The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Finals to win their fourth NBA title in the past eight seasons.
And so, the dynasty lives on.
Eight years, six finals, four championships.
Just like the Celtics of the 60s, the Showtime Lakers of the 80s and the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls of the 90s, the Golden State Warriors have dominated a generation. Powered by their lockdown defence and era-defining shot-making, the Dubs have reigned over the NBA with an iron fist, rewriting the rules of the sport and changing the game forever in the process.
At the centre of this revolution is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball Steph Curry, who added the crown jewel to his super-sized trophy collection on Thursday night, winning the first NBA Finals MVP of his career.
View this post on Instagram
Curry has always been the face of the Golden State three-point revolution and dominance in the NBA finals, but the one missing piece of hardware in the 34-year-old’s trophy cabinet was a Finals MVP. Andre Iguodala controversially received the trophy during the Golden State Warriors’ first victory in 2015 for his defence on Lebron James before Kevin Durant stole the limelight in their back-to-back championships in 2017 and 18.
For the greater good of the team, Curry allowed others to flourish and take his spotlight, willing to take a backseat and sacrifice his statistics and glory for the benefit of the group. However, this selflessness resulted in a looming cloud hanging over his head. Curry never categorically being the best player on a championship team was often used as a slight to undermine his greatness.
Then came the 2022 NBA Finals, of course.
Against the league’s stingiest defence in the last half a decade, with all five starters earning a defensive player of the year vote, Curry finished with 31 points a game on shooting splits of 48/44/89.
The 2022 NBA Finals were not just the best playoff series of Curry’s career. It was the best jump-shooting NBA finals performance in the history of basketball. The point guard’s 43 points on 14 of 26 shooting in the series-changing game four in Boston will go down in the pantheon of great NBA playoffs games of all time. The baby-faced assassin nonchalantly drained threes despite facing intense ball pressure from lengthy wing defenders who did not afford him an inch of space.
View this post on Instagram
To top it all off, Curry is doing this at age 34. Only Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar have managed to play at such a high level at this late stage in their career. This isn’t just greatness, it’s era-defining.
Curry has left no more room for debate about his legacy. He isn’t just the best shooter of all time – like how Michael Jordan was not just the best dunker – he is one of the top ten players in history who left a bigger imprint on the sport than any other player on the planet.
While 2022 will forever be remembered as Curry’s finals, it was more than just a singular effort from the league’s most under-appreciated superstar. The Golden State Warriors were no longer a 73-win team with a death line-up boasting five all-stars and first-ballot Hall of Famers, but it still had battle-hardened veterans mixed with an injection of hungry young stars.
Despite all his critics, Draymond Green powered the Golden State Warriors to the second-best defence in the league and helped the Dubs hold the Celtics to under 100 points in their last three victories in the finals. While Curry was the offensive force, Draymond was the defensive anchor, willing the team on with his energy and IQ.
View this post on Instagram
After 941 days on the sidelines, Klay Thompson returned to the biggest stage and showed signs of his previous self, averaging 19 points per game throughout the playoffs and slowly finding his feet on the defensive end after two potentially career-ending injuries.
Other stars played a part in the Golden State Warriors’ resurgence. Kevon Looney featured in every single Warriors game this season and surprisingly emerged as one of the best rebounding and switchable centres in the league who can handle themselves on the perimeter in the playoffs. Gary Payton II emerged as an important defensive stopper and roll man who can finish around the rim as a big man, Otto Porter Jr was in the starting line-up in each of the Warriors’ last three Finals victories, while Andre Iguodala was the calming veteran presence on the sidelines, mentoring the youngsters through the unchartered waters of the playoffs.
In addition, the two newest cast members of the dynasty – Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole – played important roles on both sides of the floor to supplement the core trio. Wiggins, with his size and versatility, became the Dubs’ go-to option to slow down opposition stars like Doncic or Tatum – who could also score buckets and rebound – while Poole became the offensive lifeline of the team when Curry was afforded a breather on the bench.
View this post on Instagram
What makes this run even more special is how much Golden State had to suffer to get back to the summit.
The Warriors made five straight finals and were the best team in basketball between 2015 and 2019. Then Kevin Durant left for Brooklyn, Andre Iguodala was traded to Memphis, Klay Thompson injured his ACL, Steph Curry broke his hand, and the Warriors finished the 2020 season with the worst record in the league at 15-50.
They got a number two pick in the draft for their efforts – which they fumbled on James Wiseman – but Klay was missed another season due to a torn Achilles, forcing the Warriors to survive another year of mediocrity and get knocked out by the Grizzlies in the play-in.
However, three seasons after that Game 6 defeat to the Toronto Raptors in the Oracle Arena in the 2019 NBA Finals, here they are again, unwilling to go away. Thompson, Green and Curry are no longer the dominating forces we saw in the prime of their career, but they are still almost impossible to defeat when the lights shine brightest on the biggest stage.
This was no longer a super team that was expected to win it all. It was a collective effort, guided by the league’s most potent offensive weapon – Steph Curry – and its most versatile defensive stopper – Draymond Green – to add another banner to the rafters.
And with the championship core unwilling to show any signs of slowing down and young stars like Wiggins, Poole, Wiseman, and Moody waiting in the wings.
You get the feeling; that they are not going anywhere. The dynasty lives on.
[Featured Image Credit: NBA]
Shivaan Shah