Game 2. Practice first The NBA Finals were yet to begin, but challengers Jonathan Cumminga and Moses Moody briefly soaked the rare atmosphere at the chess center on the Golden State Warriors bench.
Everywhere his youthful eyes met, a subtle recollection of where he was. The NBA Finals and the Larry O’Brien Trophy cursive-script logo made it impossible to miss the giant screen, LED boards wrapped around the arena, tables of scorers, and the seat on which they sat.
“What do you think?” Cumming asked Moody, looking at the sign for the finals.
“What do you think about one day we run this team?”
While Stephen Curry, Clay Thompson and Drymond Green strengthened the Golden State dynasty by winning their fourth title in eight years and defeating the Boston Celtics, the Warriors were also doing something that no champion in recent memory has done. According to coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors were “expanding” two NBA lottery picks in 2021 during this championship run, and the championship masterclass duo created by Kerr and his Big Three made a lasting impression on each day of their pursuit.
“It simply came to our notice then [eventually] Create your own path and fight your own battles, “said Bob Myers, president of the Warriors Basketball Operations. They are lucky to see how they look.
“Steve, Clay and Drymond have never done so much advanced scouting about the finals and the playoffs. They had to find a way out of it. That’s why it’s great for kids to enjoy, watch and hope for. “
Cummings and Moody will take part in Monday’s Warriors Championship Parade with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on Market Street in San Francisco, almost a year after the draft.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cumminga and Moody are the first dangerous lottery-pick teammates to play in the NBA Finals and the youngest pair to win the championship.
Add 2020. Overall pick James Wiseman – who missed last season with a knee injury, although Myers says he will be in touch soon and play in next month’s Summer League – and Golden State have made three comebacks. The lottery selects title protection in the third or less season.
Thompson suffered two devastating injuries and Curry suffered a wrist injury, 50 defeats in 2019-20 and not playing in the playoffs for two consecutive seasons is the core of the championship and a new generation of lottery talent. In Wiseman, Cuminga and Moody’s. Along with 23-year-old Jordan Poole, the youngster will strive for even more important roles next season.
Earlier this season, Green doubted whether this was a second championship action: a combination of experienced veterinarians and the development of young first-round selectors.
“When you look at how championship teams have historically been built, as long as you have a super youth team like the Warriors with veterans, you haven’t seen it before,” Green said. “Historically, we haven’t seen that work.”
Golden State resisted the urge to trade in the future to add more experience after starting the 27-6 season, and brought the Warriors back to the top of the NBA Mountains. While most past winners will find creative ways to retain and improve key players, the Warriors will be proud of next season’s pair of in-house lotteries, which enter their second year with invaluable playoffs and final experience, no matter how little they play.
Now, the Warriors Championship DNA also flows through Cumminga and Moody.
“Most people spend their careers chasing him,” Green said. “And I’m worried, I need to be in this team, I need to be around these people, we need that coach.
“They don’t have to worry about moving on, as you already have the ‘I Champion’ stamp. Now you can do whatever you want from there in a different place. Not available.”
Cool aroma Champagne can be found in the hallway from the visitors’ locker room at TD Gardens after Golden State won a six-game win over Boston. Cumming and Moody are immersed in something no daring lottery-pick teammate has experienced.
Cummings, 19, holds a childish left hand while taking professional photos with a Warriors championship trophy. Moody, who turned 20 last month, has the biggest prize in a game like expensive guitar.
The lazy veterans of the Warriors hope their pair will not miss that moment, having struggled to become NBA champions throughout the season.
“He’s 19,” said Andre Iguoda, who began his professional career in 2004, two years after Cumming’s birth. “They have to learn about themselves on the college campus to know who they are, rather than how they are. These people make five to five million dollars a year, all the pressure, the money frenzy and the whimsical spotlight. You may get bored. You take these things lightly. You can start catching. ,
This was Iguodala’s seventh NBA final. And he made sure to ask Cumming and Moody to record the moment, even “drawing.”
Generation gaps can sometimes make it difficult to explain these tips to teens without sounding like parents.
Earlier this season, Green noticed that the teenager “laughs” every time he sees Cumming go.
“I’m 32 and he’s 19,” Green said. “And maybe he doesn’t like what I like to do. Imagine when you see an old head doing something. … You can really smile that it’s so old school it’s fun. “
“I think he was looking at me, like, ‘Friend, you’re getting old. You’re getting old. You look old.’
Cominga – Congo’s Raw Forward Draft No. 7 after a season with G-League Ignite – had to be more patient than some of his lottery teammates. Cumming played a total of eight minutes in the NBA Finals. He averaged 9.3 points in 70 regular season games and 5.2 ppg in 16 playoff matches.
“I knew he was a weird athlete,” said Warriors Center Kevin Looney, who will be a free agent with Gary Peaton II and Otto Porter Jr. The NBA, Andre is at his peak, people like LeBron. “
The 6-foot-7 forward started out as a 12-game player and played some crucial playoff minutes in the second round against Memphis, when Green was eliminated for 2 fouls in Game 1 and when Green needed to stitch up in Game 2. . To beat Eye. Cumming scored 18 points in Golden State’s thrilling win over Memphis in Game 3 and 17 points in two defeats against Memphis and Dallas.
Other threats such as Orlando’s Franz Wagner (eighth overall) and Sacramento’s Devin Mitchell (ninth overall) scored more minutes on non-contestants in the regular season, while Cummings had to spend his time learning.
But like other lotteries, Cummings and Moody’s now have a championship experience.
“I don’t care if we’re playing or not,” Cumming said. Learning as long as I’m here, getting better every day. When my moments are called, I know I’m ready … everyone here [is] Rather than helping me, friends [other rookies around the league] Yes it is
Moody’s, which was created after a season in Arkansas, is a more polished mist. But the shooting guard is still learning from two great shooters, Curry and Thompson. Next to it is a rising bridge.
Nevertheless, Kerr played Moody 6-6 in the Western Conference final against Dallas, and in 1998, 87 minutes after Kobe Bryant, a teenager guarded the most 65 minutes in the conference final. Like Cumming, Moody played as usual in the final, a total of 10 minutes. During the regular season, Moody’s averaged 4.4 points from 52 matches.
Curry, however, frequently praised Moody’s attitude and habits, saying that no matter how little time he spends playing the game, he works every day with the same intensity as an experienced player.
“It’s amazing to see results in just one short year,” Curry said. “He comes into the playoff series in the middle of the Western Conference finals and makes an impact.
“It’s the kind of stuff that you might look back on and be really proud of because there’s a lot of instability in this league. Not everyone has the infrastructure and presence to bring children together. “
In As part of the Warriors flight to Boston for Game 6, Myers saw Curry, Thompson, and Green sitting at the same table, laughing and joking.
Myers could not appreciate the rarity of the moment. The trio of All-Stars have been enjoying each other’s company for over a decade now.
“I think they’ve seen it,” Myers said of Cumming, Moody’s and Weizmann. “I hope it will be registered. I’m sure it will, but they can register separately with everyone. They are all different. Like Steff, Clay and Dremond are different. … It’s almost like a band, they complement each other. Secondly, you are ready to sit next to each other when you do not need to. “
After their turn, Cuminga and Moody will probably hit the championship just like their predecessors. All they know is that they are already awake.
“If you give a pig a pancake, he’ll need syrup,” Moody said. “Once I get the championship, you want something more.”
When it comes to running the Warriors, Cummings and Moody will have to wait before handing over the reins to Curry, Thompson and Green Era.
“After all, a few years from now, they’ll cross the border and see what other people can do,” Myers said.
“But it’s hard to keep up. I tell them. It’s hard to follow anyone who tries to carry that stick. “
