The Golden State Warriors are headed back to the NBA Finals after beating the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.
They will match up against the hungry Boston Celtics, who went the distance with the Miami Heat to narrowly eke out a Finals appearance.
Not only are Stephen Curry and the Warriors favored to win the upcoming Finals, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith believes that the Dubs will win another title in at least the next two years.
“I’m willing to say the Golden State Warriors are winning two of the next three titles,” said Smith. “I believe Steph Curry will eclipse LeBron James and capture five championships in his career, while LeBron is still stuck on four.”
That would put Curry at a total of five rings on his resume, putting him one above Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, who many believe to be at least a top five player in NBA history.
This is a bold take from Smith, but not completely far-fetched. James and his Lakers failed to even make the play-in tournament this season as they finished with the 11th seed in the West and a paltry 33-49 record.
James himself did everything in his power to take the Lakers further by averaging 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, but ultimately, injuries did the Lakers in. The four-time MVP only played 56 of a possible 82 games for the purple and gold, while running mate Anthony Davis only suited up for 40 contests.
Meanwhile, starting point guard Russell Westbrook played 78 total games but was wildly inconsistent and a huge liability at the end of close games. According to history, if Westbrook is on the Lakers again next season, look for the gap between the Warriors and Lakers to be as big as it was this season.
