For everything Stephen Curry has accomplished in his career, the Warriors The superstar will likely never escape the stigma of giving the LeBron James-led Cavaliers a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals. to be the one Curry is still trying to fully understand almost seven years later.
The four-time NBA champion reflected on the ring that slipped during a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s The old man and the three podcast. The retired sniper asked Curry to contextualize the 2015-16 season, an iconic year that saw the future Hall of Famer win his second consecutive award – and the NBA’s first unanimous MVP – and Golden State finish with a historic record of 73-9.
As the 13-year-old veteran explained his answer, Curry naturally came as the Warriors cruised through the playoffs and looked within reach of becoming back-to-back champions. Until, as Curry said, James and Kyrie Irving had an all-time tear that still seems unreal to this day.
“What I’m saying about that 3-1 situation is I’ve never seen two guys play at that level for three games in a row, it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen” , Curry told Redick and co-host Tommy Alter. “Like Bron and Kyrie were fair. Like, we played well, they just played better. And it was hard to watch and be in that mood where you couldn’t do anything about it.
As we all remember, Cleveland came back strong after James and Irving each scored 41 points in Game 5 and combined for 64 in Game 6. And then, of course, came Game 7 where Irving was successful a huge three over Curry to put the Cavs up, 92–89, with less than a minute left.
Curry told Redick and Alter that Kyrie’s shot “was kind of in my head” from then on, and admitted he was still thinking about his three misses against Kevin Love on possession that could have equalized the game. “If there’s, like, a game, like, I know I should have done something different, this is it,” he said.
While some fans might hold the 2016 season forever on him, Curry, who also shared the sting lingers, has certainly made up for it since then. The eight-time All-Star has picked up three more title wins over the past six years, including a six-game win over the Celtics last season en route to earning his first NBA Finals MVP.
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