With the 2015 NBA Finals set to tip off on Thursday, June 4, these fascinating factoids may add some extra intrigue to the matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors:
- First time since the NBA's inaugural season (1946-1947, then known as the BAA) that two first-year coaches will face each other in the finals.
- No rookie head coach has won an NBA title since 1982, when Pat Riley did so with the Los Angeles Lakers.
- The last time the Warriors were in the finals (1975) the NBA and ABA had not yet merged, the 3-point shot didn't exist in the NBA, no player on the Cavs or Warriors had been born, and Steve Kerr was nine years old.
- The one-week break between the end of the Conference Finals and the finals marks the longest layoff in league history.
- LeBron James will appear in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals. He's the only non-member of the 1950-60s Boston Celtics to play in five straight finals.
- Stephen Curry will have faced every other All-NBA First Team member in this postseason. He is the first player to do this in league history.
- None of the Warriors' players have been to the finals. The 1991 Chicago Bulls are the last team to win without a player with finals experience.
- The Cavs and Warriors have a combined postseason record of 24-5. This is the best combined total shared by two teams in the finals since the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers in 1991 (22-4).
Now you are fully-equipped with an arsenal of nerd-level NBA information. Share these nuggets with friends during your Game 1 viewing party, but do so sparingly, for you risk being shushed or removed from the room entirely.
- With h/t to ESPN's Arash Markazi
