During their four-year NBA Finals run, the Warriors have been led by their All-Stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and most recently, Kevin Durant.
But it's been the veterans GM Bob Myers has surrounded them with that have supported the motto 'Strength in Numbers."
And, it's those same veterans that always caught the attention of Cavs center Tristan Thompson during their four NBA Finals matchups.
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"That's the one thing about those guys, even though they have some veteran guys, who some people might say are at the later part of their career, but [Andre] Iguodala has always had big games against us in the Finals." Thompson told Yahoo's Chris Haynes on the latest Posted Up podcast. "People always be like 'He's not a scorer' or 'He doesn't make free throws.' Whenever he plays us, he always makes 3's and he always makes free throws. But that's what those veteran players who have played in big moments are always ready to play."
Iguodala famously was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the first Finals meeting between the Warriors and Cavs in 2015. He locked down LeBron James so well that he earned Finals MVP. But some might forget that Iguodala averaged 16.3 points during the six-game series, second-best on the Warriors behind Curry. He also pulled down 5.8 rebounds and dished out 4.0 assists. Iguodala's high-water mark in that series came in the clinching Game 6 when he scored 25 points.
"Even Shaun Livingston. He's bound to have a big game against us in the Finals," Thompson said. "Everyone says Shaun's not really a scorer but he comes in and has 17 against us. [Marreese] Speights doesn't play much, but he comes in and has eight points. You're like, he doesn't play all series, comes in and has eight points. Leandro Barbosa. It's like those guys always have big games. They're guys were always able to stay ready and you always got to respect that as a competitor that their guys are always ready to go."
There will be no fifth straight meeting in the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavs. While the defending back-to-back champs are the favorites to make it out of the West, Cleveland has the worst record in the East (8-29) entering play on Tuesday.
Golden State Warriors
We know Thompson respects the Warriors for what they've been able to do in June. Now, let's hope he enjoys watching them on TV in June.