Stephen Curry has become one of the best players in NBA history, changing the way the game is played thanks to his 3-pointers and influencing a lot of young players around the world with his shooting skills.
The Golden State Warriors legend has won everything he aspired to win, but until last season, something was missing from his resume. Steph never won a Finals MVP despite being a 3-time NBA champion entering the 2022 Finals. He finally checked that box last season, adding more silverware to his collection, and cementing his legacy as a top 10 player of all time.
However, not everything was happy for Steph, who had to endure difficult situations when he was close to winning this award and couldn’t. He also received a lot of criticism from fans, but Curry never backed down, kept trying and his hard work finally paid off last season.
Stephen Curry Missed A Big Opportunity To Win NBA Finals MVP In 2018
During a recent conversation with Warriors general manager Bob Myers on his new show “Lead by Example,” Curry opened up on finally winning the Finals MVP, saying that last season, in Boston, was the perfect scenario for him (26:11 mark).
“It felt amazing only because I knew I didn’t have to hear about it ever again. It was about us winning again, that’s why I was crying on the court. … I know for the rest of my life I’ll never have to hear about it again.”
“There was not many better feelings than the stage in Boston. I’ll never have to get asked that question again.”
After that, he reflected on not winning this award in prior seasons, explaining that in 2018 he felt really bad for the way he played in the last two games of the Finals, which could have given him the Finals MVP that year. He couldn’t keep up and Kevin Durant stepped up, which ultimately gave KD the edge.
“There was one game, 2018 [Finals] Game 3. Like there was conversations, you go to the media, they’re asking about it. You look at the stat lines and all this, ‘if they sweep them [the Cleveland Cavaliers], who’s gonna get it? KD or Steph?’ I was getting asked that question in the middle of the Finals, so obviously as a human being, your mind starts to think about certain outcomes and all of that. And I played like trash in Game 3. In the middle of the game, I’m like, it’s the balance of knowing the standard that I need to play for us to win, the fact that I shot it horribly, I was kind of all over the place, I made one shot towards the end of the game, and KD makes the big 3, we go 3-0 and it’s like, ‘we’re good.'”
“But the Finals MVP, I knew it was done after that. It was part of the emotional roller coaster ride of, ‘that would have been cool, to have kept that level of play that might have got there’, but it’s also, we won, and you’re dealing with a little bit of both of that. I remember Andre [Iguodala] had his arm around me on the way back to the tunnel. We just won and I was down on myself because of how I played and everybody took it as a context like, ‘he just kicked the Finals MVP thing away.’ I really thought about once or twice, but I was really upset because of that [not playing well].”
Now Curry is finally a Finals MVP, besides being a 4x NBA champion, 2x NBA MVP, and the only one selected unanimously. The Chef heard all that noise and got to work, leading his team to the promised land again after two seasons of struggling to get victories.
He was a crucial part to recruit Kevin Durant to Golden State and sent a message to the superstar that convinced him to join the Dubs. That partnership paid off for the Warriors, who went on to win two championships in three trips to the Finals, forming one of the best teams in NBA history.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
