On December 30th, 1984, one of the greatest players in NBA history was born named Lebron Raymone James Sr. Growing up, Lebron had a difficult childhood. His father, a convicted criminal, was not a part of his life nor did he support the family in any way. As his family moved from apartment to apartment, his mother constantly looked for a stable job to maintain the family. When James was nine years old, his mom decided to send him to live with Frank Walker, a football coach who presented him with the sport and saw potential in him. Although he started out playing football while he was in Elementary School, he changed to playing basketball when he got older. James would practice basketball whenever possible to improve and achieve his dream of making the NBA.
Once James got to High School, He became the main topic of every newspaper and magazine. He was crowned the Best High School Player in the Nation. James had the whole world watching his every move and was given the nickname “The Chosen One”. A few years later in 2003, Lebron James entered the NBA draft. He went straight into the NBA draft without attending College which very few did because they did not have the talent. And to nobody’s surprise, James was selected number one overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft.
Many were excited to watch Lebron James’ first season in the NBA. He had immense pressure to live up to what was expected from him. Lebron went on and had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time and won Rookie of the Year in 2004.
Books about LeBron James are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. They are also available to download for free from Libby.
Kevin Durant joined the Warriors for three years from 2017-2019. They obliterated the NBA together, making the NBA finals all three years in a row, and winning two championships. They are considered to be one of the greatest teams ever assembled.
Heading into the 2019 playoffs, everybody believed the Warriors were easily going to win the championship again due to their overpowering roster. In the first round against the Clippers, the Warriors shockingly blew a 31-point lead in game two, allowing the Clippers to tie the series up at 1-1. The Warriors would take games three and four in Staples Center, and everyone assumed they would close the Clippers out in game five. But the Clippers held on in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warriors and make the series 3-2. Everyone thought the Warriors might be in some trouble, but in game six, Kevin Durant scored 50 points to propel the Warriors to round two of the playoffs.
The Warriors in round two beat the Rockets just like they had done the year before, but the big concern was Kevin Durant. Midway through the third quarter in game five, Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury and had to head back to the locker room. The injury seemed to be severe and he would have to miss at the very least the entire Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors faced the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference Finals. They knew they would have to face them without one of their best players. Many people were thinking the Warriors without KD were going to struggle a bit with Portland. But Stephen Curry proved the world wrong again. The Warriors swept the Blazers 4-0. In three of the four victories, the Warriors were down double digits and rallied back to defeat the Blazers. Stephen Curry averaged 36.5 points in the series, which is the highest average in the history of the NBA in a four-game sweep. This is one of the most impressive playoff series of all time.
In the NBA finals, the Warriors took on the Toronto Raptors, who had just defeated the Milwaukee Bucks with the league MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo in six games, 4-2. The Raptors have the home-court advantage in this series due to their slightly better regular season record. The Warriors and Raptors split the first two games at Scotiabank Arena, evening the series at 1-1. But unfortunately for the Warriors, Klay Thompson would be out for game three due to an awkward landing after taking a jump shot in game two. Now the Warriors are missing Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, leaving Steph Curry on his own to carry all the load on offense.
Stephen Curry stepped up to the challenge and did not disappoint in game three. He scored 47 points with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. But his effort simply was not enough to defeat the fully healthy Raptors team. All five starters for the Raptors scored at least 17 points. Every time the Warriors hit a shot to try to start a run on their home court, the Raptors would hit a shot to respond right back. The Warriors were trailing for nearly the whole game and they never led again after 95 seconds into the game. The Warriors are now in trouble and have to find a way to win game four without their best players.
Klay Thompson decided to return in game four, but many thought he was not 100% healed. He just wanted to come back to help his team despite not being fully healthy. He knew if they were down 3-1, it would be extremely difficult to win three games in a row to come back in the series. In game four, the Warriors came out playing great in the first half and held on to a 4-point lead heading into halftime. The last three minutes of the third quarter was what lost them the game. The score was tied 61-61, but then the Raptors went on an 18-6 run to take a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter. The Raptors held on to their lead in the fourth quarter and won game four by 13 points. Klay Thompson played well scoring 28 points on great efficiency. But Stephen Curry simply couldn’t duplicate his performance from game 3 and scored only 22 points on mediocre efficiency.
Down 3-1, heading back to Scotiabank Arena, many thought the Raptors would be crowned champions that night. But before the game, Kevin Durant was cleared to play in game five, giving the Warriors their full healthy roster back. Knowing the news, many started giving them a chance of completing the 3-1 comeback. With Kevin Durant on the court in the first quarter, the Warriors felt like a completely different team. The Raptors were not able to throw their entire defense at Stephen Curry because they had to worry about Kevin Durant as well. And it seemed like if this continued, there was nothing the Raptors could do. Durant played most of the first quarters and scored 11 points on three made threes. But in the second quarter, Kevin Durant was trying to drive past Serge Ibaka on a play. He fell and landed awkwardly. He struggled to get up. At that moment, the world just knew that it was something serious. Kevin Durant tore his Achilles, and he will be gone for the rest of the series. He had only played 12 minutes before getting injured.
Without Kevin Durant, the Warriors still had to win the game to stay alive in the series and bring it back home to Oracle Arena. The game was close the whole night, going back and forth between these two teams. But with three minutes left, the Raptors were up 6 points at home. It seemed like it was over. But Steph and Klay hit three consecutive threes in the next minute and a half to take a three-point lead. Down the stretch, the only two points the Raptors scored was a layup to make it a one-point game with 29.9 seconds left. The Warriors held on to win by one 106-105.
With all the momentum going home, it seemed like the Warriors had the chance to do the impossible. However, the Raptors came out in a great rhythm from three, shooting nearly 70% in the first quarter, but only led by one, 33-32. The game continued at a stalemate until halftime. During the third quarter, both teams tried to gain momentum but were unable to. However, Klay Thompson had been playing incredibly, already having 30 points with still three minutes left in the third quarter. With 2:22 left, it happened again. Klay Thompson was going for a fast break, and Danny Green was chasing him trying to block it. They both jumped and Klay got fouled hard. He landed awkwardly on his leg and was immediately in pain. The Warriors had suffered another injury. Klay Thompson immediately headed to the locker room and was unable to return to the game. Stephen Curry, without his two best teammates, was faced with 14 more minutes of game action, and his team was only up three points. In the fourth quarter, the teams fought it out but it ultimately ended with Stephen Curry missing a three for a chance to take the lead and the Raptors winning the 2019 Championship. Klay Thompson’s injury ended up being a torn ACL, which means he could miss all of the next season too.
Although it ended like that for the Warriors in game six, I believe that even if they had won game six, it would take a miracle for them to pull it off in game seven. They would have been down Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant again like they were in game three, and 47 points from Steph was not even enough for them to win.
In conclusion, if Klay Thompson had not torn his ACL in game six, I believe that they would have completed the 3-1 comeback and defeated the Toronto Raptors in seven games. And if Kevin Durant was healthy the entire series, they probably would have swept the Raptors 4-0, or at the very least won the series in five games 4-1. They were a way better team when fully healthy, and they were still the better team even without Kevin Durant.
The San Antonio Spurs dominated the NBA from 1999 to 2014. They won five NBA championships during that stretch and made the playoffs all fifteen of those years. There were many key reasons why they were able to dominate for so long.
The first reason is the greatness of Tim Duncan. Duncan was selected as the number one overall pick in the 1997 draft, and his impact could be seen in the first game he played. Scoring fifteen points and grabbing ten rebounds, the Spurs have found their key player for the foreseeable future. They also hired Greg Popovich at the end of the 1996 season to be their new head coach, and he would become one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time
The Spurs immediately won fifty-six games with a rookie Tim Duncan. A thirty-six game improvement from the previous year which is an NBA record. Then went on to win the championship the following year with Tim Duncan and veteran David Robinson.
The Spurs drafted Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in the 1999 and 2001 NBA draft to add more talent around Duncan after David Robinson had retired. With the trio of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, the Spurs won three more NBA championships within the next six years in 2003, 2005, and 2007.
In 2011, The Spurs were looking to add more talent to their roster as the players had gotten older and were no longer at their absolute best, they traded for a rookie Kawhi Leonard. With another star player added to the team, the Spurs took on the hardest challenge in the NBA Finals that they had faced against Lebron James and the Miami Heat. After splitting the first two games at home in San Antonio, The Spurs would go on the road and completely dominate the Heat. They would win games two, three, and four and end the series four games to one. Their new young star, Kawhi Leonard, would win Finals MVP for playing outstanding defense on Lebron James.
The San Antonio Spurs were one of the greatest dynasties over the fifteen years in the history of the NBA. They were consistent every year and were always among the top few teams that were most likely to win the title.
Fun Fact: The Spurs were a couple of seconds away from winning another NBA championship in 2013, but the most clutch three that was hit by Ray Allen with five seconds left in game six took it away from them.
Warriors win Game 7 to overcome a 3-1 deficit vs the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals
Stephen Curry’s 2016 regular season was one of the greatest ever. He won the MVP unanimously with all 131 first-place votes. He won the scoring title by averaging 30 points a game. He did it with outstanding efficiency as he shot 50% from the field, 45% from three, and 90% from the free throw line, joining the 50-40-90 club. Curry was unstoppable at the three-point line, hitting 402 threes in the season, shattering his previous record of 286 threes in a single season.
Curry was not as good on defense, but he was still great. He led the league in steals with 2.1 a game and was top 15 in both defensive win shares and defensive box plus-minus. Overall, the Golden State Warriors were the second-best defensive team in the league, and Curry was a big part of that.
Unfortunately, the Warriors did not cap off the season with an NBA championship. They blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals right after overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA championship by upsetting the Warriors in games 5, 6, and 7. The Warriors won game 4 in Cleveland, taking a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Lebron James and Kyrie Irving played incredibly over the last three games, leading them to three straight wins to defeat the Golden State Warriors. Nonetheless, Stephen Curry’s 2016 unanimous MVP season is still one of the most dominant seasons of all time.
Books about Stephen Curry are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.
Michael Jordan is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Drafted third overall in the 1984 draft, He won rookie of the year averaging 28 points a game. But three games into the next season, Jordan suffered a broken foot which kept him sidelined for the majority of the season. Jordan came back in 1986, averaged 37 points, and won his first scoring title. He also became the first player to win defensive player of the year and averaged 35 points a game in 1988. Jordan was a monster on both offense and defense. He would go on to win six straight scoring titles from 1987 to 1993. Jordan wins three consecutive championships from 1991 to 1993, but then shockingly retired after the 1993 championship season to go play baseball for two years before coming out of retirement at the end of the 1995 NBA season. He would then come back and win three more scoring titles, three more championships, and three more NBA finals MVPs from 1996 to 1998. He was the greatest scorer ever winning ten scoring titles, and averaging a record-high 30.1 points per game. Michael Jordan was the most dominant player in his prime obliterating everyone he faced.
Jordan retired again after the 1998 championship run because the Bulls had fired his head coach Phil Jackson. Jordan was not willing to play for any other coach so he retires for a second time. Jordan would then return to basketball again for two more years in 2001 and 2002 to play for the Washington Wizards. But everyone could tell it was not the Prime Jordan that had won 10 scoring titles. He still played great averaging 20 points in both seasons, but it was not the same as before. Jordan retires at the end of the 2002 season at the age of 40 and ended one of the great careers of all time.
Books about Michael Jordan are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.
“Warriors’ future uncertain following loss and injuries” Jeff Zillgitt in 2019.
The Golden State Warriors were unstoppable. They completely dominated the mid-late 2010s. Obliterating everyone in their way, the Warriors went to five straight NBA finals, won three, and lost the other two due to injuries.
However, during their journey to win their third championship in a row in 2019, the Warriors faced a multitude of injuries. With Kevin Durant and Andre Igoudala out, plus Klay Thompson missing game three in the NBA finals, the Warriors found themselves down in a 3-1 deficit. The Warriors got the win in game five to make the series 3-2. During the third quarter of game six with the game going back and forth, Klay was ahead in a fast break, and Danny Green jumped up behind him trying to block him. Klay fell because of Danny Green’s block attempt and tore his ACL. He missed the rest of the game and the entirety of next season. The Warriors lost in game six by five points and the Toronto Raptors won the championship.
Kevin Durant left the Warriors in the offseason and Klay was injured for the entire next season. With two of their three best players out of the roster, Stephen Curry had to carry the team. Unfortunately, he broke his left arm five games into the season vs the Phoenix Suns in the first quarter. The Warriors went on to finish the season 15-50, last in the Western Conference.
The next year, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were set to return. The Warriors were contenders again until … Klay Thompson tore his Achilles during a basketball practice before the season started. The Warriors were left stunned once again. Curry had to try to carry the team again. The Warriors ended the season 39-31, as the eighth seed. But the Warriors lost two straight play-in games and were eliminated from the 2021 postseason.
After suffering a torn ACL and a torn Achilles, Klay Thompson has finally returned to the game of basketball. But Steph Curry and the Warriors were doubted, everyone thought the stars were aging, Klay won’t be the same after two major injuries, and the bench was inexperienced. The Warriors finished as the third seed in the West. Then in the playoffs, the Warriors went on to beat the Nuggets 4-1 in the first round. Beat the Grizzlies in six games in the second round. Demolishing the Mavericks in five games with Klay hitting eight threes in the final game to send the Warriors to the NBA finals. The Warriors shockingly lost the opening game one to the Celtics but bounced back in game two to tie the series at 1-1. Game three was a back-and-forth game through three quarters. But in the fourth quarter, the Celtics completely outplayed the Warriors and won the game by sixteen. Down 2-1, the world was sure the Warriors were done, on the road and down 2-1 in the series. But Steph Curry shocked the world, playing the greatest game of his playoff career. Scoring 43 points along with 10 rebounds and the Warriors tied the series at 2-2. In game five, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson combined for 47 points and carried the Warriors to win by 10 despite Curry’s terrible shooting. Curry sealed the deal in game six, scoring 34 points with six threes, he lifted the Warriors over the Celtics in game six to win the finals four games to two. Curry won the first Finals MVP of his career. Stephen Curry and the Warriors simply owned the 2022 playoffs and did something very few thought they could do.
Wardell Stephen Curry was born on March 14th, 1988. He had a brother and a sister. His father was a great shooter in the NBA and played for the Charlotte Hornets.
Early in life, Curry loved basketball and always practiced shooting and scrimmaging with his brother in their backyard. As he finished middle and high school, people began doubting Curry for his size, despite his incredible shooting. Curry was criticized because of his size and some argued that he wouldn’t survive in college/nba. But he proved them all wrong and was drafted 7th in the 2009 draft.
In the first few seasons, Curry dealt with many ankle injuries and had to have surgery to repair it. People began to doubt him once again. In 2015, Curry would win the MVP and prove everyone wrong, going on to win the championship that season by defeating Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games.
Over the next 7 years, he would lead his team to a 73-9 record, win 3 more championships, a unanimous MVP, and a finals MVP. He has proved himself to be the greatest shooter of all time and certainly a top 10 player in NBA history.
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Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 