The main storyline heading into the 2022 NBA Finals is that it will be a matchup of two teams in very different stages.
The Warriors are in the Finals for the sixth time in eight years, continuing a dynasty that started in 2015 with the same core pieces. The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, are in their first NBA Finals since 2010 – and one stat shows just how far apart the two sides are in terms of experience on this stage.
Golden State’s roster has a combined 123 games of experience in the NBA Finals, mostly from the core group that remains from the 2015 team. Boston’s roster, meanwhile? A whopping zero games of NBA Finals action. Not a single player on the Celtics has made it to the big stage.
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In fact, the 123-0 gap in the Finals is the largest since the Chicago Bulls faced the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. That year, the Bulls dynasty led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen won its second straight title en route to a three-peat by beating John Stockton and Karl Malone’s Jazz, who had reached the NBA Finals for the first time after several years of knocking on the door.
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For Boston, the days of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are long gone. Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the 2022 Celtics have some similarities to the 1997 Jazz in that they made it to the conference finals in both 2018 and 2020 but failed to break through until 2022.
Golden State Warriors
Meanwhile, much like the Bulls of the 1990s, the Celtics’ opponent is a Warriors team with a major advantage in championship experience.
Whether the Warriors take advantage of experience like the Bulls did against the Jazz remains to be seen – but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have three successful championship bids and six Finals appearances compared to zero for the other team.