When the Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3-1 lead against the Golden State Warriors during the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals, it looked like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were finally within striking distance of the elusive NBA championship that they had been in pursuit of since 2011. However, the Warriors took three straight victories over them and eventually lost in the same fashion to the Cleveland Cavaliers. A mere two weeks later, Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors. Durant joined a stacked team which went 73-9 during the regular season, composed of players such as Defensive Player Of The Year Draymond Green, reigning MVP and possibly the greatest shooter of all time, Steph Curry, and perennial all-star and one of the best shooters of all time, Klay Thompson.

Of course, basketball fans know what happened after this crucial signing. The Warriors dominated the regular season and bulldozed through the playoffs, only losing once to the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Cavaliers managed to rally back from a 3-1 deficit against the Warriors in 2016, they couldn’t replicate their performance in 2017. The Cavaliers actually improved over the same offseason, but they had a problem: The Warriors just got that much better.

The Warriors’ legendary run through the 2016-2017 NBA season ignited a movement for teams that were contending for a deep playoff run. When teams realized they didn’t stand a chance against the Warriors in the playoffs, they started doing everything to attain quality players to hopefully stand a chance against one of the greatest teams of all time. Here’s a look at a few teams that made a lot of moves to try to upset the Warriors.

BOSTON CELTICS

The Boston Celtics took the league by storm last season when Isaiah Thomas put up historical numbers and carried them to the first seed in the playoffs. Things looked great for the Celtics, and they appeared to be possible candidates for the NBA Finals until they were steamrolled by LeBron James and the Cavaliers in 5 games. Following the offseason, the Celtics took a lot of fans by surprise when they flipped Thomas and Jae Crowder for Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, two premier talents in the NBA. However, with Hayward sidelined by a horrifying broken leg, Irving must shoulder a lot of the scoring and playmaking duties required to run the Celtics offense. Irving served mostly in the shadow of LeBron James last season, struggling and forcing himself into difficult shots and showing a lack of interest in facilitating the Cavaliers’ offense whenever James was on the bench. Right now, with Hayward injured and nobody else equipped to run the offense on the Celtics, Irving must step up and prove his doubters wrong.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Speaking of the Cavaliers, it appears that fans are expecting Cavaliers vs. Warriors in the finals for the 4th straight year, despite the trouncing that the Cavaliers suffered last year. The Cavaliers made many moves to prepare for the inevitable rematch, though. After Kyrie Irving stated that he was tired of playing second fiddle to LeBron James and that he wanted his own team, the Cavaliers made the most of a difficult situation by trading him to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder. While Thomas obviously won’t replicate his miraculous performance due to his reduced role and a hip injury which will keep him sidelined until January, he is still a fantastic shooter, playmaker, and locker room presence who can aid the Cavaliers greatly in their hypothetical rematch with the Warriors despite his small stature and lack of defensive prowess. Jae Crowder also gives the Cavs a large amount of assistance in their finals run. Despite subpar playmaking ability, Crowder can still shoot very well and is a great defender who has the ability to play 3 positions, aiding the flexibility of the Cavaliers’ lineups and providing some form of protection against the Warriors’ deadly offensive weapons. Other than that trade, the Cavaliers acquired Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, two playmaking scorers that are still effective despite their diminished skillsets due to injuries and age respectively.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Even after Kevin Durant left the Thunder for the Warriors and dominated the league last season, all was not lost for Oklahoma CIty; They still had Russell Westbrook. Westbrook, in a herculean effort to push an inferior Thunder squad into the playoffs, became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double for a season. Despite Westbrook’s insane season, the rest of the Thunder left a lot to be desired in their performance. Many Thunder players were good defenders but abysmal on offense, leading to a 4-1 loss to the Houston Rockets in the playoffs. Thunder GM Sam Presti responded to this loss by acquiring two of the best small forwards in the NBA in Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. While Anthony had a subpar stretch of seasons as a member of the New York Knicks and is aging at 33, he is still one of the best scorers in the NBA and a solid defender and rebounder. Standing at 6’10”, Paul George is a freak of nature who combined his insane length and athletic ability with his offensive instincts and defensive prowess to average 24 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds for the Indiana Pacers. Even with a lack of talent outside of their three stars, the Thunder are projected to be a dark horse candidate in the NBA arms race against the Warriors.