Game four in Cleveland, Ohio was minutes from getting underway, and all the sports talk leading up to the game circulated around how Lebron James was a home win away from commandeering an undermanned Cavaliers team to a 3-1 series lead and complete control of the NBA finals. Matthew Dellavedova had been knighted the "Steph Curry Stopper" and Cleveland's big man tandem of Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov were patrolling the offensive glass with little to no resistance from a seemingly distraught Warrior's team.
So naturally, first year head coach Steve Kerr removed the Warriors' biggest player from the rotation, inserted 6' 7" 6th man Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup, and relied on a starting five in the most pivotal game of the NBA season that did not include a single player over 6' 8" to combat Cleveland's bruisers. What happened next was a 103-82 dismantling of the Cavaliers in Cleveland, followed by two more convincing wins to secure Golden State their first NBA championship since 1975. Iguodala became the series MVP, and Kerr became an NBA championship coach in only his first year.
When Kerr chose to coach the Golden State Warriors, he found himself in a nice predicament. Unlike a Derek Fisher, who inherited the pitiful 2014-15 New York Knicks roster, Kerr was taking over a roster that was loaded with talent. His backcourt was considered by most to be the best in the NBA. His role players were made up of the rare combination of young talent and experienced veterans. The only disadvantage Kerr had when replacing former coach Mark Jackson was that Kerr would have a small grace period, meaning he was expected to win in his first season. The success envisioned, however, was no doubt less than the success achieved.
Following a first round loss to the Clippers the year before, many expected Kerr to keep the same rotations as Mark Jackson, and to look for younger players to grow up and compliment the array of different skill sets that the veterans encompassed. And though Kerr was new to coaching, his five NBA championships as a sharp shooter for the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, along with the luxury of being coached by legends such as Phil Jackson and Greg Popvich, meant he was not new to winning. Kerr came into his new job actively looking to find the best way to get the most out of his roster. Before the season even started, Kerr took time to meet individually with every player, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. He watched film of the year before, taking careful notes along the way, and devised a new and improved strategy to help the Warriors succeed.
Iguodala had never come off the bench throughout his fairly illustrious career. In Philly, he was touted as Iverson's predecessor. In Denver, the acquisition that would help a perennial middle of the pack team become a western conference force. And in the prior year in Golden State, the missing piece to the puzzle of a team that was a player away from being legitimate contenders. It wasn't until Kerr made Iggy the team's sixth man did he finally become the missing piece to a team that he had been striving to be for his entire NBA tenure.
Before the 2014-15 season, Kerr approached Iggy about being the team's sixth man. This role would allow for Andre to make complete use of his crafty play-making alongside Golden State's second unit, and would allow for developing swingman Harrison Barnes to feel less pressure playing next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as a spot-up shooter on a spectacular offensive juggernaut. At first he was reluctant, but like a true professional he accepted the role, and became just what the Warriors needed off the bench. The season hadn't even started yet, and Kerr's first major move had been made. But he was not done.
Just the year before, David Lee was an 18 point 9 rebound per game stud. Under Mark Jackson, Curry was still considered the team's best player, but Lee was a seemingly invaluable big man in a league that was in a shortage of that commodity. However, in 2014-15, Lee spent most of his season sitting behind Draymond Green, another success story for this year's Warrior's team. Green used a combination of energy, spirit, defensive versatility, and outside shooting to help change the Warrior culture. Not once did David Lee criticize Kerr's move, but instead played hard when called upon, and bought into what the new coach was preaching.
What followed was a 67 win regular season where Curry used the added floor spacing that existed without Lee and Iguodala, all the while making use of an array of never before seen ball-handling and shooting touch to create insane step back three pointers for himself, and normal open looks for his teammates in a campaign that saw him being named the league's Most Valuable Player.
On defense, the often undersized Warriors were near the top of the league in defensive efficiency, and used a combination of speed and quickness to force opponents into tough looks and inefficient shots. These Warriors were not just marginally improved from a year ago, but instead were a completely new and greatly improved ball club that played a team-first brand of basketball that at times rivaled the successful San Antonio model of the recent past.
When the playoffs hit, Golden State kept at it. They swept Anthony Davis' Pelicans, survived the pesky Memphis Grizzlies, and ultimately proved themselves superior to the Houston Rockets, all the while making use of the same free-flowing formula that got them to be the best in the NBA this season.
Then the finals hit. The Warriors were favored heavily, but anyone who watched basketball and knew the game knew that Lebron James and the Cavaliers wouldn't be an easy opponent. The next six games symbolized a season for Golden State in the most perfect way.
The team stayed the course and won game one in overtime, surviving a 40 point effort from King James in the process, only to lose the next two games. When it was time for game four, the question was not, "What could the Warriors do to comeback?" but "What must the Cavaliers continue to do to pull off one of the greatest upsets in sports history?"
Then Kerr did it. He put a man whom he had relegated to the sixth man role throughout the entire season into the starting lineup. The Warriors did not lose another game, and Iguodala became the Finals MVP over a teammate that had been the MVP throughout the whole season.
We all tend to overlook how big of a factor depth and team chemistry play in professional sports. From day one, Kerr believed in the mantra, "Strength in Numbers." He had Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, and Bogut but he also had an assortment of players that were dedicated to their specific role. To win a championship, it takes everyone being on the same page. As the Warriors celebrate their NBA championship, they should also pay homage to those who helped get them there: those who sacrificed minutes and starting positions because it was what was best for the team. To the naked eye, Curry and Iguodala solidified themselves as the the team's best and most valuable players. For all those surrounding the organization, this championship came about because of the ability of Kerr to make changes, and for the players to accept these changes in a professional manner.
If we have learned anything from this year's NBA finals it is that one player doesn't win a championship. Teams win championships, and in 2014-15, the best team won.
Congratulations Golden State, you are the 2014-15 NBA champions.
