'It's amazing': Former Michigan guard Jordan Poole reacts to winning NBA title with Golden State Warriors
Former Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Jordan Poole is an NBA champion. He helped the Golden State Warriors defeat the Boston Celtics in six games, capping it off with a stellar performance at the TD Garden Thursday night.
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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. In the Finals, 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. He scored 15 points and added three rebounds and two assists in Game 6, the series-clincher in Boston.
The Warriors have been on quite the journey. They’ve now won four championships in the last eight years, but it didn’t come without adversity. Riddled by injuries, the club finished with the worst record in the league (15-50) in 2019-20, Poole’s rookie season, and missed the playoffs in 2020-21. They got healthy, regrouped and received help from emerging stars, Poole being one of them.
“It’s amazing. Amazing,” Poole said on Sportscenter Thursday night, bottled water in hand amidst a wild celebration. “Two years ago, we had the worst record in the league. That makes all the more special. We went from being all the way at the bottom to all the way at the top.
“I don’t know, it’s just amazing to be here, to be a part of this group. This team is special, this organization is special. I’m so thankful, so appreciative, so blessed. Guys stepped up in the big moments all season. Everybody came ready to play. I’m almost speechless right now.”
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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.
Poole finished fourth in most improved player voting this season. The former Michigan guard took a huge leap, becoming a breakout player for the world champs. He 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.
And he couldn’t have accomplished any of it without the guidance of the Warriors’ veterans, he noted.
“Since my first year, it’s been everybody — Andre [Iguodala], Draymond [Green], [Kevon] Loon[ey], Wiggs [Andrew Wiggins], Klay [Thompson], Steph [Curry]. These guys never, ever, ever let me settle,” the former Michigan guard said. “There’s always something I can get better at. They’re continuously in my ear, trying to teach me something — whether it’s on the court or off the court.
“I’m just lucky to be in a position where these guys are taking me under their wing and giving me so much knowledge that they’ve had over all of these years. These guys are winners, these guys are champions and it obviously works. Shout out to everybody; shout out to the whole team, especially everybody who helped me thrive in this situation right here.”
Jordan Poole on Steph Curry legacy
The Michigan man also discussed Curry’s legacy. The NBA’s all-time leader in three-point makes became the second-oldest player to win a Finals MVP award, silencing doubters who have knocked him for the lack of hardware despite winning three titles prior to this year.
“I don’t want people to take for granted the generational talent he is,” the former Michigan guard said. “Historically, he’s a legend. We’re watching him every single night — night in, night out.
“It was huge for him to get that [Finals MVP]. A lot of people talk about the Finals MVP stuff. If there’s one person you can’t say anything about, in all of sports, it should be Steph. The guy is extremely selfless. He’s a superstar with crazy humility, and he brings everybody along with him.
“Being able to be on this journey, on this road, having his arm around my shoulder and continue to teach me and put me in situations to thrive and be successful, seeing him with that emotion, it’s crazy. It actually got me a little bit emotional. It’s special, and I don’t want anybody to have anything bad to say about Steph. This man is absolutely amazing, and he’s changed our game forever.
