Steph Curry was almost in tears when it became evident that Kevin Durant was going to win Finals MVP instead of him for the second straight year in 2018.
That’s according to Curry’s former teammate, Nick Young, who gave his recollection of how things went down on the Gil’s Arena podcast.
Steph Wanted The Finals MVP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cQbuChUQcz
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) June 11, 2024
“I remember, they was neck and neck, KD and Steph,” Young said. “And then Steph had one bad game. KD was hittin’. (In the) locker room, Steph’s head was down, in damn near tears. … after a win.
“Man he wanted to win that b*tch. KD was trying to give it to him. Like, KD won the year before. He was trying to give it to him. But Steph couldn’t make a shot, right? Yeah like I think (he had) the lowest he scored in the Finals.”
That’s when Gilbert Arenas chimed in, saying that while most players would never admit it, they usually do care about individual awards and actively try to win them.
“When people say this ain’t a thing man, it is a real thing, man, like it is,” Arenas said. “Like, I’m this close to winning something, you don’t think I’m gonna go for it? But I’m gonna say, “Ah nah, this don’t mean nothin’, but I took 38 shots.”