2022 NBA Finals: By the numbers
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SAN FRANCISCO – The National Basketball Association’s landmark 75th Anniversary Season will culminate with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics meeting the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors in NBA Finals 2022 presented by YouTube TV. The best-of-seven series will tip off tonight at 9 p.m. ET, airing on ABC and ESPN Radio in the United States. The Finals will reach fans live in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile devices and tablets.
Here is a by-the-numbers look at NBA Finals 2022 presented by YouTube TV:
Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors
• 1 – This is the first time an NBA Finals game will be played in the city of San Francisco.
• 6/8 – Golden State is making its sixth NBA Finals appearance in eight seasons, the first team to have such a stretch since the Chicago Bulls from 1991-98.
• 7 – The Warriors are seeking their seventh NBA championship, which would move them past the Bulls for sole possession of third place in league history.
• 9 – Golden State has won all nine of its home games in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
• 12 – The Celtics last appeared in the NBA Finals 12 years ago, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
• 14 – Boston is eyeing its first NBA championship in 14 years.
• 18 – The Celtics are pursuing their 18th NBA championship, which would break a tie with the Lakers for the most in league history.
• 26 – The Warriors have won at least one road game in an NBA-record 26 consecutive playoff series, a streak that began in the First Round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs.
• 76 – Boston and Golden State are original NBA franchises that have played in all 76 NBA seasons.
• 1947 – The Golden State franchise won the first NBA championship, in 1947, when the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags in five games.
• 1964 – The only previous NBA Finals meeting between the Boston and Golden State franchises took place in 1964, when Bill Russell and the Celtics defeated Wilt Chamberlain and the San Francisco Warriors in five games in the first Finals matchup between the two legendary centers.
• 2,700 – The flight distance from San Francisco to Boston is approximately 2,700 miles.
NBA Finals Players and Coaches
• 0 – Zero players on the Celtics’ roster have played in the NBA Finals before.
• 1 – Boston’s Ime Udoka is looking to win an NBA championship in his first season as an NBA head coach, which is something that Golden State head coach Steve Kerr accomplished in 2015.
• 2 – Two players in the NBA Finals have won the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: Golden State’s Draymond Green (2016-17) and Boston’s Marcus Smart (2021-22).
• 3 – Three players in the NBA Finals started the 2022 NBA All-Star Game: Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
• 5 – The Warriors’ Klay Thompson and his father, Mychal Thompson, have combined to win five NBA championships, the most for a father-son duo (Klay: 2015, 2017, 2018; Mychal: 1987, 1988).
• 8 – Steve Kerr has won eight NBA championships – five as a player and three as a head coach.
• 121 – Two-time Kia NBA MVP and NBA 75th Anniversary Team member Stephen Curry holds the NBA Finals record for three-pointers made with 121.
• 123 – Golden State has a total of 123 player games of NBA Finals experience, which is split among five players: Andre Iguodala (32), Stephen Curry (28), Klay Thompson (27), Draymond Green (27) and Kevon Looney (9).
• 141 – Boston’s Al Horford has played 141 playoff games without appearing in the NBA Finals, the most for a player in league history. He is set to break that streak in Game 1 tonight.
• 2006 – Golden State’s Gary Payton II is looking to win an NBA championship like his father, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA 75th Anniversary Team selection Gary Payton, a champion with the Miami Heat in 2006.
• 2008 – This season, Jayson Tatum became the first Celtics player to be named to the Kia All-NBA First Team since 2008 (Kevin Garnett).
NBA Finals Broadcast in the United States
• 3 – Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Doris Burke returns for her third time as a game analyst for the NBA Finals when she joins play-by-play voice Marc Kestecher and fellow analyst P.J. Carlesimo for ESPN Radio’s coverage. Burke made history in 2020 when she became the first women to serve as a game analyst on any platform for the event.
• 12 – Jalen Rose will serve as NBA Finals pregame and halftime analyst for the 12th consecutive year.
• 14 – ABC/ESPN’s broadcast team of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson is scheduled to work the NBA Finals together for the 14th time.
• 16 – Jeff Van Gundy is set to provide analysis for his 16th consecutive NBA Finals, the most for a television analyst covering the event.
• 17 – Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Breen is set to call his 17th straight NBA Finals, the most by any NBA play-by-play commentator.
• 20 – ESPN will produce the NBA Finals on ABC for the 20th consecutive year.
NBA Finals Around The World
• 6 – Six international players representing five countries are on NBA Finals rosters. The Celtics feature Al Horford (Dominican Republic), Nik Stauskas (Canada) and Daniel Theis (Germany). The Warriors feature Nemanja Bjelica (Serbia), Jonathan Kuminga (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Andrew Wiggins (Canada).
• 8 – Eight international television networks – from the Balkans, Brazil, France, Italy, Latin America, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom – will provide live onsite commentary at the NBA Finals.
• 9 – The Spurs’ 2014 NBA championship team featured a record nine international players during the playoffs, the most international players on any Finals-winning team.
• 28 – There has been at least one international player in the NBA Finals for the past 28 years.
NBA G League in the NBA Finals
• 1 – Warriors rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga is the first player from the NBA G League Ignite program to reach the NBA Finals.
• 2 – Two players on NBA Finals rosters have won an NBA G League championship: Boston’s Derrick White (2018 with Austin Spurs) and Golden State’s Gary Payton II (2019 with Rio Grande Valley Vipers).
• 17 – Seventeen players on NBA Finals rosters have NBA G League experience.
• 18.4 – NBA G League alum Jordan Poole of Golden State is averaging 18.4 points during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
NBA Digital
• 90 – NBA TV’s blanket coverage of the series will include 90-minute pregame shows and comprehensive postgame coverage starting tonight at 7 p.m. ET, featuring TNT Inside the NBA analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas and Grant Hill.
NBA Social Media
• 500,000 – Jayson Tatum has added more than 500,000 followers on Instagram during the 2022 NBA Playoffs, the fifth most of any player.
• 23,500,000 – The Warriors have 23.5 million followers on Instagram, the most of any NBA team.
• 42,500,000 – Stephen Curry has 42.5 million followers on Instagram, second most in the NBA behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (122 million).
• 150,000,000 – The NBA TikTok account has driven 150 million views during this postseason, up more than 304% compared with last year.
• 5,000,000,000 – NBA Social has generated 5 billion views this postseason, the league’s most ever through the Conference Finals and up 32% vs. last year.
NBA Cares
• 2 – The second Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award was presented recently to Reggie Bullock of the Dallas Mavericks. The four other finalists were Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. Last year, Carmelo Anthony received the inaugural award as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.
• 16 – In honor of late Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA Global Ambassador Bob Lanier, who wore No. 16, the NBA renamed the Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award the Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for his dedication to teaching NBA values and making a positive impact on communities across the globe. On May 31, Golden State’s Gary Payton II was named the first winner of the award for the 2021-22 season.
• 2,036/2,037 – Golden State and Boston will both leave a lasting impact in their communities, dedicating two new NBA Cares Legacy Projects together with State Farm and Kaiser Permanente. The Warriors will unveil a refurbished middle and high school services room at the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco – Columbia Park Clubhouse, while the Celtics will renovate a multipurpose room at the YMCA of Greater Boston – Roxbury YMCA. The respective legacy projects will be the 2,036th and 2,037th live, learn or play spaces the NBA Family has created through NBA Cares around the world.
