Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are back at the top of the NBA after an incredible run in the regular season and the playoffs. In the process, Curry was named the Finals MVP taking home the only individual trophy he was missing in his career.
The Warriors’ superstar was emotional in the last moments of the Game 6 of the Finals as the Dubs beat the Celtics to close the series and add their 4th NBA title in the last eight NBA seasons.
“When I say this one hits different, 2015 to 2019, it was kind of a steady climb to get into the Championship, and whether you won or lost, you kind of just left it all out there,” Curry said in the post-game presser.
Curry went off for 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the closeout game against Boston in front of a hostile crowd. Curry made backbreaking play after backbreaking play in the third quarter to put the Warriors in a great position.
“You get to a point where you’re in a playoff series against Denver and then Memphis and then Dallas and get to Boston, and it’s like we’re right here, and it’s surreal. Then you get to the finish line, and that’s why I think this one is definitely different because of the three years of baggage we carried coming out of that Game 6 in 2019.”
Golden State were in its lowest point three years before, losing to the Raptors being hit by injuries while the team was obviously entering a new chapter in its dynastic run after five consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals.
In 2019-20 season, a season crippled by Covid-19, the Warriors finished dead last in the NBA and had the worst record in the league. They ended up in the lottery after consecutive postseason appearances.
They tried to come back next season, but they fell short to the young and exciting Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament. They started the 2021-22 season having an outside chance for an NBA title.
Despite all that, they returned to the NBA Finals, and they showed their championship pedigree after going down 2-1 in the series against a team like the Boston Celtics, who had one of the best runs in the history of the league since last January.
“I can say it now, I don’t know how many teams could carry that as long as we have with the expectations of comparing us now to teams of past and make it to the mountaintop again,” Curry said
“So a lot of people in that locker room that are enjoying this to the fullest, and they should, because of who we are as a team. It’s pretty amazing.”
