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During the Golden State Warriors‘ peak, the team won three championships, yet Steph Curry received zero NBA Finals MVP awards.
As the team leader, it’s easier to understand why that fact will haunt Steph’s career, but now we know that the stat may even get under Curry’s skin, which is usually cool, calm, and collected.
During a recent episode of Gilbert Arenas’ Gil’s Arena podcast, show regular Nick Young was on set to talk about his experience playing with his hometown Warriors for the 2017-2018 season.
And he explains that while Kevin Durant won the Finals MVP that year, Curry was vying to win the trophy for himself.
Steph Wanted The Finals MVP pic.twitter.com/cQbuChUQcz
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) June 11, 2024
“I remember they were neck and neck, KD and Steph. And then Steph had one bad game, and KD was hitting. [In the] locker room, Steph’s head was down, damn near in tears — after a win,” Young recalled. “He wanted to win that [MVP trophy]. KD was trying to give it to him. KD had won it the year before, so he was trying to give it to him. But Steph couldn’t make a shot. He had like the lowest he’s scored in the Finals. But it was a sweep.”
Durant’s first season with the Warriors led to a championship and Durant’s first Finals MVP. Then, in the 2018 Finals, Durant and Curry were nearly neck and neck stat-wise, with the former grabbing 26 points in the first two games and Curry dropping 29 and 33, respectively.
But Durant turned it up a notch in Game 3 with a 40-point performance. Then, in Game 4 of the sweep, he earned a triple-double, cementing why he deserved MVP.
Curry even retrospectively admitted he didn’t deserve the award that year because of poor play.
“People thought it was because I kicked the Finals MVP thing away… the reason I was upset was because I played like trash,” he later told executive Bob Myers.
It was not until 2022 that Curry earned his first Finals MVP when the Warriors beat the stacked Boston Celtics in a 4-2 series.
See how social media is reacting to Young’s admission of Curry’s alleged feelings below.
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