Charles Barkley still hasn't figured it out. He's stuck in the 80's)
I read the Kindle version. I had ordered a paper copy for my son, as well, but just cancelled that order.
-----------------
I just did a search on Kindle version and there are exactly four references to officiating in the book. This represents a huge hole. Part of the Warriors story in recent years is also the story of squirrely officiating. All the Warriors games were televised in the Bay Area and my wife often watched them with me. She was the first to notice the imbalance in foul calls. She's in the investment biz and the numbers don't lie. We'd look at the post-game boxscores and Warriors opponents were getting 3x as many foul shot chances per game than the Warriors. During play you could see bogus calls on the Warriors and blatant non-calls where, for example, an opponent would take the head off off a Warriors player going to the rim or get "clotheslined" in the open court with no call. It seemed to be league policy to keep games close and it also played out in very blatant fashion in the Cavs win where all sorts of shenanigans went on to help crybaby LeBron get his Cleveland title. As far as I recall, Michael Jordan didn't get that kind of help.
In his memoir, The Sixth Man," Andre Iguodala is quite candid about it....
"Kevin Durant was averaging eight or nine free throws a game in Oklahoma City. In his first year with us, he averaged six. Steph, over his career, all with the Warriors, has averaged between four and five free throws per game, and I’ve watched him come into practice the next day with quarter-inch-deep gashes on his arms from plays that were not called. It’s hard to imagine a back-to-back MVP, unanimous the second time, only getting to the line a handful of times per game like that. Most guys who average 30 points a game shoot way more free throws.
I recently had an assistant coach from another team text me after we played them. He and I went way back to my teenage years. He wanted to congratulate us on keeping our composure during the game. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Our game plan,” he said, “is just to foul the shit out of you. We tell our guys every time-out, just foul the ball handler every time. We know they’re not going to call it.”
So we know that the scouting report on us for most teams is, essentially, rough them up. Knock them around. They’re not going to get the calls.
Even though this had been my sense all along, it was still surprising to hear it so obviously stated by someone else in the league. Why would this even be the case? Does the league feel like we’re too good? Like we could just blow teams out, which would drive down viewership?"
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 2, 2021
For a book called "The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty", there's not much time spent on the "making" part of the Warriors. I wanted to be able to cheer on with the Warriors as they come into their own. I mean they did win 3 championships, making it to the Finals an impressive 5 consecutive years. Instead, Strauss focuses on Kevin Durant and his dislike for the mercurial Kevin Durant. The book is very negative not only to Durant but the NBA culture in general. Yes, there are some very valid points. It doesn't mean I want to read a rambling account of all those negatives.
April 23, 2020
BLUF: Strauss removes all of the joy from a team that was built on joy, making for a miserable slog of a book.
When a book markets itself as "The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty," you might expect a review that covers the past decade. You might expect a discussion on Steph Curry's early years, and how Steph, Klay, and Draymond coalesced into a juggernaut that became fully realized under Steve Kerr. You might anticipate a review of the dream season of 2015, the heartbreak of 2016, and the championship years of 2017-18 before the collapse of 2019. You may look forward to reading about those games and dynamics you remember, perhaps with insights you missed at the time. You might expect joy along with heartbreak.
If so, this isn't your book. Strauss spends far more time discussing the owners (Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber) and GM (Bob Myers) than Steph, Klay, or Dray. When those players are mentioned, it's usually to reflect on negatives such as Steph playing poorly after being injured in 2016 or Dray cursing out Kerr and fighting with KD (Klay is ignored except for a brief section on how introverted he is). There's lots of discussion about sneaker contracts and how players and agents leverage control over owners, along with the detriment of social media to the NBA and its players. The only remembrances of games involve the 2019 playoff series (primarily the first two rounds). If you're interested in the machinations behind the game maybe this interests you; if you're interested in the game itself, don't even bother.
The one player discussed in detail, of course, is Kevin Durant. The fact that the only photos in the entire book are on the jacket--one of KD, one of the author--speaks volumes about the contents. In a 212-page book, the longest chapter--47 pages, more than 20%--is called "Kevin and Me." In this chapter, Strauss recounts in excruciating detail how he hurt KD's feelings and the impact it had on Strauss' life. In a book about the Warriors' dynasty, you learn more about Strauss than you do about Curry, Klay, or Draymond.
Strauss is a good-enough writer, though there's evidence of sloppy editing (pg.151: "If this Warriors team featured a joyless way of winning, unexpected losses certainly didn't help. She wasn't wrong. After the game...". Something's missing here). But his focus on the ugliness of the NBA, the misery of trying to sustain excellence, the unhappiness of one player, and the discord among the team in its final season makes this a difficult read with few rewards. There are almost no revelations or insights about the players or team, there are lengthy--and I mean almost a page long--direct quotes from other writers or transcripts of interviews/podcasts, and even a passage where he discusses how his reporting was influenced by his decision to write this book. There's little focus or structure beyond wanting you to realize how horrible it was to play for the Warriors during their dynasty.
To enjoy the Warriors again, read "Golden Days" by Jack McCallum. It's far superior in every way. You'll remember why you love them and, more importantly, why you love basketball.
When a book markets itself as "The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty," you might expect a review that covers the past decade. You might expect a discussion on Steph Curry's early years, and how Steph, Klay, and Draymond coalesced into a juggernaut that became fully realized under Steve Kerr. You might anticipate a review of the dream season of 2015, the heartbreak of 2016, and the championship years of 2017-18 before the collapse of 2019. You may look forward to reading about those games and dynamics you remember, perhaps with insights you missed at the time. You might expect joy along with heartbreak.
If so, this isn't your book. Strauss spends far more time discussing the owners (Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber) and GM (Bob Myers) than Steph, Klay, or Dray. When those players are mentioned, it's usually to reflect on negatives such as Steph playing poorly after being injured in 2016 or Dray cursing out Kerr and fighting with KD (Klay is ignored except for a brief section on how introverted he is). There's lots of discussion about sneaker contracts and how players and agents leverage control over owners, along with the detriment of social media to the NBA and its players. The only remembrances of games involve the 2019 playoff series (primarily the first two rounds). If you're interested in the machinations behind the game maybe this interests you; if you're interested in the game itself, don't even bother.
The one player discussed in detail, of course, is Kevin Durant. The fact that the only photos in the entire book are on the jacket--one of KD, one of the author--speaks volumes about the contents. In a 212-page book, the longest chapter--47 pages, more than 20%--is called "Kevin and Me." In this chapter, Strauss recounts in excruciating detail how he hurt KD's feelings and the impact it had on Strauss' life. In a book about the Warriors' dynasty, you learn more about Strauss than you do about Curry, Klay, or Draymond.
Strauss is a good-enough writer, though there's evidence of sloppy editing (pg.151: "If this Warriors team featured a joyless way of winning, unexpected losses certainly didn't help. She wasn't wrong. After the game...". Something's missing here). But his focus on the ugliness of the NBA, the misery of trying to sustain excellence, the unhappiness of one player, and the discord among the team in its final season makes this a difficult read with few rewards. There are almost no revelations or insights about the players or team, there are lengthy--and I mean almost a page long--direct quotes from other writers or transcripts of interviews/podcasts, and even a passage where he discusses how his reporting was influenced by his decision to write this book. There's little focus or structure beyond wanting you to realize how horrible it was to play for the Warriors during their dynasty.
To enjoy the Warriors again, read "Golden Days" by Jack McCallum. It's far superior in every way. You'll remember why you love them and, more importantly, why you love basketball.
April 16, 2020
Kevin Durant left the Warriors because of Twitter. That's the upshot. He couldn't handle #stephbetter and My Next Chapter memes. We knew he was extremely online and frustrated by the '4 all stars' narrative cheapening his success. His public confrontation with Ethan Strauss exposed the bizarre depth of those insecurities.
Strauss didn't interview KD for the book. He got a 'Fuck you' text. But, his conflict with KD is why Strauss is the perfect person to write up this period. On his podcast, Strauss talks about his strategy to break through as a journalist - reveal and probe one level deeper than what older media types are comfortable with. He discusses the sneaker wars, agents, owners, race. When he touches on the game, it's perfunctory. His focus is the meta-narrative.
In a sense, that's Kevin Durant. The game is the game - he is one of the best ever and now a 2-time champ. And, yet, the KD Warriors were defined by the descent into an unspoken malaise. We could sense it as fans. It was all the more apparent for the lifelong W's faithful who obsessed over the KD-less Warriors' rise.
There was a kind of catharsis when Strauss provoked KD to speak. Strauss's experience getting iced out functions as a synecdoche for how fans felt. Why does KD care about Strauss or Twitter trolls or anything but winning? And, why does he profess he doesn't care when he clearly does?
Strauss's account doesn't resolve that confusion, he presents it as such. His point is - KD doesn't know what he wants, but he also doesn't want people to think he doesn't know what he wants. Ironically, that's #relatable.
Strauss didn't interview KD for the book. He got a 'Fuck you' text. But, his conflict with KD is why Strauss is the perfect person to write up this period. On his podcast, Strauss talks about his strategy to break through as a journalist - reveal and probe one level deeper than what older media types are comfortable with. He discusses the sneaker wars, agents, owners, race. When he touches on the game, it's perfunctory. His focus is the meta-narrative.
In a sense, that's Kevin Durant. The game is the game - he is one of the best ever and now a 2-time champ. And, yet, the KD Warriors were defined by the descent into an unspoken malaise. We could sense it as fans. It was all the more apparent for the lifelong W's faithful who obsessed over the KD-less Warriors' rise.
There was a kind of catharsis when Strauss provoked KD to speak. Strauss's experience getting iced out functions as a synecdoche for how fans felt. Why does KD care about Strauss or Twitter trolls or anything but winning? And, why does he profess he doesn't care when he clearly does?
Strauss's account doesn't resolve that confusion, he presents it as such. His point is - KD doesn't know what he wants, but he also doesn't want people to think he doesn't know what he wants. Ironically, that's #relatable.
April 13, 2020
While the structure of this book was as disjointed as the Warriors 2019 season and while the book does assume a pretty detailed background knowledge around the NBA in general and the warriors in specific, it is notable for four reasons.
First is the inside story to the dissolution of the Warriors' dynasty. The journalist's inside take is well trodden in sports books, but the details of this team are still interesting to see. Second is the focus on the business side of the NBA, the GMs and agents and owners and Nike reps that the fans mostly like to acknowledge doesn't exist. Third is the exploration of the power of stars and the influence of brand culture in this era of the NBA (including toxic relationships with media and social media). And finally is the interesting focus on the coach, not as a guru of Xs and Os, but as a motivator. How to you get (and what happens when you fail to get) buy in from superstars who may be earning more money from their shoe deal and may (rightly) see little reason to sacrifice for a team that will just trade or cut them when they are no longer of value? This is sports as late stage capitalism, and it's fascinating.
**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
First is the inside story to the dissolution of the Warriors' dynasty. The journalist's inside take is well trodden in sports books, but the details of this team are still interesting to see. Second is the focus on the business side of the NBA, the GMs and agents and owners and Nike reps that the fans mostly like to acknowledge doesn't exist. Third is the exploration of the power of stars and the influence of brand culture in this era of the NBA (including toxic relationships with media and social media). And finally is the interesting focus on the coach, not as a guru of Xs and Os, but as a motivator. How to you get (and what happens when you fail to get) buy in from superstars who may be earning more money from their shoe deal and may (rightly) see little reason to sacrifice for a team that will just trade or cut them when they are no longer of value? This is sports as late stage capitalism, and it's fascinating.
**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 1, 2020
Fantastic read for anybody interested in the modern NBA. The reason why I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that there were too many points where I thought Ethan scratched the surface of something interesting and then moved on before diving in heavily. I recognize he couldn't have gone down all of those paths, but considering the book was only ~210 pages, I don't think it's hard to imagine a world where Strauss goes the extra mile on a few of these topics, extends the length out to 300 or 400 pages and we end up with a classic on the level of something like "The Breaks of The Game."
May 10, 2020
This had really good insight and was well-written. The author does write himself into it a lot, at times it
Almost just feels like a book about how he doesn’t get along with Kevin Durant. It’s unavoidable that this would happen, but I would have liked it better to be minimal.
Almost just feels like a book about how he doesn’t get along with Kevin Durant. It’s unavoidable that this would happen, but I would have liked it better to be minimal.
January 24, 2020
When the Golden State Warriors failed to win a third consecutive championship and fourth in five years by losing to the Toronto Raptors in 2019, it signaled the end of the latest NBA dynasty. How the Warriors got to that stage and some of mechanisms behind their success is told in this great book by Ethan Sherwood Strauss.busine
Rather than recapping the games and playoff series wins, Strauss takes a different approach to telling the reader about Golden State's success. He concentrates on the business side of the game for insight into the team, starting with Peter Guber and Joe Lacob were able to take control of the team from Chris Cohan, under whose ownership the franchise became a laughing stock. What Guber and Lacob did was nothing short of brilliant by not only finding players to complement Stephan Curry and bring out his best, but also how they were in tune with what was going on in professional basketball and how to either lure players (see Kevin Durant) or keep players even it would mean a reduced or different role (see Andre Igudala.)
The only player in which Strauss writes about in depth is Kevin Durant and his appearance of being annoyed. It is a complex situation and not something that is simple as he didn't like being second fiddle to Curry nor just that he wanted out of Oklahoma City and became a target of the rantings of angry fans. In the book, this goes well beyond fans at games – social media and its influence in today's NBA players is examined in depth and is one of the best subjects addressed.
Strauss also pulls no punches when he talks about the current state of the game when he writes that the Warriors "somehow rose up in this atomized, clownish world…" or about the current reduction in accessibility to the players for the media. He states that NBA stars are "merging the aloof with the confrontational" and that "walls were coming up." This type of writing is the main reason why this book is one that all NBA fans, whether they are saddened or overjoyed at the end of the Golden State dynasty, should add to their libraries.
I wish to than Perseus Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Rather than recapping the games and playoff series wins, Strauss takes a different approach to telling the reader about Golden State's success. He concentrates on the business side of the game for insight into the team, starting with Peter Guber and Joe Lacob were able to take control of the team from Chris Cohan, under whose ownership the franchise became a laughing stock. What Guber and Lacob did was nothing short of brilliant by not only finding players to complement Stephan Curry and bring out his best, but also how they were in tune with what was going on in professional basketball and how to either lure players (see Kevin Durant) or keep players even it would mean a reduced or different role (see Andre Igudala.)
The only player in which Strauss writes about in depth is Kevin Durant and his appearance of being annoyed. It is a complex situation and not something that is simple as he didn't like being second fiddle to Curry nor just that he wanted out of Oklahoma City and became a target of the rantings of angry fans. In the book, this goes well beyond fans at games – social media and its influence in today's NBA players is examined in depth and is one of the best subjects addressed.
Strauss also pulls no punches when he talks about the current state of the game when he writes that the Warriors "somehow rose up in this atomized, clownish world…" or about the current reduction in accessibility to the players for the media. He states that NBA stars are "merging the aloof with the confrontational" and that "walls were coming up." This type of writing is the main reason why this book is one that all NBA fans, whether they are saddened or overjoyed at the end of the Golden State dynasty, should add to their libraries.
I wish to than Perseus Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
April 16, 2020
During one of Steve Kerr’s conversations with NFL coach Bill Parcells, Parcells would tell an underperforming player that “apparently I have more confidence in your ability to perform than you do.”
That was how I felt before reading Ethan Sherwood Strauss’s novel. I sincerely believed and hoped that I was going to have a moment of enlightenment, discovering the secrets that allowed the Golden State Warriors to build its winning culture from the ground up.
Instead, I was completely robbed. I never got the feel-good story that surrounded the Warriors during their ascent as a darkhorse playoff team under Coach Mark Jackson. Later on, the 2015 championship was barely mentioned, even though the front cover of this book explicitly stated that this was a book about the “making” of the Warriors dynasty.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson’s league-wide long-distance revolution was hardly tackled, and it was Draymond Green’s antics that picked up more steam as the story went along. The team had won 67 and 73 regular season games in Coach Steve Kerr’s first two seasons, and yet the book’s focus was diverted to Under Armour’s plummeting stock.
The incoherent narrative with scattered timelines was just the tip of the iceberg. What made this book difficult to finish was how it suddenly turned into a complete evisceration of Kevin Durant as a human being, well beyond the confines of his role as a basketball superstar. I am disappointed at how a journalist of Strauss’s stature, who must maintain an objective insight (based on the Old Media Code, I suppose), heavily injected himself into the plot as a victim of Durant’s unpredictable mood swings.
Strauss heaped vitriol upon vitriol upon Durant, dangerously bordering on a personal vendetta. Despite leading the Warriors to titles in 2017 and 2018, Durant is depicted with unrivaled antagonism and ingratitude. The championships themselves were essentially relegated to mere footnotes.
The portrayal of Bob Myers as a general manager was also bland. Other GMs were brought in as comparisons, such as Daryl Morey and Sam Hinkie. These figures were presented to show who Bob Myers is not, but we never really found out more about who Bob Myers is.
I really, truly believed that Strauss, blessed with a coveted press pass and a deep vocabulary, could have vividly recaptured the ultimate highs of the three championships the Golden State Warriors had. Instead, he went in the opposite direction. In less than 200 pages, Strauss “unmade” the beauty of Golden State’s dynasty faster than Durant’s departure to the Brooklyn Nets.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2020
The best basketball book I’ve ever read.
April 15, 2020
I’ll start with the positives. Strauss has great sources and clearly worked his ass off to get access to the inaccessible. He’s a sharp, witty and insightful writer who can turn a phrase and expertly use (ok, fine, abuse) a thesaurus. The subject matter is also riveting.
So why didn’t this book totally work? It’s hard to say, but it just seemed to lack any clear thesis or direction. It’s not really about the Warriors. It’s really just disparate stories within the Warriors’ orbit. Each chapter could really just stand as a separate Athletic article (is that what happened?). To make matters worse, Strauss goes on so many tangents that it’s hard not to question why you’re reading the book at all.
Probably most annoying is Strauss’ insistence on being part of the story. I know he would say that Durant forced him to be part of the story but, I don’t know, to me that excuse sounds like a convenient pretext to get away with self serving writing. I don’t recall Halberstram inserting himself into Breaks of the Game - or really ever using the word “I”. Modern NBA journalism is already strange in that it’s quite meta as journalists so often report on the journalism. Now there’s a book where the journalist journals about his journalism? I don’t know. Just seemed in bad taste and self indulgent to turn the lens on himself so much.
If you aren’t a huge (and I mean HUGE) NBA fan, this is probably a 2-star book and not worth your time. If you are a huge (again, HUGE) NBA fan, this book is worth reading just for the captivating subject matter. But you can’t really credit Strauss for that. It just seemed he had access to all the ingredients to make a soufflé and ended up giving us a muffin. Or maybe a cupcake (pun intended).
So why didn’t this book totally work? It’s hard to say, but it just seemed to lack any clear thesis or direction. It’s not really about the Warriors. It’s really just disparate stories within the Warriors’ orbit. Each chapter could really just stand as a separate Athletic article (is that what happened?). To make matters worse, Strauss goes on so many tangents that it’s hard not to question why you’re reading the book at all.
Probably most annoying is Strauss’ insistence on being part of the story. I know he would say that Durant forced him to be part of the story but, I don’t know, to me that excuse sounds like a convenient pretext to get away with self serving writing. I don’t recall Halberstram inserting himself into Breaks of the Game - or really ever using the word “I”. Modern NBA journalism is already strange in that it’s quite meta as journalists so often report on the journalism. Now there’s a book where the journalist journals about his journalism? I don’t know. Just seemed in bad taste and self indulgent to turn the lens on himself so much.
If you aren’t a huge (and I mean HUGE) NBA fan, this is probably a 2-star book and not worth your time. If you are a huge (again, HUGE) NBA fan, this book is worth reading just for the captivating subject matter. But you can’t really credit Strauss for that. It just seemed he had access to all the ingredients to make a soufflé and ended up giving us a muffin. Or maybe a cupcake (pun intended).
May 29, 2020
I was looking forward to reading some new information and drama packaged into a compelling narrative. Strauss delivers on the first point but falls down on the second which results in you feeling like this was a waste of potential.
There are two things that immediately jump out.
First thing is that the title is pretty inaccurate. The vast portion is not about making or unmaking the dynasty. There's brief discussion of how the Warriors ascended post-2010, but in reality the book centres around Kevin Durant, specifically in the 2018-19 NBA season.
Second is that this is not a very accessible book unless you know a lot about the NBA. Strauss throws a lot of terminology which makes it difficult to understand for those without already good knowledge of the subject matter.
There's some great nuggets of information here. The presence of shoe deals, player empowerment, coaching philosophies, even the ideas of winning/losing was covered. The stories around Kevin Durant are quite compelling.
But there is a lack of overarching narrative beside that it was Kevin Durant that ended it all which really holds it back. It's too simple of a theme which doesn't do the title or the reader justice based on everything they had read in the book.
Ultimately the writing reads a lot more like a large article than a book. The experience is very disjointed as it feels that Strauss was attempting to cover many topics in too few words. I was left feeling that a lot of refinement was needed before its release. This is one work which should've been much longer to do justice to what Strauss intended to convey.
There are two things that immediately jump out.
First thing is that the title is pretty inaccurate. The vast portion is not about making or unmaking the dynasty. There's brief discussion of how the Warriors ascended post-2010, but in reality the book centres around Kevin Durant, specifically in the 2018-19 NBA season.
Second is that this is not a very accessible book unless you know a lot about the NBA. Strauss throws a lot of terminology which makes it difficult to understand for those without already good knowledge of the subject matter.
There's some great nuggets of information here. The presence of shoe deals, player empowerment, coaching philosophies, even the ideas of winning/losing was covered. The stories around Kevin Durant are quite compelling.
But there is a lack of overarching narrative beside that it was Kevin Durant that ended it all which really holds it back. It's too simple of a theme which doesn't do the title or the reader justice based on everything they had read in the book.
Ultimately the writing reads a lot more like a large article than a book. The experience is very disjointed as it feels that Strauss was attempting to cover many topics in too few words. I was left feeling that a lot of refinement was needed before its release. This is one work which should've been much longer to do justice to what Strauss intended to convey.
January 14, 2024
I cannot criticize this book for doing what it set out to do. Strauss is a Golden State Warriors beat reporter, and his goal here (I believe) is to shed light on the behind-the-scenes dealings and dramas of the Warriors and in so doing to illustrate how this behind-the-scenes stuff can significantly affect an NBA franchise’s success. Sadly, most of what he reveals is depressing, dispiriting — in a word, icky. Strauss’ writing is energetic and to-the-point, and his chapter on Kevin Durant is a fascinating — albeit depressing, dispiriting, icky — character study. Had I read a review first, I probably would have decided to read something a little more fun, something like Rich Cohen’s recently released When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season. Nothing against Strauss.
May 8, 2020
this book could've been so much more! disappointing read
mainly focused on the unmaking of the dynasty and KD instead of a blow by blow of the past several years
there was no chronological timeline and jumped all over the place and spent a big chunk of time talking about other teams
mainly focused on the unmaking of the dynasty and KD instead of a blow by blow of the past several years
there was no chronological timeline and jumped all over the place and spent a big chunk of time talking about other teams
December 28, 2020
For many years, I was a hardcore NBA fan. My theory was that anyone who said they didn’t like watching pro basketball had never been to a live NBA game. Although my fandom died off when things changed so the games and teams were all about individual glory (rather than team effort), my appreciation came back with the rise of the Warriors, who played as a team and seemed to love it. So I was fascinated when I read about The Victory Machine by Ethan Sherwood Strauss, and was happy to receive a copy from Perseus Books/PublicAffairs and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The subtitle is “The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty,” and the author seemed to be in a great position to know all sides of the story: he was the Golden State Warriors beat reporter for both ESPN and The Athletic, and has gotten more than his share of publicity for his “interactions” with superstar Kevin Durant. He has written a fascinating history of the Warriors, focusing on the glory years from 2015 to present day. And if you are hoping to read a feel-good tribute kind of book, this isn’t it. As Strauss tells his readers clearly, “Most sports books are celebratory in nature, but this one dwells on the sadness that comes with success.”
Huh? How could a team that had made it to the NBA Finals for five straight years and won the championship three times during that run experience sadness? Were the widely admired owners and GM something other than the geniuses they appeared to be? After all, when the Warriors appeared in the 2015 NBA Finals, it had been forty years since they had even gotten past the first round of the playoffs.
In 2010, it was widely expected that billionaire Larry Ellison was going to buy the Warriors from owner Chris Cohan, despite the fact that they didn’t get along and Cohan was “something of a Keyser Soze of failure.” Joe Lacob and Peter Guber were seen as underdogs in the bidding war for the team, but as Strauss notes, “When the Warriors were sold, the underdog won. The underdog then oversaw the birth of the ultimate overdog, the team that would ruin basketball.” Wait, what? I don’t get this line at all!!
Lacob and Guber, along with GM Bob Myers and basketball genius Jerry West (hired as a consultant), are widely credited with totally turning the team around, with Lacob being the most visible. Strauss doesn’t hold back in discussing his opinion of Lacob, for whom he says he has “…more tolerance…than many of the people who compete against and work for him.” Although he admits that when he interviews him “…it’s gold…Reporters will appraise players as “great guy, terrible quote.” There can be a correlation. Assholes sometimes make for better quotes.”
While the rise of the Warriors dynasty can be traced to shrewd moves by Lacob, Guber, Myers, and West, the downfall is harder to define, although Strauss points out that “Rarely in the NBA does basketball nirvana die of natural causes. Egos get in the way, often before Father Time arrives on the scene.” He further identifies some key factors in the Warriors’ demise: money, egos, and “chemistry.” Teams are made up of “sneaker salesmen who play the role of basketball players.” The whole relationship of players, fans, shoe companies and NBA overseers is laid bare by Strauss, who notes “So much of the NBA is artifice, or at the very least, contrivance.”
The fifth key in the administrative side of the dynasty is head coach Steve Kerr, widely regarded as a genius acquisition: “The Kerr era brought great success, all the while promoting the idea that success could actually be enjoyed.” His ability to manage the diverse personalities and egos is legendary, and despite being so successful, managing the players was a delicate skill. After all winning “… is generally good for all, but your teammates’ exploits can easily come at your expense…Resentment runs deep, as does paranoia.”
Enter Kevin Durant, a brilliant player whose rough upbringing may have contributed to his inability to feel like he truly fit in to the Warriors’ team environment. He never could accept that while fans appreciated him, the Warriors fans were clearly more appreciative of Steph Curry, and “…cheered loudest for the smaller MVP’s baskets.” Steph personified the type of player the NBA wanted: “… winsome heroes beamed into televisions across the world, They didn’t want sneering, petulant dicks.”
The book has a huge amount of space devoted to KD’s quirks, paranoia, and battles with Coach Kerr, and while Strauss tells those stories in great detail (and it’s not a pretty picture), he is equally hard on fans: “Even if the fans were often thanked at public team events and retirement ceremonies, their existence is mostly just tolerated… their love looks ghoulish and horrifying from the recipient’s vantage.” And he notes that “…with the rise of the importance of …Social media, the power of the asshole fan is disproportionate.”
There are a few things that will stick with me long after reading this book. First, the Warriors lost the services of Jerry West because he quit “over having been told to take a pay cut.” WTF? Second, KD was a miserable person and definitely detracted from the elusive “chemistry” quotient, and his departure was never in doubt: ”Few will ever admit to being motivated by factors beyond winning but at a certain point, winning with misery just isn’t an appealing path.” Third, Klay Thompson is a fascinating guy: “… an apathetic, charismatic, half-wise, half-oblivious, Keanu Reeves character with a jump shot.”
Will be appreciated by basketball fans in general for the inside look at the nature of athletes, contracts, etc., although the painful truths about the players’ view of the fans and the personality of Kevin Durant will perhaps not be appreciated by some. And it will be devoured by Warriors fans in particular who may or may not agree, but will likely learn quite a bit about the reasons why their team rose to such success…then fell. (But I still don’t get how they are “…the team that would ruin basketball.” Four stars.
The subtitle is “The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty,” and the author seemed to be in a great position to know all sides of the story: he was the Golden State Warriors beat reporter for both ESPN and The Athletic, and has gotten more than his share of publicity for his “interactions” with superstar Kevin Durant. He has written a fascinating history of the Warriors, focusing on the glory years from 2015 to present day. And if you are hoping to read a feel-good tribute kind of book, this isn’t it. As Strauss tells his readers clearly, “Most sports books are celebratory in nature, but this one dwells on the sadness that comes with success.”
Huh? How could a team that had made it to the NBA Finals for five straight years and won the championship three times during that run experience sadness? Were the widely admired owners and GM something other than the geniuses they appeared to be? After all, when the Warriors appeared in the 2015 NBA Finals, it had been forty years since they had even gotten past the first round of the playoffs.
In 2010, it was widely expected that billionaire Larry Ellison was going to buy the Warriors from owner Chris Cohan, despite the fact that they didn’t get along and Cohan was “something of a Keyser Soze of failure.” Joe Lacob and Peter Guber were seen as underdogs in the bidding war for the team, but as Strauss notes, “When the Warriors were sold, the underdog won. The underdog then oversaw the birth of the ultimate overdog, the team that would ruin basketball.” Wait, what? I don’t get this line at all!!
Lacob and Guber, along with GM Bob Myers and basketball genius Jerry West (hired as a consultant), are widely credited with totally turning the team around, with Lacob being the most visible. Strauss doesn’t hold back in discussing his opinion of Lacob, for whom he says he has “…more tolerance…than many of the people who compete against and work for him.” Although he admits that when he interviews him “…it’s gold…Reporters will appraise players as “great guy, terrible quote.” There can be a correlation. Assholes sometimes make for better quotes.”
While the rise of the Warriors dynasty can be traced to shrewd moves by Lacob, Guber, Myers, and West, the downfall is harder to define, although Strauss points out that “Rarely in the NBA does basketball nirvana die of natural causes. Egos get in the way, often before Father Time arrives on the scene.” He further identifies some key factors in the Warriors’ demise: money, egos, and “chemistry.” Teams are made up of “sneaker salesmen who play the role of basketball players.” The whole relationship of players, fans, shoe companies and NBA overseers is laid bare by Strauss, who notes “So much of the NBA is artifice, or at the very least, contrivance.”
The fifth key in the administrative side of the dynasty is head coach Steve Kerr, widely regarded as a genius acquisition: “The Kerr era brought great success, all the while promoting the idea that success could actually be enjoyed.” His ability to manage the diverse personalities and egos is legendary, and despite being so successful, managing the players was a delicate skill. After all winning “… is generally good for all, but your teammates’ exploits can easily come at your expense…Resentment runs deep, as does paranoia.”
Enter Kevin Durant, a brilliant player whose rough upbringing may have contributed to his inability to feel like he truly fit in to the Warriors’ team environment. He never could accept that while fans appreciated him, the Warriors fans were clearly more appreciative of Steph Curry, and “…cheered loudest for the smaller MVP’s baskets.” Steph personified the type of player the NBA wanted: “… winsome heroes beamed into televisions across the world, They didn’t want sneering, petulant dicks.”
The book has a huge amount of space devoted to KD’s quirks, paranoia, and battles with Coach Kerr, and while Strauss tells those stories in great detail (and it’s not a pretty picture), he is equally hard on fans: “Even if the fans were often thanked at public team events and retirement ceremonies, their existence is mostly just tolerated… their love looks ghoulish and horrifying from the recipient’s vantage.” And he notes that “…with the rise of the importance of …Social media, the power of the asshole fan is disproportionate.”
There are a few things that will stick with me long after reading this book. First, the Warriors lost the services of Jerry West because he quit “over having been told to take a pay cut.” WTF? Second, KD was a miserable person and definitely detracted from the elusive “chemistry” quotient, and his departure was never in doubt: ”Few will ever admit to being motivated by factors beyond winning but at a certain point, winning with misery just isn’t an appealing path.” Third, Klay Thompson is a fascinating guy: “… an apathetic, charismatic, half-wise, half-oblivious, Keanu Reeves character with a jump shot.”
Will be appreciated by basketball fans in general for the inside look at the nature of athletes, contracts, etc., although the painful truths about the players’ view of the fans and the personality of Kevin Durant will perhaps not be appreciated by some. And it will be devoured by Warriors fans in particular who may or may not agree, but will likely learn quite a bit about the reasons why their team rose to such success…then fell. (But I still don’t get how they are “…the team that would ruin basketball.” Four stars.
March 13, 2021
*3.5/5
More about the front office story and make up than the players (other than KD), this was an interesting take on the construction and destruction of a team. It had some really thought provoking philosophical parts which I enjoyed, but the author can belabor certain points or struggle to connect the dots in a clear way. In short, definitely worth the read if you love basketball, but perhaps less essential reading if you're more of a casual fan.
More about the front office story and make up than the players (other than KD), this was an interesting take on the construction and destruction of a team. It had some really thought provoking philosophical parts which I enjoyed, but the author can belabor certain points or struggle to connect the dots in a clear way. In short, definitely worth the read if you love basketball, but perhaps less essential reading if you're more of a casual fan.
May 7, 2020
An unorthodox view of the sport, maybe a bit cynical, but i found it refreshing to look at a team without all the usual romantic stuff...
December 24, 2025
Manuale per farsi nemici potenti
April 18, 2020
I really liked this book. Strauss is a good writer with a killer vocabulary, though the book feels disjointed. The first 1/2 was fantastic but the tagging on KD started to get old. This is more a book about KD’s strenuous relationship with the media (aka Strauss) and less about the Warriors organization as a whole. Or at least equally about those two things.
February 17, 2020
The book is structurally mess with little cohesion, but it serves as a tremendously empathetic look into the moods and behavior of Kevin Durant and the fallacy of "happiness."
May 22, 2020
Some good Warriors gossip in here. Ethan is not afraid to 1. drop in the occasional fancy term like"sui generis" and 2. write about his own role in the story which really makes this way sharper. The downside is that it feels a bit Ethan vs KD at times and honestly I'm exhausted by the KD drama at this point. The best stories were the ones about Lacob and Kerr. Or the Andre nuggets. Also - more Steph please! Still a fascinating read. And as a Dubs fan I'm hoping for a long epilogue at some point.
June 5, 2025
This was kind of a weird read. As an NBA fan, I enjoyed all the inside stuff. However, this book came out in 2020, and five years in sports is a hell of a long time. I had to think and even go online to be sure just who won which championship and who was on what team.
I also think "the Making of the Warriors Dynasty" was a bit of a misnomer - this book didn't really go in depth (at least, not enough depth for my taste) on the MAKING of the team, but boy, it sure looked at the UNMAKING as shown in the 2019 season in major depth. The middle half of the book was basically all about Kevin Durant and his place on the Warriors and in NBA history...plus a bit too much, IMHO, on the interactions between KD and the author. Interesting how Steph Curry seems to have a solid place in the NBA's all time top ten, alongside Jordan, LeBron, Abdul-Jabbar, etc., as perhaps the greatest pure shooter (at least, from 3-point land) in NBA history, while Durant's place in the pantheon still seems unclear.
I also must confess, as a Bulls fan, that the Warriors' failure to win it all after their 73 win season pleased me, since the mantra of the Bulls 72 win season was "It don't mean a thing without that ring," which of course the Bulls won.
Don't get me wrong, this is a great read; I'm just not sure it covered the material the title and subtitle seem to promise.
I also think "the Making of the Warriors Dynasty" was a bit of a misnomer - this book didn't really go in depth (at least, not enough depth for my taste) on the MAKING of the team, but boy, it sure looked at the UNMAKING as shown in the 2019 season in major depth. The middle half of the book was basically all about Kevin Durant and his place on the Warriors and in NBA history...plus a bit too much, IMHO, on the interactions between KD and the author. Interesting how Steph Curry seems to have a solid place in the NBA's all time top ten, alongside Jordan, LeBron, Abdul-Jabbar, etc., as perhaps the greatest pure shooter (at least, from 3-point land) in NBA history, while Durant's place in the pantheon still seems unclear.
I also must confess, as a Bulls fan, that the Warriors' failure to win it all after their 73 win season pleased me, since the mantra of the Bulls 72 win season was "It don't mean a thing without that ring," which of course the Bulls won.
Don't get me wrong, this is a great read; I'm just not sure it covered the material the title and subtitle seem to promise.
July 26, 2024
I love Ethan Sherwood Strauss' writing. His prose and insights transcend the usual standards of sports journalism.
Ethan illustrated how the signing of Kevin Durant, once hailed as a major triumph for any franchise, ultimately sapped the "joy" from the Golden State Warriors. This insight shed light on why the 2022 championship was far more enjoyable than those won during Durant's tenure.
The life of the GM, glamorized in books like Moneyball, was revealed to be far from that and more of a job of assuaging egos and repairing relationships. However Kevin Durant's apparently fragile ego could never be soothed and it's not surprising he left to join Kyrie in Brooklyn and has now become an NBA vagabond.
I also felt sorry for Ethan as he was attacked frequently by Kevin Durant for revealing truths about Kevin. A sports journalist's job is difficult because they depend on athletes for their stories yet at the same time are put in a difficult position that if they tell the truth the athlete will shut them out or even worse try to destroy their career which they have the power to do.
I highly recommend this book both for Warriors fans as well as those who want to understand the intense pride and hyper-masculinity in male sports.
Ethan illustrated how the signing of Kevin Durant, once hailed as a major triumph for any franchise, ultimately sapped the "joy" from the Golden State Warriors. This insight shed light on why the 2022 championship was far more enjoyable than those won during Durant's tenure.
The life of the GM, glamorized in books like Moneyball, was revealed to be far from that and more of a job of assuaging egos and repairing relationships. However Kevin Durant's apparently fragile ego could never be soothed and it's not surprising he left to join Kyrie in Brooklyn and has now become an NBA vagabond.
I also felt sorry for Ethan as he was attacked frequently by Kevin Durant for revealing truths about Kevin. A sports journalist's job is difficult because they depend on athletes for their stories yet at the same time are put in a difficult position that if they tell the truth the athlete will shut them out or even worse try to destroy their career which they have the power to do.
I highly recommend this book both for Warriors fans as well as those who want to understand the intense pride and hyper-masculinity in male sports.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2023
Insecure weirdo Ethan Strauss pontificates about insecure weirdo Kevin Durant. For a short book he takes the long way around. Some of the insider stories are hugely entertaining, but the lack of context means it takes a pretty committed NBA fan to understand what’s going on through much of the narrative.
February 9, 2024
A journalist perspective of the greatest warriors dynasty in NBA history. It appears that the journalist was always right, and clearly had issues with Kevin Durant which were obvious by the bias opinions within the book. A good read, that showed how quickly the good can become the bad in a powerful industry where money talks.
May 19, 2020
It’s more interesting from a media perspective than a basketball perspective. A lot of stuff abt KD and his tense relationship with fans. Not enough Steph Curry. He got iguodala but more with him would have been great.
December 23, 2023
This book does a decent job of diving into one of the greatest teams of all time. I wish they would have gone through in a more chronological order of the dynasty. I also appreciated how this book also emphasized that sports are not the ultimate way to happiness.
July 4, 2022
enjoyed the insider look but found the book somewhat unorganized
January 27, 2025
An enjoyable read that focused mainly on how Golden State's 2019 season went wrong.
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