The 2014-15 NBA season felt weird at the time. It was a bridge between the old-school, grind-it-out era and the chaotic, high-volume perimeter game we see today. If you look back, the league was still reeling from the "Decision" era in Miami. LeBron James had just moved back to Cleveland. Most experts basically assumed he’d just keep winning titles because, well, he’s LeBron. But something else was brewing in Northern California that most of us—honestly—didn't see coming.
Everything changed.
We didn't know it yet, but the 2014-15 NBA season was the precise moment the "math" of basketball won. It was the year Stephen Curry turned into a supernova, Steve Kerr took over a 51-win team and made them legendary, and the San Antonio Spurs’ "Beautiful Game" style from the previous year finally infected the rest of the league. It wasn't just about who won the trophy; it was about how they won it.
The Rise of the Warriors and the Death of the Traditional Big
Before this season, you still heard coaches scream about "establishing the post." If you didn't have a seven-footer who could back someone down, you weren't a serious contender. Then came the Golden State Warriors. They started the season as a fun, trendy pick, but nobody—and I mean nobody—expected them to win 67 games. Mark Jackson had built a top-tier defense, but Steve Kerr arrived and unlocked the offense by doing something radical: he let them shoot.
He started Draymond Green at power forward because David Lee got hurt. That was the accident that changed history. Suddenly, you had a "center" in Draymond who could pass, dribble, and guard all five positions. It made the traditional, slow-footed big men of the era look like dinosaurs watching the asteroid hit.
The 2014-15 NBA season saw Curry hit 286 threes, breaking his own record. It sounds quaint now that guys are flirting with 400, but back then? It was alien. Teams didn't know how to guard him 35 feet from the hoop. They’d drop back in pick-and-roll coverage, and he’d just punish them. Every. Single. Time.
LeBron’s Homecoming and the Burden of Cleveland
While the Dubs were lighting up the West, the East was all about the King's return. LeBron James coming back to the Cavaliers was the biggest story in sports. He wrote that "I'm Coming Home" piece in Sports Illustrated, and suddenly, Cleveland was the center of the universe. But it wasn't easy. They started 19-20. People were panicking. David Blatt, the rookie coach from Europe, looked like he was in over his head.
Then David Griffin made the trades.
The mid-season acquisitions of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgov gave LeBron the "dogs" he needed. They went on a tear. But the 2014-15 NBA season was also incredibly cruel to Cleveland. Kevin Love’s shoulder got ripped out of its socket by Kelly Olynyk in the first round. Kyrie Irving’s kneecap gave out in Game 1 of the Finals. By the end, LeBron was playing with Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones against a juggernaut. He averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in those Finals, which is just stupidly productive, and he still lost. That’s how good Golden State was.
The MVP Race That Split the Fanbase
If you want to start an argument with a basketball purist, talk about the 2014-15 MVP race. It was Stephen Curry vs. James Harden. Harden was carrying a Houston Rockets team that was constantly dealing with Dwight Howard injuries. He was the ultimate floor raiser. Curry was the engine of the best team in the league.
Curry won, and it signaled a shift in what we valued. It wasn't just about the raw box score; it was about "gravity." Curry’s ability to pull defenders away from the rim just by standing on the court was something the analytics community, led by guys like Daryl Morey and Kirk Goldsberry, began to quantify. The 2014-15 NBA season was the year the "Eye Test" and "Advanced Analytics" finally started to agree on who the best players were.
Forgotten Storylines: The 60-Win Hawks and the Process
Everyone forgets the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games this year. Sixty! They had four All-Stars: Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford. They played a brand of unselfish, Spurs-lite basketball that was gorgeous to watch. They even won "Player of the Month" as an entire starting five. But they ran into the LeBron James buzzsaw in the Eastern Conference Finals and got swept. It was a reminder that while system basketball is great for the regular season, you still need a "closer" in May and June.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, "The Process" was in full, ugly swing. Sam Hinkie was tearing the roster down to the studs. They won 18 games. Fans were furious, or they were cult-like devotees. There was no middle ground. Looking back at the 2014-15 NBA season, you see the seeds of the modern era everywhere—from the tanking strategies to the three-point revolution.
- The Pelicans' Arrival: This was the year Anthony Davis looked like the next GOAT. He dragged a mediocre New Orleans team to the playoffs and had a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 30.8, which is historically elite.
- The Westbrook Triple-Double Prequel: Kevin Durant missed most of the year with foot issues. Russell Westbrook went nuclear, winning the scoring title and putting up triple-doubles before they were common. He proved he could carry a team, even if they narrowly missed the playoffs.
- The End of an Era in OKC: This was the beginning of the end for the KD/Russ era. The injuries signaled that their window was closing faster than anyone realized.
Why It Still Matters Today
You can't understand the current NBA without looking at 2014-15. It's the year the league's pace started to skyrocket. It's the year we realized that a 6'7" guy playing center wasn't a gimmick—it was a cheat code.
The Warriors’ "Death Lineup" (Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes, Green) didn't even play that many minutes together during the regular season. Kerr saved it for the Finals. When he benched Bogut to start Iguodala in Game 4, he effectively ended the "big man" era. That single coaching adjustment changed the geometry of the court forever.
Actionable Insights for Basketball Historians and Fans
If you’re looking to study this era or just want to win an argument at a bar, keep these specific points in mind:
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- Watch the Game 4 adjustment: If you have NBA League Pass or find clips on YouTube, watch the start of Game 4 of the 2015 Finals. Notice how the spacing changes the second Timofey Mozgov is forced to guard Andre Iguodala on the perimeter. It’s a masterclass in modern strategy.
- Look at the 3-point volume: Compare the 2014-15 Houston Rockets to today’s teams. Back then, Houston led the league with 32.7 attempts per game. Today, that would put them near the bottom of the league. It shows how fast the "revolution" happened.
- Evaluate the "LeBron as a System" Theory: This season is the best evidence for LeBron’s ability to turn any roster into a contender. Losing two All-Stars and still taking the Warriors to six games is arguably a greater feat than some of his actual championships.
- Respect the Defensive Shift: This was one of the last years where verticality and rim protection (think Roy Hibbert or Andrew Bogut) were the primary defensive metrics before "switchability" became the only word scouts cared about.
The 2014-15 NBA season wasn't just another year on the calendar. It was the birth of the modern game. We saw the rise of a dynasty, the return of a King, and the moment the three-point line became the most important real estate in sports. It was fast, it was loud, and it changed everything.