Good morning. The Warriors are golden!
That and more (but mostly that) in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors, one of the most entertaining and interesting champions of my lifetime. Let’s basketball.
GOLDEN STATE OF MIND: Paul Flannery with an epic gamer from Cleveland that reminds us this has always been the Warriors’ season. There’s also some lovely context on LeBron James’ performance. Read it.
DUMB: Blaming LeBron for the Cavaliers’ loss or discredit his greatness? That’s dumb. (Zach Lowe’s breakdown of the good and bad of LeBron’s heavy load was really interesting.)
ALSO DUMB: Discrediting the Warriors’ greatness because of injury luck in the postseason? That’s dumb.
OKAY, WE’LL CALL YOU ‘DALA’ NOW: Andre Iguodala is a Finals MVP. Isn’t that something? It speaks to how powerful LeBron was that all 11 media votes for Finals MVP either went to LeBron or the man responsible for ensuring LeBron didn’t score 50 every night.
SPEAKING OF LEBRON ... He left Game 6 embracing Stephen Curry and hearing MVP chants from the home crowd.
THE BEST EPILOGUE: J.R. Smith rolled out of the arena on his funky hoverboard. G.O.A.T.
END OF THE DROUGHT: A Tim Kawakami banger to finish off the run.
PARADE TIME! Friday in Oakland. I’m only watching for the sydeshows.
SHOTS: Klay Thompson calls Curry the best player in the world, a clear and very Klay Thompson shot at LeBron’s comment from the other night.
(PRO/IN)HIBITION: Harrison Barnes had never tasted alcohol ... until he took some of that sweet victory champagne to the dome.
CLEVELAND’S NEXT STAGE: Brian Windhorst on the decision to make in Cleveland.
AWESOME: Really dope job on the anthem by Marlena Vanhoose, who is a blind teenager. Brave as hell.
BRIEFLY, IN NON-FINALS BASKETBALL.
DRAFT GUIDE! Kevin O’Connor is a draft obsessive. Buy his 2015 draft guide. You have one week to cram!
WELP: Woj reports Jimmy Butler plans to reject a five-year max offer to take a shorter deal and reach free agency again sooner. Should have locked him up a year ago, Chicago!
SEFOLOSHA UPDATE: Thabo Sefolosha appeared in court in NYC on Monday. His attorney subpoenaed the disciplinary and arrest records of the officers who allegedly broke Thabo’s leg. He also promised video evidence and eyewitnesses to back up Thabo’s case. Right now Sefolosha and Pero Antic are the defendants; Sefolosha has vowed that the NYPD will be on the defense soon enough. This trial begins Sept. 9.
OH BOY: Iguodala is tied up in a rather messy D.C. strip club investment he never actually wanted to make.
MORE BASKETBALL SOON! Here’s your Vegas Summer League schedule. Tips off July 10.
IT’S BECOMING MORE REAL EVERY DAY: The Kings announce that their new arena will be called the Golden 1 Center thanks to a Sacramento-based credit union. The naming rights deal is worth $6 million a year. Under the Maloofs, the team earned less than $1 million annually from naming rights.
NOT LIKE THE OTHERS: Kristaps Porzingis is trying to convince folks he’s not like those European flops you remember from years gone by.
Happy Wednesday, and here’s to a wonderful season of basketball. Cheers!
