Stephen Curry is not the biggest player on the court but he has the heart to match up to anyone. He’s proven that over his four title-winning seasons, but early-career Curry had more heart than anyone. He recently appeared on the ‘SmartLess’ podcast and told hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett about the time Roy Hibbert sent him flying across the court for trying to intervene in a scuffle.
(Starts at 25:45)
“I’ve gotten a beatdown. It was in, I think it’s on YouTube still, it was in Indiana in 2013. Roy Hibbert, David West, and my teammate at the time, David Lee. Roy Hibbert and David Lee kind of squared up underneath the basket, it was like a big-man-on-big-man crime. Guards and little guys stay out the way. That’s kind of a known thing in the league when the big guys are going at it. Just everything else around doesn’t matter. My dumb ass wanted to get in there and protect my teammate. So they square up, they chest bump, and I run up behind Roy Hibbert. He’s 7-foot probably, 290, 280 pounds, and I tried to like grab him from the back and pull him off my teammate. When I tell you it was like swatting a fly off, he literally just took his left hand and just. It was literally under the basket, and I flew all the way into the corner.”
Curry elaborated on how bad the moment looked and how he was restrained by David West.
“Like feet off, slid across the court. So now I’m embarrassed, so then I have to get up and act like I’m coming back for more. That’s when David West, who’s like the big punisher, the enforcer on the court, he like kind of stiff arms me and puts me in my place. Just holds me in one hand with all this commotion going on.”
That clip of Curry is often forgotten but shows how fearless he is. After Hibbert and West get tangled up, Hibbert keeps pushing West,m prompting players to run over and separate the two. Curry went to grab Hibbert, which was a huge mistake. Hibbert simply shrugged Curry off his back twice, almost dropping the future two-time MVP to the ground without even using his hands.
This late-game melee in 2013 is very similar to the one the Warriors had a couple of days ago against the Timberwolves. Curry knows his role now and didn’t try to stop Rudy Gobert or Karl-Anthony Towns, lest he get tossed to the corner of the court again.
The Warriors Can Still Scrap Like That
Year 4 Curry wanted to earn the respect of his teammates and didn’t think twice about getting into an altercation with Roy Hibbert. Year 14 Curry doesn’t get involved with smoke as often, understanding his role and having teammates that protect him. The biggest enforcer the Warriors have now is Draymond Green, who’s currently serving a suspension for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.
Curry cannot risk getting T’d up or ejected from a game now due to how much the Warriors rely on him to dominate. He’s averaging 30.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season. His fourth-quarter takeover against the Rockets was the reason Golden State snapped their six-game losing streak last night.
Teams are far less likely to fight in the modern era of the NBA, but the Warriors stay ready to respond to any on-court disrespect that they’re made to face.
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