Warriors vs Boston Celtics

Lore & Background

On December 14, Stephen Curry hit five three-pointers against the New York Knicks to reach 2,977, which surpassed Ray Allen's career total of 2,973 for most three-pointers made in NBA history in the regular season. Earlier in the season against the Chicago Bulls, Curry hit nine three-pointers to reach 3,366 which broke Allen's record of 3,358 for most three-pointers made in NBA history, regular season, and postseason combined. Curry also became the first player in NBA history to surpass 500 three-pointers in the playoffs, finishing with 561.

On January 9, Klay Thompson made his season debut against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing the 2019–20 season with a left ACL tear, and the 2020–21 season with a right Achilles tendon tear. He recorded 17 points and 3 rebounds in a 96–82 win. Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green were named to the 2022 NBA All-Star Game; however, Green was injured and did not play in the game. On February 20, Team LeBron defeated Team Durant in the All-Star Game and Curry, playing for Team LeBron, was named the All-Star Game MVP.

This is the fifth time that a Warriors player has won the award. He scored 50 points, and set numerous All-Star Game records, including most three-pointers made (16), and most all-time three-pointers made in the All-Star Game (47). The Warriors had a record in February, then went 7–16 in an injury-plagued stretch of 23 games, and then won the final 5 games of the season. They clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018–19 season after a 111–107 win over the Utah Jazz on April 2.

They finished third in the Western Conference, with a record of . In the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets in five games. In the second round, the Warriors upset the second-seed Memphis Grizzlies in six games. They went on to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Conference Finals, winning the Western Conference for the seventh time in their history, and the sixth time in the last eight years.

The last team to win six conference championships in eight years was the 1990–98 Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference. The Warriors under Steve Kerr to this point had never lost a Western Conference playoff series, going 18–0 during this span, tied with the 1959–67 Boston Celtics for the longest playoff winning streak in NBA history against their conference opponents.

Reader's Guide

The Warriors had two first-round picks entering the draft. The seventh pick was given from the Minnesota Timberwolves following the Andrew Wiggins trade from the 2019–20 season. Their second-round pick was conveyed to the Toronto Raptors via two other teams. With the Warriors' first pick in the draft at #7, they would select small forward Jonathan Kuminga of the recently created NBA G League Ignite. Then, at the end of the draft lottery area, Golden State would select shooting guard Moses Moody from the University of Arkansas as the 14th pick of the draft.

Did You Know?

• Stephen Curry broke Ray Allen's record for most three-pointers made in NBA history (regular season) on December 14, 2021.
• Klay Thompson returned from two major injuries to make his season debut on January 9, 2022.