After two years away from the playoffs altogether, the Golden State Warriors are returning to the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years, as they remain undefeated at home this postseason after dispatching of the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Finals.
via: CNN
After defeating the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in San Francisco on Thursday, the Warriors took a 4-1 series victory and now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
The Warriors, appearing in their first Finals since 2019, join the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers as the only NBA franchises to feature in six Finals over an eight-year span.
It’s a record that has led to comparisons with the dominant Bulls team of the 1990s, which featured Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
“I think the common denominator is just talented players who are fierce competitors,” Kerr said of comparisons between the two teams.
“Whether you talk about Michael [Jordan] and Scottie [Pippen], Steph [Curry], Draymond [Green], Klay [Thompson], it takes a special kind of athlete to have both dynamics.
“The skill and the athleticism and all that, but to also be just incredibly competitive and to want to win so badly. It’s the only way you can have a run like that because you get exhausted, you get tired, you get frustrated.
“If you don’t have that type of competitive desire and that type of skill combined, it’s just not going to happen six times out of eight years,” added Kerr as he reflected on a team that is creating history and could play together beyond this season.
The @warriors are back in The Finals! #DubNation #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/pcisiTfJkW
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2022
Shaun Livingston presents the @warriors with the Oscar Robertson Trophy awarded to the Western Conference Finals champions! #DubNation #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/30hxhQkC2S
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2022
Stephen Curry is presented with the FIRST Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy awarded to the Western Conference Finals MVP! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/lK8reLZsY4
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2022
It's really cool that the greatest shooter basketball has ever seen, a friend, future hall of famer, and great person, @StephenCurry30 won the first ever Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award!! Congratulations! ?
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 27, 2022
