Poole Helps Warriors to Fourth NBA Title in Last Eight Years
6/17/2022 11:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON, Mass. -- With 15 points off the bench, former University of Michigan men's basketball guard Jordan Poole helped the Golden State Warriors capture their fourth NBA title in the last eight years with a 103-90 game six victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night (June 16).
Poole becomes the first Wolverine to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy since current U-M head coach Juwan Howard was part of back-to-back championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.
Entering his third season and first playoffs, Poole played in all 22 games in the Warriors' run to the title, averaging 17.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He reached double figures in 19 playoff games, twice scoring 30-plus with 31 at Memphis (game 1; May 1) and 30 against Denver (game 1; April 16). He shot 50.8 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from long range as he made 5-plus three-pointers in four games.
Along with "Splash Brothers" Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as well as Draymond Green (former MSU forward), Poole and the Warriors defeated Denver (4-1) and Memphis (4-2) in the first two rounds. With a 4-1 series win over Dallas in the conference finals, the Warriors advanced to their sixth NBA Finals in the last eight years. After trailing 2-1, Golden State won three straight games over Boston to win the franchise's seventh title and break a tie with the Chicago Bulls (6) for third all-time in league history.
The eighth U-M great to win an NBA title, Poole joins former Wolverines Robert Harrison (3x: 1950, '51, '52; Minneapolis Lakers), Cazzie Russell (1970; New York Knicks), Mike McGee (2x: 1982, '85; Los Angeles Lakers), Rudy Tomjanovich (2x: 1994, '95; Houston Rockets head coach), Glen Rice (2000; Los Angeles Lakers), Howard (2x: 2012, '13; Miami Heat) and Rob Pelinka (2020; Los Angeles Lakers general manager) with a championship.
Poole played two seasons at Michigan (2018-19) before leaving early for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season. He etched his name in U-M history with his last-second buzzer-beater against Houston and was instrumental in helping the Wolverines reach the 2018 NCAA Final Four and national title game. In two seasons (75 games), Poole scored 703 points with 115 three-pointers before leaving and being selected as the 28th overall pick by the Warriors in 2019.
