On Friday, May 12, 2023, the hope of the Golden State Warriors was crushed when the Los Angeles Lakers won 122-101 in game six of the Western Conference semifinals. As the Lakers advanced to conference finals, shouts, whoops, cheers, and cries of joy filled Crypto.com Arena. While on the other half of the arena, there was silence as the Warrior fans assessed what had gone so wrong this season. Is the Warriors’ dynasty over or will they bounce back to win another ring next season?

The Lakers kicked off game six with a great 17-point lead. As LeBron James led the scoreboard with 30 points and nine assists, Anthony Davis controlled the inside with 17 points and 20 rebounds. On the other hand, the reigning champions couldn’t muster up a decent shot ratio. Even with splash brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors struggled to barely reach the 100-point mark. The Warriors may have lost, but this season was among the most difficult of the last decade, ruined by long absences for major players, a surprising inability to win, and fights between players such as the altercation between Jordan Poole and Draymond Green. Known for being a three-point specialist, Thompson is widely regarded as one of the greatest shooters to exist. However, he couldn’t perform his best on Friday night. Thompson was hoping to bounce back from a 3-of-12 shooting night in game five, but it didn’t happen for the 10-year NBA veteran. In fact, Thompson played worse with figures of just eight points on 3-of-19 from the field. Not only did Thompson play poorly, but Poole had a disappointing performance as well. Flashy guard Poole was struggling since game one, and game six was no exception, going 3-of-10 shooting on seven points. Although Curry was a lone bright spot for the Warriors, it is no doubt that this loss was due to a poor team effort.