The Golden State Warriors are heading back to the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years following a monster series from Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney.
The Warriors become just the fourth team to achieve this feat. They follow the Boston Celtics led by Bill Russell, the Los Angeles Lakers led by Magic Johnson, and the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan.
During this historic run to their 6th NBA Finals in 8 years, the Golden State Warriors have made a huge mark on the history of the NBA.
For the first time ever, the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP was awarded to Curry by former teammate and assistant coach Shaun Livingston.
The Warriors run started in 2015 when Draymond Green emerged as a star, winning a title over an injury-riddled Cavaliers team.
The Warriors beat every member of the All-NBA first team that was not on their roster, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Marc Gasol, and LeBron James. This was the first and only time that this feat has been achieved.
In the 2015-16 NBA season, the Warriors broke the record previously held by the 1995-96 Bulls for most wins in a regular season with 73 total, only losing nine games. This incredible season would lead Steph Curry to his second MVP and the first ever unanimous decision for the award.
Though they lost the Finals that year, they went into the next season with plenty of cap space, allowing them to sign former MVP Kevin Durant.
This led to two more championships in 2017 and 2018 with the greatest playoff record in NBA history in 2017 going 16-1 on their way to Durant’s first championship.
In the 2018-19 NBA season, the Warriors became the first team since the Celtics in 1975-76 to have five All-Stars from the previous season after adding center Demarcus Cousins to their already stacked roster.
Though they would once again lose the Finals due to extensive injuries, they became the second team in NBA history to make five consecutive Finals appearances, the first since 1969, the last year of Bill Russell’s amazing run with the Celtics.
Following that 2019 Finals appearance, the Warriors have struggled heavily with injuries, most notably losing Klay Thompson for two and a half seasons.
After two years off and plenty of doubts about their ability to perform, the Warriors are back in the Finals in 2022!
This Warriors dynasty is close to being on par with the Jordan led Chicago Bulls from the 90s.
Michael Jordan led the Bulls to six championships in six tries across the span of eight years. Nobody thought that his dominance could be replicated.
Steph Curry has led the Warriors to six Finals appearances now and has won three of them with another one within the realm of possibility.
If the Warriors are able to win against either the Heat or Celtics in the Finals, they will improve to 4-2 in the Finals. Both of those losses coming as a direct result of suspensions and injuries.
What makes the Warriors run even more impressive? The youth that stepped up to play a major role. Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins, both of which played incredibly well in the playoffs this year, are both only 26 years old.
Jordan Poole is only 22; Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are 19.
This doesn’t even take into account James Wiseman who missed this season due to injury but also has high potential to be a star. This could allow the Warriors window to extend much further into the future than we initially anticipated.
The Bulls were aging and had locker room issues during their “Last Dance,” and While the Golden State Warriors’ main core may be on the wrong side of 30, there are genuine young stars ready to take over once Curry, Green, and Thompson need to take a step back.
The Golden State Warriors are already one of the four greatest dynasties in the history of the NBA. they have the ability to add to it this year. What’s scarier is the fact that this may just be a transition period to the Poole, Wiseman, and Kuminga-led era.
No matter what, this Warriors squad will be immortalized in the history of basketball forever.