The Golden State Warriors overcame two extremely tough seasons in the NBA just to return to their winning ways in the first season they had the team healthy and back together. After winning 3 titles in 5 consecutive Finals appearances, the Warriors saw the departure of Kevin Durant and injuries to Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry demote them to become a 15-win team in 2020.
However, the Warriors pivoted really well and made smart trades and draft picks to return to the summit of the NBA a couple of years later. Even though the Warriors were missing 2020 #2 pick James Wiseman from their lineup, they looked a class apart and clinched the title over the Boston Celtics in a 4-2 series win.
Curry was feeling emotional when he was interviewed after the buzzer sounded and emphasized the importance of not taking this for granted.
“You can never take this for granted.” 🏆
Steph talked about the journey to ring No. 4 🗺️ pic.twitter.com/NxlLqElfI0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 17, 2022
“Man I am so proud of my group and that I get to play this game at the highest level with amazing players. We know this is what it is about. Beginning of the season, nobody thought we’d be here except the players on the court right now.”
“We were so far away from it. We were here 5 straight years and got 3 of them. You hit rock bottom with injuries and the long road of work ahead. Just trying to fill in the right pieces and the right guys. You can never take this for granted, you never know when you’re going to be back here. Getting back here and doing this again, means the world.”
Curry was later awarded the Finals MVP for his performances in the Finals, so this sweet moment has become that much sweeter for the three-point assassin. This is going to be an earned off-season break for the Warriors and Curry after a couple of seasons where they couldn’t even make it into the NBA Playoffs.
