PRPG:
Facts You Should Know About the NBA Finals

5 Facts About the 2015 NBA Finals

May 29, 2015

The lineup is set: Golden State vs. Cleveland. Here are some fun facts you should know about the basketball championship.

  • Facts You Should Know About the NBA FinalsNot counting the first year of the NBA in which all coaches were technically first-year coaches, this year’s NBA Finals is the first time that both teams are coached by rookies. This is Steve Kerr’s first year as an NBA head coach, with the Golden State Warriors. David Blatt marks his NBA coaching debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
  • The five players named to this year’s All-NBA First Team: Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, James Harden, and LeBron James. Curry the Warriors have defeated Davis’s team (New Orleans Pelicans), Gasol’s team (Memphis Grizzlies) and Harden’s team (Houston Rockets) to reach the finals where they’ll play the Cleveland Cavaliers…and James.
  • Only nine players in the history of the NBA have reached the Finals in five consecutive seasons. Eight of them were part of the Boston Celtics’ ten-season run in the 1950s and ‘60s, including Bill Russell and Sam Jones. The year the fifth straight occurred: 1966. This year, LeBron James joines them, playing in his fifth Finals in a row (the last four were with the Miami Heat).
  • “The Splash Brothers” is a nickname bestowed on the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for their ability to consistently hit three-point shots. Interestingly, both Curry and Thompson are the sons of former NBA stars: Dell Curry and Mychal Thompson, respectively. (And in the Western Conference Finals, the Splash Brothers left consecutive games after being knocked hard in the head during play.)
  • How good is Curry at nailing three-pointers? He set an NBA playoffs record this season for most made, with 74 through the conference finals. Reggie Miller previously held the record of 58 in the 2000 playoffs, which he reached over 22 games. It took Curry only 13 games to beat him.

For more facts you should know about the NBA, check out Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Sports Spectacular.