Another year, and another championship for the dynasty that is the Golden State Warriors. After two years of not making the playoffs, the Warriors beat the Celtics on the road with a 103-90 win. Stephen Curry stole the show, finishing with 34 points, 7 rebounds, and assists. The “baby-faced assassin” that is Steph Curry also received the coveted Finals MVP trophy.
Stephen Curry, with tears in his eyes after the historic win, was very emotional in describing the journey for their collective group after being the worst team in the league just two years ago. “This one hits different for sure knowing what the last three years meant, what it’s been like,” he said. “We built this for 10-11 years. That means a lot when you get to this stage.”
The “we” in this case would be the core three of the group that is Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, who all three now have four NBA championships to their name. “They’re all unique, they’re all special”, coach Steve Keer said describing the group and their multiple titles. “This one might have been the most unlikely- It takes a group effort to get it done and we had a great group”.
The road to the championship did not come without some adversity. The Warriors were plagued with injuries and sudden departures. Klay Thompson was sidelined for two and a half years with a torn ACL and Achilles and Stephen Curry who dealt with nagging foot injuries, and the departure of Kevin Durant who went to the Brooklyn Nets. Durant’s decision forced Golden State to reconstruct their roster, adding former No.1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and developing young players like Jordan Poole, Kevin Looney, and Gary Payton II. During the finals, Wiggins was the second-best player throughout the series.
This is the ninth NBA Championship for former Chicago Bull, Steve Kerr. He has won five as a player and four as the coach of the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr is now the sixth coach in NBA history with four titles, joining the ranks of legendary coaches, Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Gregg Popovich, and Pat Riley. Coach Kerr showed tremendous poise and trust in his players throughout this playoff run.
For the Celtics, it was Jaylen Brown who led the way with 34 points, but the ineffective shooting of Jayson Tatum, who finished with only 13 points on 6 for 18 shooting from the field, was the downfall for them this series. Tatum finished the series averaging 21.5 points on 36.2% from the field. In addition, the Celtics committed 22 turnovers, which made them 1-9 during the playoffs. Managing the ball was an issue for the Celtics all year.
With 4 NBA Titles to their name, the Golden State Warriors are in a unique place to reach dynasty status.
Contributing writer, Christian Nix is a third-year journalism student at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
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