Stephen Curry Discusses Meaning Of Finals Game 4
Former NBA journeyman J.J. Redick recently had a special guest star on his podcast, “The Old Man & the Three”. The pod, co-hosted by Tommy Alter, often features current and former NBA players, coaches, execs, and other notable figures adjacent to the league, and this week was certainly no different.
Releasing tomorrow morning fully, Redick and Alter had Stephen Curry make an appearance. In a clip the pair released today, Curry was asked about the significance of his performance in Game 4 and that game as a turning point in the series as a whole.
“It’s kind of the through-line of the last three years” Steph said. “And, you know, watching injuries happen to my teammates, myself, going through a year where you hear all the doubts of we’ll never be back there at that level.”
The full preview and soundbite can be found here, via @OldMan&TheThree on Twitter:
There was a lot more that Curry mentioned, including how the team felt that Game 4 was a must-win so they wouldn’t fall into the insurmountable (when unassisted by the league) hole of being down three games to one in a championship series, and the way he talked back to a hostile Boston crowd in the first quarter of the game.
“This could be a different MF game” Curry recalled saying in his address.
The significance of Game 4, likely Steph’s greatest performance in his NBA career, can’t be underwritten, especially given how dominant he was. To go into enemy territory, a game behind in the series, and to battle back from an early deficit to ultimately win a pivotal contest en-route to an NBA championship? There are few moments as legendary. And for a Finals run in which his incredible talent and importance to the Warriors were on full display, you could hardly script a more impressive signature moment than that game.
Steph’s words on the unique resilience and competitive fire of the Warriors in last season’s title victory go to show not only his aptitude as a leader, but the willingness from everyone to buy in, buckle down, and do what it takes to win. In a season where the team seems to struggle to find the identity that’s made them a perennial championship contender for almost a full decade, those words are symbolic of just how special that team was.
Does Golden State have the power to recapture that magic and return to the mountaintop they’ve become so familiar with? With the current roster, it’s a bit of a mystery, and only time will tell, but as long as 30 is wearing the blue and gold “impossible” should never be in the vocabulary.
(Photo credit: Joe Murphy / Getty Images)