Warriors back on top with crown
BOSTON — Over the past three years, as they navigated career-threatening injuries to core players, roster turnover, a leagueworst record, back-to-back draft lotteries and a cloud of uncertainty as murky as the San Francisco fog, the Golden State Warriors insisted that their story was not yet over.
Even though five straight Finals runs earned them the benefit of the doubt, few could have foreseen the scene that unfolded at TD Garden on Thursday night. In an era of the NBA marked by parity and fleeting allegiances, the Warriors had cemented themselves as the great exception — title-winners in four of the past eight seasons.
By beating the Celtics 10390 in Game 6 of the Finals, Golden State authored a fitting ending to the most unexpected chapter of this dynasty. Just 36 months ago, after being undone by torn ligaments, physical and emotional exhaustion, and the Raptors’ raw power in the 2019 Finals, scribes hastily eulogized one of the NBA’s most memorable runs. Now, those obituaries look silly as the Warriors prepare for another championship parade.
Perhaps everyone should have just listened when Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and others vowed that Golden State would reclaim its place at the top of the league hierarchy. Such proclamations seemed fanciful when the Warriors went 15-50 two years ago, but nothing can quantify the franchise’s championship culture — an institutional belief that it belongs among the best.
“We found a way to just get it done,” said Curry, who scored 34 points and was
named the NBA Finals MVP. “It’s part of a championship pedigree, our experience. … We built this for 10-11 years. That means a lot when you get to this stage.”
As Golden State endured the departure of Kevin Durant, a broken hand for Curry, and a torn ACL and Achilles tendon for Thompson, it clung to the notion that all would be right once its dynastic core was fully healthy again. This required immense patience. After missing more than 2½ years to rehab both of his injuries, Thompson returned in early January, only for Green to suffer a lower-back injury that sidelined him two-plus months.
In Green’s second game back, Curry suffered a foot injury that kept him out of the final 12 regular-season games. The Warriors knew that, to hush their doubters and return to the sport’s summit, they would need to do the seemingly impossible: improve on the fly as they tinkered with lineup combinations.
At times, it looked as if that might be too tall a task. Though the Warriors made quick work of Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets in the first round and Luka Doncic’s Mavericks in the Western Conference finals, they struggled to get by a tenacious young Grizzlies team that was without goto option Ja Morant for the final three games of the second round. In the Finals, Golden State dug a 2-1 series hole as it labored against the Celtics’ size and physicality.
Through it all, the Warriors showcased a stubborn spirit that almost defied logic. On numerous occasions, they were given reasons to acquiesce and set their sights on a title in 2023, only to take their play to new heights.
“They’re all unique, they’re all special,” coach Steve Kerr said of the 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.”
It’s difficult to overstate how rare this all is. When the Warriors became the first team since the 1985 Lakers to claim a title on Boston’s famed parquet Thursday, they completed a journey never seen before in the NBA.
No one else has needed just two years to vault from the league’s ugliest record to a championship. The closest modern example might be the 2007-08 Celtics, who hoisted a Larry O’Brien trophy one year after they posted the league’s second-worst record.
But to chart such a precipitous rise, Boston needed to acquire two Hall of Famers in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen during the offseason. What makes the Warriors’ story so extraordinary is that, at a time when NBA powers often change year-to-year, they have used homegrown talent to build sustained greatness.
Curry (No. 7 pick in 2009 draft), Thompson (No. 11 in 2011) and Green (No. 35 in 2012) have now won 21 Finals games.
That’s the most by an All-NBA trio in the past 50 years, eclipsing the 19 Finals wins the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili totaled together.
Just 0.8 percent of all NBA players have won four championships; the Warriors now boast four players — Curry, Thompson, Green and Andre Iguodala — with that distinction. To claim its latest title, Golden State had to lean heavily on Curry, who averaged 31.2 points on 48.5 percent shooting (43.7 percent from 3-point range), 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals in the six Finals games.
His dazzling dribbling displays, mastery of the pick-androll and deep 3-pointers helped the Warriors overcome erratic play from Thompson, Green and others. But even if Curry might deserve the most credit for this championship, Golden State wouldn’t be here without contributions throughout the organization.
Late Thursday, as the final buzzer sounded on their most shocking title win yet, Golden State players embraced each other as they fought back tears. They had said again and again that their story was not over yet.
But this? This might have been better than even they expected.