The era of parity continues in the NBA.
The New York Knicks have not won an NBA championship since 1973. The Indiana Pacers won their most recent title that year. The Oklahoma City Thunder franchise has a championship in its history, obtained in 1979 when the team was based in Seattle. And the Timberwolves of Minnesota have never reached the finals of the NBA.
They are the four professional basketball finalists.
When Commissioner Adam Silver gives one of those teams the Larry O’Brien trophy next month, he will mark a first milestone in the league: seven champion franchises in a period of seven years.
There has been no consecutive NBA champion from Golden State in 2017 and 2018. Since then, the champions list is as follows: Toronto, in 2019; Los Angeles Lakers, in 2020; Milwaukee, in 2021; Golden State, in 2022; Denver, in 2023; and Boston last season.
It is the longest streak of different champions in the history of the NBA; Baseball, NHL and NFL have had longer gusts, and not long ago.
But for the NBA, this is different. The League wanted unpredictability, especially after four consecutive clashes for the title between Cleveland and Golden State from 2015 to 2018.
And things have been highly unpredictable since then. No matter what the confrontation in the finals this year, the NBA will see 11 conference champions franchises in a period of seven seasons.
“We still have eight more victories to achieve our final goal. We still have two more series. We are only halfway,” said Minnesota coach Chris Finch.
The season ended for 26 of the 30 teams that make up the NBA. But the fun is just beginning.
The final of the West Conference: Minnesota, sixth sown, against Oklahoma City, first classified, begin Tuesday night in Oklahoma. The East Conference Finals: Indiana, fourth sown, against New York, third, begin Wednesday night in Manhattan. The Wolves lost the finals of the West last year; The Pacers lost the East Finals a year ago.
“You must have great dreams. You don’t know how often you will be in this position,” said Rick Carlisle, coach of the Pacers.
Boston was a great favorite to win his second consecutive title; The Celtics failed to advance the second round, partly because they could not maintain great advantages and partly because Jays Tatum broke the right Achilles tendon in that series with the Knicks.
“Surprise or not, whatever, we beat a great team. Obviously they lost a huge piece … but they are still a great team,” said the Knicks Guard Jalen Brunson.
Damian Lillard broke an Achilles tendon in the first round, ending Milwaukee’s hopes. Cleveland, the first sown in the East, was eliminated in the second round against Indiana after several Cavs players deal with health problems. Stephen Curry distended the Corva’s tendon; That was all that was needed to condemn the possibilities of Golden State against Minnesota.
“He is our sun. This is a solar system. He is our sun,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr.
And now, the NBA solar system is about to see a new star holding the trophy.
There is no one in these playoffs that has been MVP of the NBA finals. Not even close.
In fact, there are only seven players – Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith and Thomas Bryant de Indiana; The Knicks teammates, PJ Tucker, Cam Payne and Mikal Bridges; and Alex Caruso by Oklahoma City – who have appeared in a game of late. And most of those appearances did not add much; Siakam is the only player in these playoffs with more than 100 points in the late.
So who will be the next most valuable player in the finals? Maybe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Canadian guard and probable MVP of Thunder? The winner of the “Mr. Clutch” award, Brunson of the Knicks? Anthony Edwards, the alleged next face of the Timberwolves League? Tyrese Haliburton, the dazzling base and Olympic gold medalist that is still overlooked by all outside Indiana?
None of them would be a surprise choice.
“Our ultimate goal is not just the finals of the West Conference. You have to pass through there to get there,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
If the four NBA finalists were their own league this season, taking only the face to face among those four clubs, it would suggest that Thunder is the clear favorite.
Oklahoma City had a 6-2 record against the other three conference finalists, while New York and Indiana both had a 3-4 record and Minnesota had a 3-5 mark.
The Thunder swept the Pacers and the Knicks, and the Pacers swept the Timberwolves.
As for direct confrontations for the conference finals, Oklahoma City and Minnesota divided four games-with the Timberwolves surpassing Thunder 475-472-while the Knicks had a 2-1 record against Indiana, with the three games decided by at least 11 points.
“You can feel good about it, feel how you want about it. But at the end of the day, we have not finished. We know that we all have a bigger goal in mind. Our goal was not only to reach the East Conference finals and finish. Our goal is to win a championship,” said Haliburton.
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SPORTS IN SPANISH AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
