INSPIRING STORY: THE 1975 NBA CHAMPIONS WARRIORS

It was the year which opened my eyes to NBA basketball. They were my first and last favorite team, the bay area outfit, the unlikely NBA champions of the 1974-75 season, the Golden State Warriors. The team was led by the legendary Rick Barry, who is in the history books as the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring. In short, Barry was the "heart and soul" of coach Al Attles' overachieving squad. The team featured a not-so-impressive roster during that year with players like the late Phil Smith, then rookie Keith (later Jamaal) Wilkes, Butch Beard and a gangling slotman in Clifford Ray.

It was a "Cinderella finish" for the Warriors, which Attles later quipped "I guess no one took us seriously". Barry was angered by the team's lack of respect from the media despite winning the NBA title, "Sports Illustrated wouldn't even do a cover story on us". But still, the bottom line is they won the diadem and they shocked the basketball world.

It was truly a "magical mystery tour" for the Warriors as they qualified for that year's play-offs. They beat the Seattle Supersonics in the early round, in 6 pulsating games. The Sonic fans were badly disappointed by the play-off loss to the upstart Warriors, as in the end of game six, they harassed Barry and Beard and tried to instigate a fight. In the Western Conference finals, they were pitted against a powerful Chicago Bulls squad led by superstars Bob Love and Chet Walker. Nobody gave a china man's chance for the Warriors to win the series. But alas, they eliminated the Bulls in seven gruelling games. Tremendous air-tight, man-to-man defense made things possible for the Warriors. They held the Bulls scoreless in the last seven minutes of the deciding game. The Warriors are now in the finals, their first since the 1967 championship year.

The Warriors entered the best-of-seven finale as heavy underdogs against the KC Jones mentored Washington Bullets. The Bullets roster is a like a who's who in pro hoops as they paraded future Hall of Famers Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld and backstopped by the likes of Phil Chenier, Bobby Dandridge and Kevin Porter. On paper, there is no way the powerhose Bullets will blew this championship series. But no one can never ever under estimate the big heart of the Warriors. On May 25, 1975, the Golden State Warriors edged the Washington Bullets, 96-95 and swept the series in 4 games and the rest is history.