With a tear in his eyes, all Stephen Curry can say is, “What are you gonna say now?”
Not only have the Warriors won their fourth title since 2015, but Curry won the 2022 NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his storied career. Curry finished Game 6 with 34 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, along with two steals and one block on 12-21 shooting from the field, knocking down 6-11 three-pointers to break his uncharacteristic streak of 10 straight missed triples.
Curry entered Thursday night with the second-most career playoff points before winning his first Finals MVP, trailing only Bryant (4,381) and Chamberlain (3,430).
“It means we won; it means we took advantage of the opportunity to get back here,” Curry said during a postgame interview with Lisa Salters of ESPN. “We hear all the chatter; at the end it’s about what we do on the floor. Ain’t gotta talk about just gotta go do it, and that’s what this is about.”
Back on top. Your 2022 NBA World Champions.
🎨: @MarcusA11en pic.twitter.com/HJ04P2P3X3
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 17, 2022
The Warriors’ run to the ’22 title led by Curry highlights a record-breaking season for the two-time MVP. Curry started the season grabbing the all-time record for made threes; he created the 3k club for made three, won an All-Star MVP, and got to play with Splash Brother Klay Thompson for the first time in over 900 days. Curry also became the first Warrior to pass 3000 playoff points.
When you look back, the Warriors’ season was a roller coaster as they finished the season ranked third in the Western Conference season despite a foot injury that knocked Curry out for the final weeks of the regular season.
Now with the season mercifully over, Curry can sit back on his reclaimed throne.
“I’m so proud of our group,” Curry said. “I thank God every day that I get to play this game at the highest level with some amazing people.”
“You know this is what it’s all about — playing for a championship and what we’ve been through the last three years, beginning of the season, no one thought we’d be here except everybody on this court right now. It’s amazing. It’s very surreal, though, very surreal.”
It’s about damn time. (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/LAiEBVoowa
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 17, 2022
Game 6 was a game of runs; Boston raced out to a 12-2 run after making four of their first six shots, including two three-pointers from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But the Warriors went on a game-altering 21-0 run in the first half to bust the game wide and give themselves a 21-point cushion after a Thompson three-pointer.
Tatum stopped the bleeding and stopped the bleeding with a layup, but the Warriors had already thrown the first haymaker of the night. Oh yeah, and Chef Curry finally hit a three after missing his first attempt from the field.
Damn Stephen… (via @warriors) pic.twitter.com/jGdIka9ZMk
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 17, 2022
Boston was able to pick up some major runs in the second half, cutting the deficit to within nine points after unleashing a 12-2 run, highlighted by a nasty and-1 over Thompson and Jordan Poole. However, Boston was never able to get any closer than that.
No moment was more significant than the 29-footer Curry buried to give Golden State a 22-point lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter. To top it off, Curry pointed right to his right ring finger like Aaron Donald did throughout the Los Angeles Rams run to the Super Bowl in February.
The Chef wants #4. pic.twitter.com/tO7H1adzcB
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 17, 2022
Curry couldn’t have gone the night without hitting his clutch silencer, putting the Celtics to sleep and sending his teammates, particularly Poole, into a frenzy as the Warriors grabbed a 96-81 lead with a little over three minutes to go in the game.
GOODNIGHT. (via @warriors) pic.twitter.com/dkNo4Pv8lf
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 17, 2022
“We were so far away from it,” Curry said when asked why this title means so much. “We were here for five straight years and got three of them; then we hit rock bottom with injuries, then the long road of work ahead and just trying to fill in the right pieces and right guys. You could never take this for granted cause you never know when you’ll be back here. To get back here and get it done means the world.”
In six games against the Celtics, Curry averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He shot 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc. Curry’s Final MVP performance has put him in some exclusive company. Curry joins Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to win an MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and a scoring title per ESPN.
