Former Michigan guard Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors win NBA championship
“Where would the Splash Brothers be without a Poole?” ESPN analyst Mark Jackson said on the NBA Finals Game 6 broadcast. And boy, is that true. Former Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Jordan Poole made quite the impact Thursday night and throughout the year, helping stars Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors win the franchise’s fourth title in the last eight years. Curry was named Finals MVP after the 103-90 win.
Poole is the first former Wolverine to win the world title as a player since current head coach Juwan Howard with the Miami Heat in 2013.
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Poole has shined in his backup role, leading the Golden State Warriors second team. He added a huge spark early in Game 6, scoring 11 points in his first six minutes on the floor and serving as the catalyst for a huge Warriors surge. The Warriors were a plus-18 during those six minutes.
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The team went on a 21-0 run from late in the first quarter to early in the second stanza, the longest in an NBA Finals game in the last 50 years. During that stretch, the former Michigan guard nailed a trio of three-pointers.
Poole came back in during the third quarter, and continued to produce. He scored on a pair of free throws and finished a nifty layup at the rim. That gave the former Michigan guard 15 points for the night, shooting 5-of-12 from the field and 3-of-8 from three-point range. He also added three rebounds and two assists.
For the series, Poole posted 13.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per outing, while shooting 43. percent overall and 36.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Former Michigan guard Nik Stauskas and the Boston Celtics saw their magical run come to an end. The team won two Game 7s along the way, beating the defending champ Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals, respectively. They swept the Brooklyn Nets in round one.
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The reserve appeared in five of the six finals games, totaling three points, three rebounds and one assist.
Jordan Poole’s big jump in 2021-22
Poole made a huge leap during the 2021-22 season, with the former Michigan guard slotting fourth in most improved player voting. The award ultimately went to Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.
During the regular season, Poole started 51 of his 76 games and averaged 30 minutes per contest for the 53-29 Warriors, who were the No. 3 seed. He averaged 18.5 points, four assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, while shooting career-highs from the field (44.8 percent), long range (36.4 percent) and the free throw line (92.48), which led the league.
During the postseason, the Michigan man registered 17 points, 3.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds per contest, and shot 51.2 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three-point range. He had seven games of 20-plus points. Poole’s 39.2 three-point shooting clip was the best on the team among players who attempted five or more per night.
