The Golden State Warriors ascend to new heights by refusing to take them for granted.

Way back in 2012, Golden State Warriors General Manager Bob Myers and I sat courtside at Oracle Arena and watched the Warriors and Cavaliers warm up.

Instead of match-ups or perimeter defense, we talked about things like team culture, trust and transparency.

Things were a little different then. The Warriors had tasted the playoffs just one time in 18 long years. Their last championship was nearly four decades stale. Myers was in his first season as GM, years away from NBA Executive of the Year honors or a championship parade. LeBron James lived and played in Miami. Nobody had imagined a season with 73 wins or 402 Stephen Curry three-pointers. Dubs fans were thrilled with the fact the Warriors started 8-6 (!) six short months after they booed new majority owner Joe Lacob off the court.

In the face of Golden State’s ensuing historic greatness, and more wins than any team has collected in a three-year span, that moment provides an all-too-fleeting perspective on how far the Warriors have come and how much had to happen to get here.

It’s understandable to see that perspective eroded. There are only so many times you can say “Nobody has ever done that” – 24 consecutive wins to start a season, 54 consecutive regular season home victories, 15 straight playoff wins, a +16 playoff point differential, 13 3s in a single game for Curry, 37 points in a single quarter for Klay Thompson – before expectation seeps in. When the Ws won their second NBA title in three years this week, pundits complained that Warrior dominance was predictable. A San Jose Mercury headline read, “Warriors deliver the title that was expected, demanded and promised.”

But the Warriors themselves are not taking anything for granted, and that’s both their most underrated and most powerful quality. Before Game 5, Head Coach Steve Kerr – who Myers credits for creating “a culture of joy” – implored his team to “play with force” but, just as importantly, to enjoy the moment. Curry appeared on SportsCenter and said, “You have fun. You try to enjoy the stage you’re on. Because it’s not guaranteed.”

While much has changed since 2012, some fundamentals have not. The culture is cooperative, not hierarchical. Lacob is at ease mingling with ticket takers and playing pickup games with Warrior employees. Curry means it when he says, “I’m not bigger than anyone on this team.” Unselfishness is how first halfs like the one the Ws put up to start the 2017 Finals rout – 20 assists, 1 turnover – can happen.

Like Myers told NBC Sports before the series, “We all do our best when we feel part of something bigger, if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

That echoes one of the first things series MVP Kevin Durant said after the Game 5 victory: “It’s a team sport.”

Which is precisely why Durant, who supplied five straight 30-point games and arguably the most efficient finals performance the league has seen, chose the Warriors: Other champions may have been as good as the Warriors, but they never had such a good time.