The NBA Finals are set to begin this week between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder were the first team to punch their ticket to the finals after in defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder have been an impressive team all season, and before the start of the NBA Finals, they’ve drawn comparisons to another great team in the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
During a recent episode of ‘Run It Back,’ FanDuel’s NBA themed program, former NBA player Lou Williams detailed why he believes comparisons between this season’s Thunder and the 2015-16 Warriors are valid.
“They’ve had a great year. And they’ve been able to somewhat fly under the radar because of the expectations that we’ve had for this team. We expected them to be a good team,” Williams said. “They’ve been quietly racking up win after win in the regular season, and have been dominant in the postseason as well. . .that 15-16 Warriors team, they felt like they were unbeatable. . .they’ve been just as dominant as the 15-16 Warriors group.”
With history as a reminder, that 2015-16 Warriors was in fact beatable as they surrendered a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals and were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers. But during the regular season, that Warriors team set an NBA record of 73-9, surpassing the Chicago Bulls mark of 72-10 as the best finish in NBA regular season history.
Article Continues BelowAs dominant as the Thunder were in the regular season, they’re obviously hoping for a different fate than that of the 2015-16 Warriors, as they prepare for the NBA Finals. But Williams didn’t just draw comparisons between that Warriors team and the Thunder. He also suggested that the Thunder could be looked upon very favorably if they win a championship this season.
“You got the Bulls and some of those classic legacy teams in the 90s and the early 2000s,” Williams said. “If they can finish it, if they can go out and get a championship, they put themselves in that conversation along with the rest of those historic teams.”
Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Thunder and the Pacers is set for Thursday, June 5.