By Husna Muhdhar,
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics to win their fourth NBA championship in the last eight years and their first title since 2018.
The Warriors clinched the series 4-2 with a 103-90 win in game 6 in Boston.
They are also the first team to move from the league’s weakest team to a title in two years, having finished 2019-20 with a dismal 15-50 record.
For the first time, Stephen Curry was named NBA Finals MVP after being named MVP twice during the regular season.
“We found a way to just get it done,” said Curry, who was the seventh overall draft pick by the Warriors in 2009.
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“You always have a doubt, but you know how long the road is to get back here because of how hard it is to win at this level,” he said.
The Celtics were up 14-2 after four minutes and 22-16 late in the first quarter, before the Warriors made a 21-0 comeback to take a 37-22 lead.
Curry hit three three-pointers in the first six minutes of the third quarter to increase the Warriors advantage to 72-50.
At this point everyone knew Curry really meant business when he pointed at his ring finger nodding his head, following his seamless run.
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“We built this for like 10 or 11 years and that means a lot when you get to this stage because you know how to win,” said Curry.
“Everybody who has been a part of this knows what that is about. This one hits different, for sure.”
Golden State defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the Western Conference and become the first team since the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s to reach the Finals six times in eight years.
From 1991 to 1998, the Bulls headed by Michael Jordan won six NBA championships, with Warriors coach Steve Kerr playing in three of them.
“I’m thrilled for Steph [Curry],” said Kerr. “To me this is his crowning achievement in what’s already been an incredible career.
“I’m obviously thrilled for everyone in that room, and a lot of people had a big hand in this, but the thing with Steph is, without him, none of this happens.”
Curry’s accuracy from beyond the arc has revolutionized the game, and in December, he set the NBA’s all-time three-point record.
Every positional player is now expected to be able to shoot three pointers and defend against them.
After Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Bill Russell, Curry is the eighth player to win at least four titles and two regular-season MVP honors.
