7 Takeaways from Finals Media Availability

An overview of seven main topics discussed at NBA Finals media availability.

NBA Finals media availability can be a bit of a blur. At any given time, there are more than a handful of players, coaches and executives simultaneously speaking to the media at different spots around the court. It can make it tough to get a full picture of the scope of conversations that take place, so here’s an overview of the seven main takeaways from today’s session:

This being a rematch of last year’s Finals, the Media Day experience was new to considerably fewer players on both sides this time around. “Coming in last year, we had no idea of what to expect. Everything was a shocker,” said Draymond Green, adding, “Everything feels regular now. Last year it was a whirlwind.” The additional media responsibilities, not to mention the increased national attention that comes with a Finals appearance, can be a lot to add to the players’ already-full plates, and even the most prepared can’t simulate the effect it will have. “People will tell you about it, but it’s one of those things you can’t understand until you go through it,” confessed Green. But, as both teams went through all this just a year ago, they seemed to think the hubbub of the Finals would be far less intrusive this time around. As Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova related, “When you get out on the court, it’s still basketball.”

Another commonality between the two teams was the idea that this is a moment neither can take for granted. For the Warriors, their driving force is a chance to complete the most successful season in league history and to join some exclusive company: “We want to repeat. Only seven teams in NBA history have done it. We’ve talked about joining that group,” said Green. For the Cavaliers, they’ve got the weight of an entire city on their shoulders, and they know this opportunity doesn’t come around very often. Cavs forward Tristan Thompson, when speaking on the subject, brought up ex-Warrior and current Cavalier Richard Jefferson, who reached the Finals in each of his first two years in the Association, but never again until now. Chances at a title are few and far between for the vast majority of players that come through this league, and both sides are treating this opportunity like it could be their last.

Speaking of Jefferson, who spent two seasons with Golden State at the beginning of the decade, he’s not the only common tie between these two squads. From an international perspective, there are two Australian national team members going head-to-head in this series in Dellavedova and the Warriors’ Andrew Bogut. Then you have Warriors’ Assistant Head Coach Luke Walton, who spent the final two seasons of his 11-year playing career in Cleveland, alongside current Cavs Kyrie Irving and Thompson, and current Warriors Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights and Anderson Varejao. Of all the people involved in this series, nobody possesses more recent ties to both sides than Varejao, who played his entire career with the Cavaliers before joining the Warriors midway through this season. LeBron James, who spent the majority of those seasons playing alongside Varejao, had some nice words to say of his former teammate: “Good things happen to good people…He’s done so much in his career. He has sacrificed a lot and for him to be in this position is great for him and his family.” One of the more humorous moments of the entire day was when Varejao was asked about playing with his fellow Brazilian Leandro Barbosa this year, rather than against him: “I wanted to crush him last year, but now I love him.”

While there are plenty of historical connections between the two teams, both sides seem to think the familiarity ends there. “This is a different team in general,” said Harrison Barnes, adding that the Cavs are not the same team they were a year ago, and that neither are the Warriors. Cleveland has undergone a midseason coaching change, and their style of play, attacking strategy and starting lineup are entirely different from the team the Warriors dispatched in six games last June. While the Warriors may look very similar on paper, their experience in winning the Championship and, more recently, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Thunder has undoubtedly transformed them into a tougher opponent. Steve Kerr summed it all up, saying “I think we have more confidence having been through the whole run last year and what we’ve gone through this year and the adversity we’ve faced with injuries. I think we’re stronger at our core, but we’re very similar as a basketball team.”

They are different teams, and they’ve gone though quite different journeys to arrive at this point. Cleveland cruised through the first two rounds without losing a single game, and eliminated Toronto in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Warriors, on the other hand, labored without Stephen Curry for the vast majority of the first two rounds before coming just the 10th team in NBA history to come all the way back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. As such, it seems reasonable to expect that the Cavaliers might be the more rested of the two Finalists, but the jury is still out on the ‘rest vs. rust’ discussion. “It helped us, being able to watch basically every series. But there’s also something to be said for being battle tested throughout the playoffs,” ceded Kevin Love. All that said, with a minimum of two days of rest in between all but one game in this series, it’s possible the ‘rest’ element might not mean as big of a deal in the long run.

Curry is back now and, judging from his performance in the Warriors’ decisive Game 7 victory over the Thunder, appears to be back to normal. He combines with LeBron James for the second-straight year in forming a Finals matchup featuring the two biggest stars in today’s game. James will be making his sixth-straight Finals appearance, becoming the eighth player in NBA history and first since Wilt Chamberlain to accomplish the feat. Curry, meanwhile, just became the first unanimous MVP in league history, something James has obviously never done. So while this matchup is likely to be viewed in many ways as a tale of two stars, Curry insists he could care less about that sort of hype: “That’s not what I’m playing for, to be the face of the NBA, to be this or that or to take LeBron’s throne or whatever. We’re trying to chase rings – that’s all that I’m about. That’s where the conversation stops for me.”

Fun fact of the day: Curry took an Uber yesterday. Apparently he enjoyed discussing the current Bay Area sports climate (hint: it’s a great time to be a fan) with his driver. Naturally, the media heard this and had to ask James too, and it turns out LeBron has used Uber as well, although not often enough to need his own account. If you find yourself in need of a ride after the game, not to worry; Uber drivers will be located at the back entrance of Lot B following all games.