Stephen Curry did everything he could to take his Golden State Warriors to the playoffs. They played until the last game of the season, but Ja Morant and his Memphis Grizzlies ruined their plans.
Curry earned MVP consideration this campaign, becoming a finalist for the award alongside Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic and winning the scoring title at age 33. Even though he couldn’t take the squad to the postseason, Steph earned a lot of respect and admiration around the league.
His teammate Draymond Green had nothing but good words to say about him and his will to do more to carry his team to the next level. After the Grizzlies beat the Dubs, 117-112, he praised Steph and all the things he did for the team this campaign, becoming that person that the rest of the locker room followed.
"He stood out in front of us and gave us all someone to follow. That was the coaching staff, that was everyone. He gave all of us someone to follow."
Incredible answer from Draymond Green on what Stephen Curry meant to the Warriors this year pic.twitter.com/p8FynGG13e
— Sam (@sammyhustle) May 22, 2021
“To grow with Steph,” Green said, via The Athletic. “Through all the troubles of growing with the young guys was special. … I think what I saw from Stephen, the way he grew, not only as a player, but as a leader this year, was incredible. At times where it felt like this team wanted to quit, when it felt like there was no hope, man, that guy just kept going at it and kept going at it and kept going at it. His work that he was putting in didn’t waver at all. His confidence that he took the floor with didn’t waver at all. No matter what the situation was. And as someone who’s played with him for, what, nine years now, that was the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen from him.
“I know the year was incredible. The shots were incredible. The scoring. All the things that he did was incredible. But what I took away from this year is how he grew as a leader. He stood out in front of us and gave us all someone to follow. That was the coaching staff. That was everyone. He gave all of us someone to follow. And it was incredible to follow him.”
This offseason will present a series of challenges for the Dubs. First, they will try to get Klay Thompson ready for the next season while making some moves to add the right pieces to help Curry, Thompson and Green become a strong force in the league again.
They owe Curry a lot and we can’t wait to see what this team will bring to the table next year. They already showed they can compete, but it’s time to take their game to the next dimension.
