After six weeks of intense playoffs, the 2022 NBA Finals is finally set, and two of the league’s oldest franchises will compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The Golden State Warriors host the Boston Celtics in Game One of the Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday, and there are big stakes on both sides. Stephen Curry and his cohorts are chasing their fourth title since 2015, Jason Tatum is looking forward to the Celtics’ 18th championship, which will move them by one lead over the Los Angeles Lakers to a record NBA record.
While the Warriors, who were based in Philadelphia, and the Celtics joined the NBA (which later merged with the National Basketball Association to become the NBA) in 1946, they have not played in the Finals since 1964. In the year, Bill Russell led , the center of the Hall of Fame, the Celtics bypassing rival Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors in five games.
Perseverance paid off for the Warriors and the Celtics. Two years ago, Golden State finished with the worst record in the NBA after the departure of Kevin Durant from free agency and long-term injuries to Carey and Klay Thompson. The Warriors bounced back by sailing across the West with a 12-4 post-season, defeating the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks.
Boston reached its first finals since 2010 after reaching Eastern Conference finals in four of the past six years. To get there, the Celtics knocked out the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat at 12-6.
Golden State enters the Finals with the highest rating in the playoffs, and Boston boasts the NBA’s #1 defense in the regular season.
The finals also feature a training confrontation between Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Amy Odoka of Boston, both of whom were assistants under Greg Popovich for the gold medal-winning team USA in Tokyo 2020. the Olympics.
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