The Warriors and Rockets were the two top teams in the Western Conference last season, led by the league’s top two MVP candidates in Stephen Curry and James Harden. Both sides seemed on a collision course all year for the Western Conference Finals. Ultimately, the Warriors prevailed on their way to an NBA title, and Curry (media) and Harden (players) essentially split the MVP hardware.
Given all those high-profile meetings, it’s only natural for some animosity to develop along the way. It may have started during the season, when Harden infamously declared that the Warriors “ain’t even that good.” And now, it seems to have carried over into the offseason.
The latest “feud” seemingly began late Friday night, when the WarriorsWorld blog tweeted Houston GM Daryl Morey with a clip of one of Curry’s Western Conference Finals highlights.
Light @dmorey pic.twitter.com/kFnjAvIBOA
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) August 29, 2015
From there, Morey responded with a Harden clip of his own, and the GIF war was on.
Light @warriorsworld pic.twitter.com/i9utoFdp6O
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) August 29, 2015
Light @warriorsworld pic.twitter.com/aH9aZbrkZO — Daryl Morey (@dmorey) August 29, 2015
Light. Ty was already headed to Houston? Nasty https://t.co/IaEPnLzWFJ
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) August 29, 2015
Lightest of the Light ???????? @dmorey pic.twitter.com/uiGqBE7v6s — warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) August 29, 2015
Morey, of course, brought point guard Ty Lawson into the “GIF war” because he was Houston’s prized offseason acquisition. The Rockets are hoping that the addition of Lawson, coupled with the return of injured guard Pat Beverley and forward Donatas Motiejunas, is enough to bridge the gap between Houston and Golden State, should the teams meet in the playoffs again.
It won’t be long until these two sides can start to settle their differences on the floor. After all, the Rockets and Warriors meet on Friday, October 30 — just the second game of the 2015-16 regular season. And it appears Morey already has that day circled on his calendar.
@warriorsworld pic.twitter.com/1E84sTRTQ7
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) August 29, 2015
Get your popcorn ready.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.