CNN
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Are we witnessing “The Last Dance” 2.0 — however that includes the Golden State Warriors?
On Thursday, the Warriors superior to the NBA Finals for the sixth time in the previous eight seasons, a feat solely three earlier groups have ever achieved.
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 sequence victory and now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
The Warriors, showing in their first Finals since 2019, be a part of the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers as the solely NBA franchises to characteristic in six Finals over an eight-year span
It’s a document 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 stated of comparisons between the two groups.
“Whether you discuss Michael [Jordan] and Scottie [Pippen], Steph [Curry], Draymond [Green], Klay [Thompson], it takes a particular variety of athlete to have each dynamics.
“The ability and the athleticism and all that, however to even be simply extremely aggressive and to need to win so badly. It’s the solely manner you may have a run like that since you get exhausted, you get drained, you get annoyed.
“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 mirrored on a team that’s creating historical past and will play collectively past this season.
After reaching 5 straight NBA Finals – and successful three of them – between 2015 and 2019, the following yr noticed the Warriors finish the season with the worst document in the NBA.
But Thursday’s win towards Dallas marked a return to acquainted territory for the Warriors. Thompson, who has endured two injury-plagued seasons, top-scored with 32 factors, whereas Andrew Wiggins added 18, Green 17, and Curry 15.
“It’s just such a surreal feeling,” stated Thompson.
“It’s hard to put into words really. This time last year, I was just starting to jog again and get up and down the court. Now to be feeling like myself, feeling explosive, feeling sure in my movements, I’m just grateful.”
Curry was additionally awarded the inaugural Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award having averaged 23.eight factors, 7.Four assists, and 6.6 rebounds over the course of the sequence.
“With the adversity that we hit over the last two years,” he stated, “we never lost the faith, but you understand how hard of a process it’s going to be to climb the mountain again … We are extremely proud of what it took to get back here.”
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics lead the Heat 3-2 and can reach the Finals in the event that they win on Friday.