Warriors join MJ’s ’97 Bulls with rare playoff achievement originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Along their journey to the 2022 NBA championship, Steph Curry and the Warriors achieved something only done one other time in league history.
Per Sportradar, Golden State became the second team in league annals to take down the Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player in one playoff run.
The other team to accomplish that feat? Michael Jordan’s 1996-97 Chicago Bulls.
The Warriors took out MVP Nikola Jokic first by defeating the Denver Nuggets in five games. Golden State then sent MIP Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies home in six games. And in the NBA Finals, the Warriors axed the Boston Celtics in six contests, ending DPOY Marcus Smart‘s championship dreams.
Golden State also had candidates on its own roster collecting votes for all three of those awards. Curry finished eighth in MVP voting and Draymond Green was 10th in DPOY. Jordan Poole was snubbed from being named an MIP finalist, finishing in fourth place.
Jordan’s 1997 championship was the fifth of his career. In that postseason bracket, the Bulls defeated DPOY Dikembe Mutombo in the second round, finished off MIP Isaac Austin and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals and beat MVP Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals.
RELATED: Where Warriors, Kings fit in Western Conference tiers
Now that Curry and company have joined Jordan with this playoff achievement and collected ring No. 4, the Warriors will aim to eventually match Jordan’s six championships.