Mind & body, Research

Golden State Warriors a case study in 'greater good'

By Yasmin Anwar

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Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle)

After signing Kevin Durant last summer, the Golden State Warriors were widely designated in the sports media as “ the NBA’s villains .”

But UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center researchers say this year’s NBA champions are actually “a case study in mindfulness, empathy and cooperation.”

In an article on the Greater Good Science Center’s new website , editor-in-chief Jason Marsh argues that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has shaped the team’s culture around four core values: joy, mindfulness, compassion and competition.

“When the Warriors reclaimed the NBA championship from the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this week,” Marsh writes, “those values took center stage.”

Examples of Warrior mindfulness include finals MVP Durant saying after Game 5, the series winner: “I remember plenty of times throughout my career, I continued to look in the past or look ahead, and not stay in the moment. And this series, I just stayed in the moment.”

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