NBA Finals

Golden State looks flawless in clincher, Stephen Curry's legacy continues to grow and Jayson Tatum isn't quite at superstar status after rough NBA Finals.

Durant is a constant on social media and maybe in the next few days he’ll break his Warriors’ silence. Durant was on two of those teams, won Finals MVP both times and then in the summer of 2019 bailed for Brooklyn in free agency, essentially trading Curry for Kyrie Irving. That unit eventually won this championship because, other than Curry and Wiggins, the Warriors lacked consistency from the rotation. He helped elevate the confidence of Andrew Wiggins, dumped by his former team in Minnesota and mostly dismissed by the basketball world as an underachiever. He took over for Mark Jackson and won a championship, and then again eight years later, all without much experience on the bench prior to this job. He was spooked by his constant mistakes, didn’t even attempt a free throw and wasn’t heard from in the fourth. This is what he learned about himself in the Finals, and there’s no particular shame in falling short. Tatum was not against the Warriors, and was especially exposed in Game 6, when he went out meekly. After a three-year delay caused by injuries and a noticeable defection — more on him later — the Warriors returned to the throne and carried on like they never really left. The Warriors were up 15 at halftime, 22 in the third and 10 entering the fourth. So his story, and the debate, isn’t finished. The Warriors set out to reclaim the title on this journey of redemption and got their just reward.

The fourth title 'hits different' for Curry, Thompson and Green because of the way they got there.

"Between a second year-long injury and losing what he loves to do most in life, you know, playing the game, it's been a rough go for him. No matter how far they get, whether they make it back to the Finals or not, you can expect Curry, Green and Thompson -- the unique, selfless, superstar triumvirate -- to appreciate every moment along the way. "With Steph, Klay, Draymond, what they have done in this league and the foundation they have been able to build, you've got to give them a lot of credit," said Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, who was alongside the trio for all four titles. What's evident from hearing the Warriors speak, however, is that this title also means more to the entire organization because of what Thompson has endured. And I think for us, we all appreciate each other and we understand what each of us bring to the table. It's easy to say that this championship means more to Thompson because of what he's been through over the last three years. "I think this one may have been the most unlikely, just from the standpoint of where we've been the last couple years." A lot of doubters," Thompson said after the Game 6 win. "I couldn't imagine sharing this journey with anyone else," Green said of Curry and Thompson after practice on Wednesday. "You know, we built this thing from the ground up, and when you build something from the ground up, that's your baby. Those bonds also allowed Curry the room to flourish as the unquestioned head of the snake, facing defenses never before seen in the NBA, on a team that lacked the offensive options it once had. The trio, composed of three historically unique players who complement each other on the court in ways that render opponents paralyzed, have also reached a balance off the court that has allowed them to ascend, excel and persevere for the past 10 seasons. On stage after the game to accept the franchise's seventh overall NBA title, Warriors owner Joe Lacob said that the 2022 title is "probably the most meaningful one."

Boston Celtics players lamented the pain of falling short in the NBA Finals but said they'll use the experience to help them contend for titles again in the ...

Now, the Celtics will head into the summer thinking about what might have been and excited about where this franchise is headed after making it to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years. Continuing to get better, continuing to find different ways to lead. Personally, I still got a lot to learn. That means we still got a lot to learn. I'm viewing it and looking at all the s--- we had to get through to get here just to even get to this situation to have an opportunity." Got to be better. "That was part of the message. "It don't stop hurting," he said, when asked when he will begin moving on from this loss. Trying, though, wasn't enough to solve the puzzles Golden State presented this Boston team. One of them was clearly Tatum, who looked like he didn't want to speak for most of his postgame news conference. In the game's opening minutes, it looked like Boston would be in business. But, as Jayson Tatum said, it was Boston's poise on the offensive end that repeatedly failed the Celtics, as they committed one turnover after another.

The team completes a historic run of claiming its fourth title in eight years and just two years after recording the worst record in the NBA.

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Four N.B.A. championships. Two Most Valuable Player Awards. And yes, a finals M.V.P. Golden State's Curry has nothing else to prove.

The second was that he had not been named a finals M.V.P. Standing alone at midcourt, Curry seemed to be laughing and crying at the same time, a euphoric mix of feelings. The first was that he had neither helped his team win a title without Kevin Durant nor defeated a finals opponent who was at full strength. Curry missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a sprained left foot, then aggravated the injury in Game 3 of the finals. He chomped on a victory cigar as he held his finals M.V.P. trophy aloft, pushing it skyward once, twice, three times. All he did in Game 4 was score 43 points to help Golden State even the series at two games apiece. The way he stretches the court with his interplanetary shooting. The Warriors scuffled through a slow rebuild. BOSTON — A few seconds remained in Stephen Curry’s N.B.A. season when he spotted his father, Dell, sitting along one of the baselines. He also recalled the exact moment he started preparing for the start of this season — 371 days ago. “Everybody wants to shoot 3s, and I’m like: ‘Man, you got to work a little harder to shoot like him. For the series, Curry averaged 31.2 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from 3-point range.

Curry joins the likes of LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal with his fourth ring.

Myers believed that as long as the Warriors had Curry they had what it took to win another title without compromising the future, and he was right. Curry is 34 years old and you have to wonder if he's got another five LeBron-like years in him, where age doesn't seem to have nearly the same impact it does on most. If Kevin Durant doesn't go down in 2019, if Draymond Green doesn't get suspended in 2016, Curry probably has at least five titles in these eight years, and very possibly six, with a record-breaking 73-win season on the card as well. The best player on one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. That makes him the first player in NBA history to make at least five 3-pointers in five games of a single Finals series. Steph is one of the all-timers. He's also one of just five players to win multiple regular-season MVPs, multiple scoring titles and Finals MVP, and he's just the third guard in history to average at least 30 points in two separate Finals. We're running out of room on a resume that is becoming pretty tough to keep out of any all-time-great conversation worth its salt. He's the guy that keeps everyone together in the locker room, the selfless star who plays without the ball and makes room for others to shine. The rare superstar blend of humility and downright arrogant confidence in his own abilities that, as Steve Kerr told Scott Van Pelt after the win, "makes everyone in the locker room want to fight for him." Like Kerr said, credit to Myers for pulling all the right roster strings, and for not pulling a few others that plenty of people thought he should've pulled. Besides that LeBron needed Wade and Chris Bosh, Shaq needed Kobe and Wade, Magic needed Kareem. That's how it works, particularly with the depth of talent that exists in the modern NBA. Nobody does it alone. First of all, Curry won a title before Durant and now he has won one after him.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics dunks against the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 16, 2022 in Boston, ...

“But, you know, what I did say was the future is bright and we’re just getting started so let’s all come back better from this experience.” Tatum was First Team All-NBA and the Eastern Conference Finals MVP whose performance in this series was the mark of someone whose game is still a work in progress, not a finished product. A wise master once said that failure is the greatest teacher. “The future is bright,” Brown said. Marcus Smart was Defensive Player of the Year. Jaylen Brown was an offensive spark throughout the series and continues to push the limits of narratives of how far he can go. Boston’s biggest tell this series has been turnovers and that showed in Game 6 as the Celtics gave the ball away 23 times for 20 points on the night.

The villain of TD Garden closed out the Celtics with a dominant performance in Game 6.

In other words, you expect him to set the tone for the defense, tell everybody where to be and to make plays like these: "And the Celtics had the best defense in the league, but we were right behind them. After both of Golden State's losses, Green said that he and the team needed to play with more force and that Boston was too comfortable. When you have somebody you can rely on like that and count on, it gives everybody a confidence boost." The Golden State Warriors have won their fourth NBA title in the last eight seasons. To him, it was all about staying the course. The Celtics scored an abysmal 96.8 points per 100 possessions in Game 6, and according to Cleaning The Glass, only 81.8 per 100 in the halfcourt. He's going to go out there and do it for the team. And Game 5, Game 5, I was pretty solid. Green took the blame when he missed 10 of his 12 shots and Boston Celtics stole home-court advantage in the Finals opener. He took the heat when he fouled out in Game 3 and the crowd "caught me off guard," as he put it. "If you know basketball, and you watch Game 1, I did not have a bad Game 1," Green said.

Despite falling in the NBA Finals, don't expect Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics to fall from contender status any time soon.

"I think Jaylen is starting to show a better feel for the ball and more unselfishness with the ball," a Western Conference executive said. Tatum and Brown, on the other hand, have made significant strides -- but league insiders say that growth needs to continue. "A foundation has been set." But against Golden State, the team's reserve unit of White, Grant Williams and Pritchard was largely outclassed, including going a combined 2-for-10 from the field for five points in Game 6. Tatum finished the postseason with 100 turnovers -- more than any player in a single playoffs in NBA history. "The future is bright," Brown said postgame. The 1995 Magic and 2012 Thunder, meanwhile, fell victim to many small markets' yearly battle against the pull of free agency. THE CELTICS ENTER the offseason on a different timeline from each of those three prior teams in their situation. Boston finished the regular season 28-7 while posting the league's best offensive and defensive ratings during that span. Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway led the Orlando Magic to the Finals in 1995. The Houston Rockets, led by Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, did it in 1986. "Being with this group, the things we've overcome throughout the season, getting to this point ... just knowing how bad we wanted it, coming up short.

Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry celebrate winning their fourth NBA title together. Adam Glanzman / Getty Images. For the fourth time in eight ...

In the here and now, though, we know it wasn’t — and that likely makes it all the sweeter for the victors. Wiggins’s 3-point shooting did not carry over from the regular season ( 39.3 percent) to the playoffs ( 33.3 percent) or Finals ( 29.7 percent), but he made up for it with a hellacious commitment to defense and rebounding (29 boards combined in Games 4 and 5). Once one of the worst positional rebounders in the league, Wiggins led the Finals in rebounds. That they did is a testament to what they’ve built, and who they’ve built around, and who has done the building. His adjustments during the series, and throughout the playoffs, were top-notch. Otto Porter Jr., who played only 42 games across the previous two seasons due to various injuries, emerged as a key rotation player and occasional starter, including in Golden State’s three consecutive victories to win the series. Gary Payton II, who considered taking a job in the Warriors’ video coordination department but instead made the team out of training camp, returned from a fractured elbow suffered during the second round and played a key role in shutting down Boston’s offense. He did not return to the floor this season until early January, after he had missed 940 days in the wake of ACL and Achilles tears. He has grown into an uber-athletic, two-way wing, one who defended Luka Dončić and Tatum in back-to-back series and not only lived to tell about it but thrived along the way. He smothered Jayson Tatum (who made the All-NBA First Team this season), keeping the Celtics’ best player under wraps and out of sorts all series long. Green also missed ample time this year with back and calf injuries, and for the first few games of the Finals, he was in such a bad funk that Kerr briefly benched him down the stretch of Game 4. But he went and got that Finals MVP anyway, putting together one of the best playoff series of his terrific career. Klay made at least five treys in seven of Golden State’s 22 playoff games, poured in 32 points in the series-clinching Game 5 of the Western Conference finals and connected on two enormous threes to keep the Warriors in range of the Celtics during their comeback Game 5 victory, as well as another that just about put the game out of reach.