Rusty Weiss
Following a poor shooting performance in the 2018 NBA Finals, Steph Curry was reportedly distraught that he was losing an opportunity to win MVP of the series. So much so that he was near tears.
This, according to Nick Young, aka Swaggy P.
Never mind the fact that the Golden State Warriors were on the verge of a sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. And a repeat as NBA Champions.
Steph’s focus, according to Young, was elsewhere.
“I remember they were neck and neck — KD and Steph. And then Steph had one bad game and Durant was hitting,” said Young. “In the locker room, Steph’s head was down and damn near tears, after a win. He wanted to win that b—-.”
Swaggy P says Steph Curry almost started crying in the locker room because he was on the verge of losing the Finals MVP to KD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 12, 2024
(🎥 @GilsArenaShow )
pic.twitter.com/EVTsF6lZDU
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Steph Curry Almost Cried
Honestly, there are two ways you could look at that story. Well, three actually.
One, Steph Curry nearly cried because he selfishly was more concerned about the Finals MVP than the team’s success. Two, the Warriors were so good that Steph and KD were more worried about side bets on individual accolades knowing they were about to run the Cavs out of the building.
Or three, Nick Young is full of it.
All three things can be true if we’re being honest. Anyway, Swaggy P is clearly referencing game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals which the Warriors won, 110-102.
In that game, Durant set the nets on fire dropping 43 points on 15-23 shooting from the floor (67% from 3-point range). By contrast, Curry had just 11 points, shooting 3-16 from the field, 1-10 from beyond the arc.
“Durant was trying to give it to him because he won the year before but Steph couldn’t make a shot,” Young said. “It was the lowest he scored in the Finals.”
That comment kind of hints at scenario number two above. The idea that Durant may have been trying to lift his foot off the gas to allow Steph a run at the hardware is incredible considering they were playing LeBron’s team.
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Steph Curry Redeemed Himself
Steph Curry gathered himself after he nearly cried in game 3 and gave a solid performance in the championship-sealing next game. He scored 37 points, hitting 7 three-pointers along the way.
Durant though, was no slouch either, contributing a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Durant would, in fact, go on to win the NBA Finals MVP that year (7 votes, to Curry’s 4). Just as he had done the year before when Golden State won the championship (all 11 votes).
Curry would eventually dry his eyes and score a Finals MVP in 2022 when the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics for the title. It should be noted that Durant was playing with the Brooklyn Nets by then.