The Warriors’ Golden Path to the 2022 NBA Finals
The last time the Golden State Warriors reached the NBA Finals was during the 2018-2019 season when they still had Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry at full health. Unfortunately, that Warriors team lost to the Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard in six games.
That was the last season the Warriors had a formidable and healthy line-up as they spent the next two years hobbled with injuries that hit Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Entering the 2021-2022 season, few expected the Warriors to be championship contenders. Preseason predictions tagged the Los Angeles Lakers as favourites to come out of the West. Instead, the Lakers didn’t even make it to the play-in tournament, while Golden State finished the season with the third-best record in the West (53-29).
While the competition looked tough for the Warriors, they showed the championship pedigree required to win it all this year throughout the playoffs thus far.
Road to Redemption
While Klay Thompson returned to his pre-injury form alongside a healthy Steph Curry, the Splash Brothers didn’t need to do the heavy lifting alone. The Dubs team first approach has been evident during the 2022 postseason.
If there’s one player whom the Warriors should be thankful for, it’s Andrew Wiggins. After all, Nick Wright once said, “Andrew Wiggins is a bad basketball player,” and meant it.
Wiggins started the 2022 playoffs with a 14-point per game average against the Denver Nuggets in the first round. He improved that mark to 15 points per game in the West semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Against the Dallas Mavericks in the West Finals, the top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft averaged 18.6 points per game, erupting for 27 points in Game Three. And Wiggins isn’t the only one who wants redemption in the form of a championship ring.
Splash Brothers Return to Form
Since their injuries, many pundits believed Steph Curry and Klay Thompson’s best years might be behind them.
Steph Curry didn’t just quiet the doubters this season, he reestablished himself as one of the premier scorers in the association. He broke Ray Allen’s long-standing record to become the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers, doing it in 511 games fewer than Allen.
Curry averaged 25.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds during the 2021-2022 regular season. In the 2022 playoffs, he put up 26.7 points, six assists, and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 38.4% from behind the three-point line.
In Game Five of the Western Conference Finals against Luka Doncic and company, the 34-year-old point guard out of Davidson only had 15 points and nine assists. Still, the Warriors clinched another Western Conference championship- thanks to the other half of their dynamic duo, Klay Thompson.
Even though Thompson only played 32 games during the past season, his numbers mattered. Doubters saw proof that Klay Thompson still had fuel left in his tank when he led the Warriors with 32 points to seal the team’s sixth NBA Finals trip in eight years.
The Golden Opportunity
The Warriors will face the winner of the East Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. While the Warriors went 1-3 against both Boston and Miami in the regular season, everyone knows things are different in the playoffs- especially in the finals.
If anything, Steve Kerr and his wards will have a golden opportunity to reclaim the championship they last won in 2018. And with the Heat and Celtics going a full 7 games in their Eastern Conference slugfest, the Warriors will certainly be the more rested of the teams when the Finals tip off. If he continues his current level of play in the next series, Steph Curry might finally get the trophy that’s eluded him throughout his career, a Finals MVP award.
-Iggy Gonzales