US basketball player Stephen Curry (C) holds the MVP trophy as he waves from a double decker bus during the Golden State Warriors NBA Championship victory parade along Market Street in San Francisco, California on June 20, 2022. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)
The dynastic Golden State Warriors toasted their fourth NBA championship in eight years with a title parade through San Francisco on Monday afternoon.
The last time the Warriors lifted the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, in 2018, Kevin Durant was part of the all-star crew. Durant has since moved on, but the Warriors’ core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala all celebrated their upcoming fourth rings.
Also joining them for this party was forward Andrew Wiggins, who became a vital starter after being traded to Golden State in 2020, and guard Jordan Poole, who had a breakout season in his third NBA campaign.
Poole made 51 regular-season starts while Thompson worked his way back from his lengthy injury absence, then averaged 17.0 points and 3.8 assists per game in the playoffs on his first trip to the championship.
Stephen Curry soaking it all in with his family 💕 pic.twitter.com/JTYmBwMIcc
— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2022
“It’s crazy, when you work as hard as you can, and then finally get rewarded, it feels how it’s supposed to feel,” said Poole, wearing an alternate “Oakland” jersey and light-hearted glasses.
Curry told reporters that his fourth title “hits different for sure.”
“Just knowing what the last three years have meant, what it’s been like from injuries to changing of the guard in the rosters, Wiggs coming through, our young guys carrying the belief that we could get back to this stage and win, even if it didn’t make sense to anybody when we said it, all that stuff matters,” Curry said. “And now we got four championships. Me, Dray, Klay, and Andre, we finally got that bad boy. It’s special.”
The Warriors closed out the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in six games after beating the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks to advance through the Western Conference.
