If the 2022 Finals are a dream for all fans with two great teams on the field, the League is also relishing this unexpected duel. Why ? Because the Warriors and the Celtics were already present when the Great League was founded. Something to add a significant nostalgia when celebrating 75 years of the NBA.
If we were a tad more fussy, it looks like the NBA isn’t celebrating its 75th birthday this year. Indeed, the name NBA only arrived in 1949, at the time of the merger with the NBL! What is celebrated this year is the old form of the League, the Basketball Association of America or BAA. Founded in 1946, the calculation is good suddenly, it brought together originally eleven teams. We slam the list for you right away: the Washington Capitols, the Philadelphia Warriors, the New York Knicks, the Providence Steamrollers, the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Huskies, the Chicago Stags, the Saint Louis Bombers, the Cleveland Rebels, the Detroit Falcons and the Pittsburgh Ironmen. Lots of names that don’t say much in there and for good reason, eight of these franchises were quickly disbanded. There are only three active teams left on this list today: the Knicks, the Celtics and the Warriors (who have since moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco). At the time of celebrating the 75th anniversary of its existence, it is therefore a real blessing for the NBA to be able to count on two of its oldest representatives in the Final. What better image for the longevity of the League and its members?
Now, nothing says that Adam Silver and his minions will organize a trick for the event. Bringing out a series of tribute jerseys to their 40s elders could have been stylish, for example, but it’s something that is in the making and Boston almost missed the party because of a Game 7 on the Heat field. We will obviously follow all this closely but knowing the leaders of the League and their love of great stories, it can obviously be used to add a little hype to a final which is already not lacking. For the nice little reminder, this first season in BAA had seen the coronation of… Warriors against the Chicago Stags. We’re not giving a prediction, it’s just a fact. Will Stephen Curry and his band honor their history by grabbing a new title 75 years later or will Boston take advantage of this anniversary to recover an eighteenth banner, thus allowing it to return to the top of the charts? (tied with the Lakers at the moment)? The answer within the next three weeks.
Warriors-Celtics is the poster for the 2022 Finals but it is also a duel that smells of nostalgia and the 1940s. Having two of BAA’s original teams in the final, Adam Silver could hardly have dreamed of a better scenario for the Great League anniversary.