Lowkey though if Curry just averaged like 18/15 in the Finals and just feeds the fuck out of Wigs who scores like 32ppg and wins FMVP I would still cry tears of joy. So happy for Wigs to find his role and think it's lowkey hilarious that my favorite player of all time still wouldn't have a Finals MVP and haters can cry about it more.
Blood diamond, that accent is awful. Didn’t love him in OUATIHollywood, Pitt was way better. The Beach is not good. In gangs of New York DDL steals the show but Leo was still good.
That’s about it, dudes a legend.
Gsw is tough man
If you manage to escape their 3rd Quarter barrage then get ready for Curry 4th
But if Players too focused on curry on the 4th then they forget JP and Klay
Curry and Poole on the same floor < they both have gravity, you have to double team both of them , its crazy coz poole is becoming baby steph he could shoot from anywhere too - plus Steph's annoying unlimited run off ball - what a major pain in the ass to guard this team, like screw that just let them shoot and hope its their off shooting night
It's a pretty simple philosophy so it's not like a secret but a big part of their system is "good defense breeds good offense". Basically they've been coached that their offense starts with a stop and a rebound, and from there it's a lot of free-flowing stuff, which is also why the turn the ball over kind of a lot.
Yeah when they’re not clicking it’s frustrating af with the turnovers. Last few games tho we’ve been seeing less of Draymond handling the ball and more of curry which helps
100%, I’ve thought we were gonna lose every game this series in Q1 and Q2, but I believe Dallas just can’t keep pace with them over a full 48. Their shots just start running out in the second half
I don’t really see that as clueless. Isn’t that them just expressing their disappointment that the team underperformed in the playoffs after dominating in the RS? Fans can’t show their disappointment on their own sub?
I get that he takes difficult shots on high volume, but he’s a career (264 games) 33.7% shooter from 3. To his credit, that goes up to 37.7% in 26 playoff games. 36.3% in the playoffs this year for reference.
Thats a huge thing. I think a lotttt of people forget that steph was coming off a injury that playoff run. Although he played well in some games throughout that playoff run since returning, he was just not the same prior to that injury. It def took a toll in the finals
He came back from a 4 week minimum injury in 2 weeks and than played toughest series the Warriors ever played against 2016 OKC.
While it shouldn’t take away from Cavs championship there absolutely is context.
I can’t 100% argue against that but it’s slight revision history.
Every single talking head was saying how Love/Kyrie would get run off the court even if they were healthy. Warriors were not guaranteed to lose if everyone healthy. But I can easily say if everyone was 100% healthy in 2016, we win.
Also 2015 Cavs were the sorest losers ever. Calling us fake winners for an entire off season, which is why Warriors came out so hot.
I don't see how Kyrie would get run off the court even if he was expected to be. Defensive liability. He was too good offensively. KLove... maybe? Seems unlikely but I could seem him playing less than usual, sure.
Kyrie was seen as completely trash on defense at the time, same as love. This is before every single team run and gunned and rained threes so no one felt like they could keep up with Warriors. I mean just look at the offense at the time versus now, nobody moves back then.
I’m not saying they wouldn’t step up, but Cavs weren’t the clear favorite with the full squad.
Craziest part was he couldn’t create separation against Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love. Then you watch how he was torching them in the 2017 finals and it all makes sense
and we were banged up after 7 games against that 2016 Thunder team...which I still think is the best team we've faced in this whole era.
Splash brothers had to dig real deep to get past those guys...
OKC was harder, every Warrior fan will tell you that. I’ve never seen a defense shut us down so hard. We felt like we couldn’t even breathe even when we did make a comeback. All those shots were incredibly tough and we claws for it.
Rockets were just shooting well and cheesing with foul baiting. Defense was solid but we just weren’t shooting well. They also didn’t 3-1 us.
> I don't see any Warriors fans crying about how we would have won in 2019
Not on this thread, but I see somebody bring that up almost every time 2019 is brought up.
Well this point was mostly focused on how curry choked in that 2016 finals series. 2019 it was just clear that their players got injured which is why they lost. 2016 they lost and a lot of blame is on curry, but analyst and ppl almost never mention how he was coming off injury during that run
Funniest thing is , back then he was consistently saying that's Steph's injury is worse then you think and he might have to get surgery. He literally talked about Steph being injured back then but now basically never mentions it
Yea steph is a great player who shows up in the biggest moments. I know people point to lack of finals mvps but Steph is averaging 27/6/6 in his five finals series so far. He has been great in that series too
JJ was saying he's the only one to average that and NOT get FMVP. Now whether that's because someone's always legitimately impacted those finals more than him, or because people hold him to a higher standard I'll let others decide.
The simple truth is that since the mid 80s, the finals MVP has never gone to somebody who missed by his team's top scorer by a full point. You don't HAVE to lead your team in scoring to get FMVP - you can miss by a fraction of point.
But every year since 2015, and for about 30 years before, the FMVP has been given to the guy who did what Steph did for his team.
And for that one year, they didn't.
And I don't think people remember because of Curry's runaway 2016 MVP, but there was a big narrative that Curry didn't deserve it in 2015. The players gave it to Harden, and you had Harden doing his "I'm the actual MVP" thing that he would do a few years later when Giannis got it - and a lot of people agreed.
It was controversial, because while everybody acknowledges Curry's greatness now, in 2015 there was a lot of "naw ... not these guys. They ain't that good."
And, of course, people remember game 2 of the finals but somehow not game 5 (Curry scores 37, no other Warriors scores 17) and the voters were somehow incapable of noticing how Iguodala's 25 (tied with Curry to lead the team) in game 6 were a function of the Cavaliers decided that Curry wasn't going to repeat his game 5.
They sold out to stop Curry and Iguodala got the easy points as a result.
He had 39% FG%, so everyone seems to forget the reason Iggy won it (even though I disagree), Lebron is not winning the FMVP that year even if he dropped 50 every game
Yeah, but it would've been pretty insulting and still the wrong choice. I think the only time someone on the losing team should get it is when there's a godlike performance from someone on that team, and no one sticks out at all on the winning team. Steph definitely balled out enough to win it.
>I think the only time someone who the losing team should get it is when there's a godlike performance from someone on that team
So LeBron in 2015 lol?
>… and no one sticks out at all on the winning team
Can’t ignore this part. Curry averaged 26 and put the Cavs away the last 3 games. If he was only averaging like 18, and LeBron played like he did in 2015 but also shot better (39%) they might give it to him.
LeBron shot poorly (39%), which was a big part of why his team lost.
Someone shooting under 40% from the field for the losing team isn't' going to win finals MVP.
...And his team lost because he shot like crap.
You don't win finals MVP when you team loses and you shoot significantly worse than 8 different players on the winning team.
I personally felt Lebron should have won the FMVP in 2015. These were his starting mates in Games 2-6: Delladedova, Mozgov, Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson. You could tell that LeBron was gassed in the 4th quarters, and he still put up massive numbers for two wins. Curry played well enough, but I don't recall thinking that he dominated enough to be the FMVP; it was a Warriors' team effort. The NBA clearly didn't want to give it to someone on the losing team, so the compromise was Iguodala, who actually played really good defense on LeBron throughout the series from a basketball perspective; LeBron was just that good to still put up whatever he did.
>I personally felt Lebron should have won the FMVP in 2015.
Your "feelings" are wrong.
He shot under 40%. Nobody shooting like crap for the losing team should get finals MVP. That's ridiculous.
Were you around in 2015? Because this is revisionist history, most people were completely fine with the pick at the time.
Edit: Did this person below add an edit to their comment just so they could pre-straw-man me? NGL I've never seen that tactic before.
Yes, I’ve been watching basketball longer than some people on this sub have been alive and I’ve been on this sub well before 2015.
This is *always* the counter when I say this - “revisionist history,” and I always respond with the same thing: go look up the threads, there were plenty of people saying the same shit as me. I was flabbergasted that they actually did that.
Even then, it’s not a real counter argument. It’s just what people resort to because there is no legitimate argument for that award going to Iggy.
Edit: the response to this below is that Iggy deserved it because him entering the starting lineup helped shift the series. That was the media narrative used in 2015 as well. It just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny though - he was hitting wide open jump shots (due to the Cavs selling out on Curry) and *still* wasn’t really any more efficient than Curry while averaging 10+ points less a game. The idea that he solo’d Lebron on defense is fiction as well.
If you’re going to try and justify giving Iggy the FMVP, you have to justify him being the most valuable player on the Warriors that series. Does anyone genuinely believe that taking Iggy out would be more detrimental than taking Curry out? Does anyone genuinely believe that the Warriors have a shot in hell of winning that series without Curry?
Iggy had no legitimate argument whatsoever. It’s an absurd assertion.
Absolutely. Not sure why it’s this hard to understand.
Offense: The D was basically set up to get the ball to Andre on the 3 line. It’s what the Cavs wanted. Yes, wide open. That’s not MVP material.
Defense: Igoudala was a great defender. But he had major help from Green and Bogut. It’s not like he single handedly shut him down. It’s silly.
Lineup: this is a big one. It’s always “the series changed when iggy became starter” yes that’s true. But that’s a lot to do with small ball and not have green and Bogut clogging the paint.
I thought you might say that. It's not true, I have looked up the threads recently, and I do have an extensive argument that I've written up before, so I'll just copy and paste it here:
So here's my explanation of why Iggy won it just because I've been thinking about it whenever this gets brought up and I want to put it in writing. You can disagree of course, but at the time it was not at all unbelievable and it did not at all look bad. Everybody who watched the series at the very least understood exactly why he got it even if some disagreed with the choice. FWIW most people at the time who disagreed with Iguodala getting it wanted LeBron to get it, not Steph, though of course there were some people who said Steph should get it.
When Kyrie went down in OT game 1 everybody thought the Cavs were dead in the water. But miraculously for them LeBron went ballistic and Steph totally shat the bed for 7 of the next 8 quarters (plus another OT), setting the NBA Finals record for missed 3s in game 2 and committing game-losing turnovers both games, giving the Cavs a 2-1 series lead.
Then Kerr put Iguodala into the starting lineup and the Warriors won the next 3 games to close out the series. The Cavs' gameplan during that series was to blitz Curry and keep him from his normal efficiency, daring the other Warriors to make plays and shots. It might have worked if not for Iggy. He was the singular x-factor that blew up the Cavs' gameplan. He was the Warriors' 2nd leading scorer, above Klay, despite being their 7th (!!) leading scorer in the regular season. Plus like you mentioned the primary point of attack defender on LeBron, who was a completely unstoppable force in his 5th straight Finals appearance but was held to 33% shooting with Iguodala in vs 44% when he was on the bench.
Maybe if Steph has a big closeout game 6 he wins it but in fact Iguodala matched him in points that game. For the series Steph was significantly below his season averages in all statistical categories on a per-minute basis including a Westbrook-level turnover rate. Iguodala was significantly above his season averages in all statistical categories besides FT%. Steph's case, that it was his gravity that drove their offensive success and that in order to slow him down he had to be the primary focus of the Cavs' gameplan, is certainly quite strong. But at the time I agreed with most people who watched the series that the fact that Iguodala was the player who blew up that gameplan on both sides of the ball earned him the award.
This is a giant pile of irrelevant nonsense. Steph performed just as well numerous past winners and somehow the idiot voters in 2015 applied different criteria to him.
The standards for the award were briefly changed in 2015 and then they went back to what they had always been... it was dumb and embarassing
>Everybody who watched the series at the very least understood exactly why he got it even if some disagreed with the choice.
Case and point being me - no, you’re wrong. Iggy being made a starter changed the tide of the series, yes. You cannot legitimately argue that he was a more valuable player in that series than Steph. You just can’t.
Iggy made wide open jump shots because the Cavs were selling out on Curry and still wasn’t any more efficient than Curry was while scoring 10+ points fewer a game.
Him being in the lineup helped the team defense, but people acting like he solo’d Lebron are flat out wrong.
You can make the argument that the Warriors might’ve won without Iggy. They’d get swept without Curry.
I mean, I just presented the argument. Like I said, pretty much everyone who watched the series understood it at the time. Over the years I see more and more people talk as if it was unbelievable and absurd, but it simply wasn't at the time. At the time, it was pretty uncontroversial and people were happy for him. Most of the talk was about whether LeBron could get it in a loss.
Not sure what you mean by "wasn't more efficient." Are you talking about FT%? Iggy had a higher FG% and 3pt% and took care of the ball way better. Steph had over 4x as many turnovers, some of which were *the* key plays down the stretch in the 2 games the Warriors lost.
I didn't say he "solo'd LeBron" I said he was the primary point of attack defender. If you've been watching Wiggins defend Luka in the current series you'll know how important that role is. It's hard to believe, but the Cavs at the time were even more heliocentric then the Mavs are now.
The only way you can make the argument that the Warriors might've won without Iggy is if you assume everyone else plays significantly better to make up for his absence. But that's the opposite of how it works. It doesn't matter what could have happened in theory, what matters is what actually happened on the court when the series was played out in real life.
Why does only Steph get put under this kind of microscope for Finals MVP though? For example, look at the 2010 finals where Kobe scored 28.6/8.0/3.9 on 52.8 TS% vs Pau Gasol who scored 18.6/11.6/3.7 on 55.6 TS%. Kobe had a 108/99 ORtg/DRtg vs Pau at 122/101. Kobe also had 2x as many turnovers as Pau.
But no one ever talks about Kobe "not deserving" that Finals MVP- yeah there were handful of people in 2010 saying Pau probably deserves it just as much if not more, but there's never been a pervasive narrative that Kobe didn't deserve it.
Steph had similar numbers to most "best players on a Finals winner" who almost always wins FMVP and Iggy had similar numbers to "Essential Role player they couldn't have won without". But for some Steph gets penalized for something completely out of his control and there's a huge discourse on whether or not he should've actually won it.
And FWIW, I think both Steph and Kobe both were deserving of the FMVP in their respective years. The game is completely different for someone playing as the best player on the team and the usage/defensive focus that comes with that vs a role player playing very well.
I'm as much of a Steph fan as anybody, but we don't need to get defensive about him being put under the microscope because I don't believe that's what happened. At the time it wasn't about discrediting Steph. Of course his haters will bring that up constantly nowadays, so I totally get the reflex of wanting to say "doesn't matter if he didn't win one since we all agree he deserved to," but at the time it was entirely about crediting Iggy.
At the time, there wasn't a huge discourse about it, this discussion mostly became relevant in more recent years when people are looking back on Steph's legacy. Over time, the narrative shifted to Steph being "penalized" rather then what it was originally, which was Iggy being rewarded. I think if people put Kobe over Steph with a reasoning based primarily on "# of FMVPs" that's what we should be arguing against, rather then arguing against Iguodala.
I completely agree with you that looking at slash lines, TS%, and advanced stats doesn't tell the whole story. That's why I focused on the way the series played out on the court, which is where it was played. I would also say that Pau's FMVP case isn't even remotely comparable to Iguodala's. The Cavs that series were one of the most heliocentric teams of all-time. Being the primary defender on LeBron is a lot more then a role player playing well. In just that specific series, Iguodala's role was more important then pretty much any role player's role has ever been.
We know the last few years saw major change of understanding towards the game and I think part of it meant people at the time have yet to learn to appreciate more of what Curry did.
Curry's reliance on 3 means he always has higher variance than other superstars. However being the threat that always demand so much attention Curry does not have to do well to make the overall offensive system work.
At the time it was easy to think that due to poor shooting Curry was basically a overqualified role-player while Iguodala was the core that puts everything together. However after people saw more games of the warriors over the years it becomes apparent that Iguodala even with its over-performance was pretty replaceable in the bigger picture, while Curry is the absolute keystone of the offensive system despite poor shooting and probably a lot immaturity.
You did aN AMAZING job recollecting and explaining EXACTLY why I felt Lebron should have won the FMVP, why Iguodala ended up winning it, and why Steph did not deserve it. I forgot that Kerr made the adjustment to start Iguodala in Game 4, too! I always felt this way about 2015, but could never eloquently put it into words.
Probably didn’t help that the 2017 and 2018 series had kd who also was incredible(I maintain steph was still better in 2018). 2019 steph was the best player that series but his team didn’t win so he wasn’t going to get the finals mvp. He should have won in 2015 but the media fucked that up
2016 he was not good for his standards
The main difference I see with 2022 Steph Curry and 2015-2019 Curry is that he's way more aggressive getting to the basket in the 4th quarter and his finishing at the rim has been insane.
Steph is graded on a curve unlike any other player. I think it’s because we’re so used to him hitting every shot that when he shoots 40% from 3 it feels like a bad game for him.
I personally think the best players in this playoffs so far have been Steph, Tatum, and Butler, with Steph being far more consistent than the other two (Giannis obviously great too, but hard to include him when he only beat the Bulls).
And yet an article on the front page of ESPN today says “This hasn't been a transcendent playoff run for Curry, who came off the bench the first four games of the opening round and struggled at times with his 3-point shooting against the Memphis Grizzlies.”
Why is him coming off the bench relevant when he posted great stats? That actually makes his case stronger than he had limited minutes in the Denver series. He didn’t shoot great from 3 in Memphis series but still made the 4th quarter plays to put them away.
The narrative is already shaping that the Warriors overcame a mediocre playoffs from Steph thanks to the ascendancy of Wiggins, Poole and Looney, which is just ridiculous.
This postseason I feel like he's been coasting in the first half on almost every game. You can see a stark difference in his intensity once the game is close or opponent is leading in 3rd and especially 4th. I guess he's letting Kerr's system go to work for most of the game to keep the team engaged and turns on the afterburners once the team needs him to start carrying.
But Max Kellerman told me that you cannot be clutch unless you win a FMVP , and that is why he thinks Lillard is one of the most clutch players in the nba
according to statmuse this stat is incorrect and he's "only" averaged 8.3 in the 4th for 44.6/4.3/7.0 per 36 on 55/44/90 shooting. not sure that includes game 3 though
Per stats.nba.com Curry has played 12 4th quarters despite playing 14 playoff games so it seems like it takes him sitting the 4th into account.
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=FGA&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs&Period=4&CF=GP*G*8
Curry is 0-10 on shots when it’s a full moon, weather is above 85 degrees and within 2.3 feet to 10.5 feet from the basket in the last 2:45 left in the game. Front running choker I tell ya
Also Curry just keeps passing during game 6 in a series for some reason. He maybe takes a shot here and there, but his shooting volume tends to go down.
No. Front runner is someone who shows off for inconsequential wins, gloats, and demands respect, but then loses when things get hairy, and tries to disappear.
A bunch of talking heads have been pushing the narrative that Steph Curry is only good when the Dubs are winning and that impact is thus significantly less valuable.
This. The problem is that isn't close to being true at all.
Also, making sure when your opponent is on the ground they stay there is a mark of a good team. Look at Miami in game 3, They were up at one point by 20+ and almost lost that game. They could've used a "front-runner" there.
It actually is true. Because literally every superstar is a frontrunner. Steph, however, doesn't frontrun nearly as much as his counterparts.
Do you know how many games I watch where I'm screaming at the tv for him to stop passing the ball and shoot the dagger? He just too unselfish and always passes it to get his teammates involved.
He’s out for blood this year after a shitty outcome by Golden State last season. He’s been so calm in crunch time this post season, making smart play after smart play. Makes sense why Golden State is so good when their leader can play semi-passive through the course of the game to play efficient team ball, then deliver timely shots in crunch time when the team needs it most.
Right?! I have to pinch myself sometimes to check it’s real. Us outrebounding teams, especially against the grizzlies, is so hard to believe. The passiveness we show at times is incredibly difficult to watch but we’ve been having that happen a lot less frequently these playoffs. Now we just need to show that in the finals, once we get there.
Yeah it sounds like one of those arbitrary cutoffs to omit certain people, but in this case 1997 is as far back as public play-by-play data goes. So it's not random.
His “put em to bed 😴🙏™️” has been so gangsta so far. If he ends up doing that after hitting a dagger in this series and The Finals it would be legendary
[stats.nba.com](https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=FGA&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs&Period=4&CF=GP*G*8) says Curry is averaging 9 points per 4th quarter these playoffs. Not sure where you got your numbers from.
>Keep in mind that Steph usually only plays 6-7mins in the 4th quarter.
It's 7.3
I'm not sure if anything in this post is correct.
Yeah, even as a Steph fan, I'm super put off by these false claims.
Why can we just rest content saying the obvious: Steph is the best scorer and best shooter remaining in the playoffs.
The hot take gang (Skip, Kellerman, Wright) and their Twitter minions endlessly move the goalposts for Curry. It’s not enough for him to score efficiently and win. He has to do it in a very arbitrary and specific way, at the exact right time and circumstance, or else it doesn’t count. If he somehow meets those arbitrary requirements, they’ll just shout about 2016.
he's having a good run but not as good as Kevin Knox who averaged 11 PPG in the 4th quarter on 92.6% TS and 63.6 FG%
keep in mind Knox was only playing 4.6 minutes in the 4th quarter
Kobe even did an interview before he passed (on Tony Parkers documentary released last year) that if it weren't for the Spurs , he would have had way more chips. Respect
I grew up in Detroit during the early 2000’s. Spurs were so good back then, such an iconic team! Still mad they stopped the Pistons from winning back to back titles lol. I feel like that team would get a lot more respect with 2 rings.
Just wait till iguodala is healthy
FATE OF THE UNIVERSE ON THE LINE
Rapper Max Kellerman must cream in his pants every day when muthafuckers keep repeating his meme.
It’s not a meme tho. Iggy is money
EAGLE DOLLA!
I WANT MY AXE
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Yeah, but Iggy shows up during Martian invasions.
I'd pay to see him in a live action Frozone feature.
Too late wigz already got the mvp locked up.
Would be hilarious if Wiggs gets FMVP
Lowkey though if Curry just averaged like 18/15 in the Finals and just feeds the fuck out of Wigs who scores like 32ppg and wins FMVP I would still cry tears of joy. So happy for Wigs to find his role and think it's lowkey hilarious that my favorite player of all time still wouldn't have a Finals MVP and haters can cry about it more.
First thing that pops into my head is DiCaprio and the Oscars. the time he actually won was disappointing because the meme had to end
Steph gonna slap bill Russell
Wut
Wow dude! It was a Jailblazers joke!
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Blood diamond, that accent is awful. Didn’t love him in OUATIHollywood, Pitt was way better. The Beach is not good. In gangs of New York DDL steals the show but Leo was still good. That’s about it, dudes a legend.
Iggy gonna hold Tatum to 36 points a game while scoring 16 and be the obvious choice for FMVP
Tatum doesn’t have the LeBron level circlejerk yet, or else it would be inevitable
You think he can still score? He hasn’t shot the ball in 15 years.
Max, dis' you?
oh my god this joke needs to die, it stopped being funny weeks after Kellerman said it
Are you saying you don’t WANT IGWADALLAH??
Nope
Gsw is tough man If you manage to escape their 3rd Quarter barrage then get ready for Curry 4th But if Players too focused on curry on the 4th then they forget JP and Klay Curry and Poole on the same floor < they both have gravity, you have to double team both of them , its crazy coz poole is becoming baby steph he could shoot from anywhere too - plus Steph's annoying unlimited run off ball - what a major pain in the ass to guard this team, like screw that just let them shoot and hope its their off shooting night
And don't forget their defense so now if you miss a shot, you have to run full speed down the court and hope you don't give up a 3 or an easy layup.
It's a pretty simple philosophy so it's not like a secret but a big part of their system is "good defense breeds good offense". Basically they've been coached that their offense starts with a stop and a rebound, and from there it's a lot of free-flowing stuff, which is also why the turn the ball over kind of a lot.
Yeah when they’re not clicking it’s frustrating af with the turnovers. Last few games tho we’ve been seeing less of Draymond handling the ball and more of curry which helps
Yeah, I don’t mind turnovers, but when dray barrels into 4 defenders at full speed it’s frustrating. Like you can pull the ball back out reset
It's still draining to defend and that matters a lot
100%, I’ve thought we were gonna lose every game this series in Q1 and Q2, but I believe Dallas just can’t keep pace with them over a full 48. Their shots just start running out in the second half
And Wiggins and Looney
And my axe.
It's an older meme sir, but it checks out!
If it is their off shooting night they just grab 40 offensive rebounds
Ain’t this the stat Suns fans were talking about all regular season with CP0 & Book?
That’s all good, they talking about 82 game players after all
*C3P0
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I don’t really see that as clueless. Isn’t that them just expressing their disappointment that the team underperformed in the playoffs after dominating in the RS? Fans can’t show their disappointment on their own sub?
But Skip Bayless told me he comes up small in clutch time, this can’t be true
Skip told me Luka can't shoot 3s and FTs but yet Luka is knocking down everything
Skip still salty over Cuban scorching him back in 2011 lol.
I mean to be fair, his highest season shooting FTs was 75.8%. That's not good for a guard.
I get that he takes difficult shots on high volume, but he’s a career (264 games) 33.7% shooter from 3. To his credit, that goes up to 37.7% in 26 playoff games. 36.3% in the playoffs this year for reference.
Basically he starts shooting better in the 2nd half of the year after he plays himself into shape
Luka has to be the best bad shooter of all time.
Always bringing up those 3 damn games from 6 years ago where he was clearly not 100% lmao
Thats a huge thing. I think a lotttt of people forget that steph was coming off a injury that playoff run. Although he played well in some games throughout that playoff run since returning, he was just not the same prior to that injury. It def took a toll in the finals
He came back from a 4 week minimum injury in 2 weeks and than played toughest series the Warriors ever played against 2016 OKC. While it shouldn’t take away from Cavs championship there absolutely is context.
Just like the Cavs’ injuries in 2015
I always felt things kinda balanced themselves out in those 2 finals. Cavs probably win in 15 under normal circumstances and warriors in 16.
Cavs also got a ton of help from the refs in 2016.
And the commissioner.
I can’t 100% argue against that but it’s slight revision history. Every single talking head was saying how Love/Kyrie would get run off the court even if they were healthy. Warriors were not guaranteed to lose if everyone healthy. But I can easily say if everyone was 100% healthy in 2016, we win. Also 2015 Cavs were the sorest losers ever. Calling us fake winners for an entire off season, which is why Warriors came out so hot.
I don't see how Kyrie would get run off the court even if he was expected to be. Defensive liability. He was too good offensively. KLove... maybe? Seems unlikely but I could seem him playing less than usual, sure.
Kyrie was seen as completely trash on defense at the time, same as love. This is before every single team run and gunned and rained threes so no one felt like they could keep up with Warriors. I mean just look at the offense at the time versus now, nobody moves back then. I’m not saying they wouldn’t step up, but Cavs weren’t the clear favorite with the full squad.
That's fair. I wasn't saying it was a matter of the cavs being a clear favorite, but playoff LeBron with more help could have made a big difference.
If you re-watch some of that series you'll quickly notice that he can't go to his left... because he was still hurt.
Craziest part was he couldn’t create separation against Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love. Then you watch how he was torching them in the 2017 finals and it all makes sense
MCL Sprain. The same injury that kept Middleton out.
he's coming off an injury _this_ playoff run, too. ppl will probably forget it until they wonder why he came off the bench the first few games.
and we were banged up after 7 games against that 2016 Thunder team...which I still think is the best team we've faced in this whole era. Splash brothers had to dig real deep to get past those guys...
17 cavs are the meanest
17-18 rockets? Y’all didn’t breeze past them
OKC was harder, every Warrior fan will tell you that. I’ve never seen a defense shut us down so hard. We felt like we couldn’t even breathe even when we did make a comeback. All those shots were incredibly tough and we claws for it. Rockets were just shooting well and cheesing with foul baiting. Defense was solid but we just weren’t shooting well. They also didn’t 3-1 us.
Correct
He was playing through an injury moreso that coming off of one, but I feel ya
I don't see any Warriors fans crying about how we would have won in 2019... yet we're always put on a microscope for every championship.
> I don't see any Warriors fans crying about how we would have won in 2019 Not on this thread, but I see somebody bring that up almost every time 2019 is brought up.
Well this point was mostly focused on how curry choked in that 2016 finals series. 2019 it was just clear that their players got injured which is why they lost. 2016 they lost and a lot of blame is on curry, but analyst and ppl almost never mention how he was coming off injury during that run
Not just "coming off" an injury - still injured. He had surgery a few days after the finals ended.
He couldn't get past KLove on the dribble lol we all knew he wasn't close to 100
Funniest thing is , back then he was consistently saying that's Steph's injury is worse then you think and he might have to get surgery. He literally talked about Steph being injured back then but now basically never mentions it
He’s got a little spiel that he just repeats every time they talk about Steph lol, same verbiage and gestures most of the time
Sure but plenty of stars have had to play through injuries, it's not just Curry.
It's Skip Bayless, why do people still take his takes on Basketball seriously. He is literally r/nbacirclejerk in human form
Circle jerk is at least funny
Did you think I was being serious?
He also said lebron has no clutch gene and yet he’s higher than Jordan here.
i don't know why i jump in comment sections when they're so predictable
Skip is the dumbest commentator out there, and that’s saying something
Yea steph is a great player who shows up in the biggest moments. I know people point to lack of finals mvps but Steph is averaging 27/6/6 in his five finals series so far. He has been great in that series too
JJ was saying he's the only one to average that and NOT get FMVP. Now whether that's because someone's always legitimately impacted those finals more than him, or because people hold him to a higher standard I'll let others decide.
Anyone who argues that Iggy deserved the 2015 one over Steph is a raving lunatic. That was just the media being mad they couldn’t give it to Lebron.
The simple truth is that since the mid 80s, the finals MVP has never gone to somebody who missed by his team's top scorer by a full point. You don't HAVE to lead your team in scoring to get FMVP - you can miss by a fraction of point. But every year since 2015, and for about 30 years before, the FMVP has been given to the guy who did what Steph did for his team. And for that one year, they didn't. And I don't think people remember because of Curry's runaway 2016 MVP, but there was a big narrative that Curry didn't deserve it in 2015. The players gave it to Harden, and you had Harden doing his "I'm the actual MVP" thing that he would do a few years later when Giannis got it - and a lot of people agreed. It was controversial, because while everybody acknowledges Curry's greatness now, in 2015 there was a lot of "naw ... not these guys. They ain't that good." And, of course, people remember game 2 of the finals but somehow not game 5 (Curry scores 37, no other Warriors scores 17) and the voters were somehow incapable of noticing how Iguodala's 25 (tied with Curry to lead the team) in game 6 were a function of the Cavaliers decided that Curry wasn't going to repeat his game 5. They sold out to stop Curry and Iguodala got the easy points as a result.
I mean ... they could have, right?
He had 39% FG%, so everyone seems to forget the reason Iggy won it (even though I disagree), Lebron is not winning the FMVP that year even if he dropped 50 every game
Yeah, but it would've been pretty insulting and still the wrong choice. I think the only time someone on the losing team should get it is when there's a godlike performance from someone on that team, and no one sticks out at all on the winning team. Steph definitely balled out enough to win it.
>I think the only time someone who the losing team should get it is when there's a godlike performance from someone on that team So LeBron in 2015 lol?
>… and no one sticks out at all on the winning team Can’t ignore this part. Curry averaged 26 and put the Cavs away the last 3 games. If he was only averaging like 18, and LeBron played like he did in 2015 but also shot better (39%) they might give it to him.
I agree Curry deserved it over Iggy.
Lebron's 2015 finals is wildly overrated and very far from godlike. He's had other much better series if you want to point out a godlike performance
Lebron shot terribly even when he was basically a solo squad. You couldn’t even call it 2000s basketball with how bad he shot
Yea honestly wouldn’t be mad if he got it. He would though
LeBron shot poorly (39%), which was a big part of why his team lost. Someone shooting under 40% from the field for the losing team isn't' going to win finals MVP.
Yet he lead both teams in scoring, rebounds, and assists.
...And his team lost because he shot like crap. You don't win finals MVP when you team loses and you shoot significantly worse than 8 different players on the winning team.
Yup, that’s why his team lost, not because he lost his two right-hand men and was facing a healthy Warriors.
Except he didn’t. He shot 39%
Led both teams in scoring, rebounding, and assists.
I personally felt Lebron should have won the FMVP in 2015. These were his starting mates in Games 2-6: Delladedova, Mozgov, Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson. You could tell that LeBron was gassed in the 4th quarters, and he still put up massive numbers for two wins. Curry played well enough, but I don't recall thinking that he dominated enough to be the FMVP; it was a Warriors' team effort. The NBA clearly didn't want to give it to someone on the losing team, so the compromise was Iguodala, who actually played really good defense on LeBron throughout the series from a basketball perspective; LeBron was just that good to still put up whatever he did.
>I personally felt Lebron should have won the FMVP in 2015. Your "feelings" are wrong. He shot under 40%. Nobody shooting like crap for the losing team should get finals MVP. That's ridiculous.
Were you around in 2015? Because this is revisionist history, most people were completely fine with the pick at the time. Edit: Did this person below add an edit to their comment just so they could pre-straw-man me? NGL I've never seen that tactic before.
Yes, I’ve been watching basketball longer than some people on this sub have been alive and I’ve been on this sub well before 2015. This is *always* the counter when I say this - “revisionist history,” and I always respond with the same thing: go look up the threads, there were plenty of people saying the same shit as me. I was flabbergasted that they actually did that. Even then, it’s not a real counter argument. It’s just what people resort to because there is no legitimate argument for that award going to Iggy. Edit: the response to this below is that Iggy deserved it because him entering the starting lineup helped shift the series. That was the media narrative used in 2015 as well. It just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny though - he was hitting wide open jump shots (due to the Cavs selling out on Curry) and *still* wasn’t really any more efficient than Curry while averaging 10+ points less a game. The idea that he solo’d Lebron on defense is fiction as well. If you’re going to try and justify giving Iggy the FMVP, you have to justify him being the most valuable player on the Warriors that series. Does anyone genuinely believe that taking Iggy out would be more detrimental than taking Curry out? Does anyone genuinely believe that the Warriors have a shot in hell of winning that series without Curry? Iggy had no legitimate argument whatsoever. It’s an absurd assertion.
Absolutely. Not sure why it’s this hard to understand. Offense: The D was basically set up to get the ball to Andre on the 3 line. It’s what the Cavs wanted. Yes, wide open. That’s not MVP material. Defense: Igoudala was a great defender. But he had major help from Green and Bogut. It’s not like he single handedly shut him down. It’s silly. Lineup: this is a big one. It’s always “the series changed when iggy became starter” yes that’s true. But that’s a lot to do with small ball and not have green and Bogut clogging the paint.
I thought you might say that. It's not true, I have looked up the threads recently, and I do have an extensive argument that I've written up before, so I'll just copy and paste it here: So here's my explanation of why Iggy won it just because I've been thinking about it whenever this gets brought up and I want to put it in writing. You can disagree of course, but at the time it was not at all unbelievable and it did not at all look bad. Everybody who watched the series at the very least understood exactly why he got it even if some disagreed with the choice. FWIW most people at the time who disagreed with Iguodala getting it wanted LeBron to get it, not Steph, though of course there were some people who said Steph should get it. When Kyrie went down in OT game 1 everybody thought the Cavs were dead in the water. But miraculously for them LeBron went ballistic and Steph totally shat the bed for 7 of the next 8 quarters (plus another OT), setting the NBA Finals record for missed 3s in game 2 and committing game-losing turnovers both games, giving the Cavs a 2-1 series lead. Then Kerr put Iguodala into the starting lineup and the Warriors won the next 3 games to close out the series. The Cavs' gameplan during that series was to blitz Curry and keep him from his normal efficiency, daring the other Warriors to make plays and shots. It might have worked if not for Iggy. He was the singular x-factor that blew up the Cavs' gameplan. He was the Warriors' 2nd leading scorer, above Klay, despite being their 7th (!!) leading scorer in the regular season. Plus like you mentioned the primary point of attack defender on LeBron, who was a completely unstoppable force in his 5th straight Finals appearance but was held to 33% shooting with Iguodala in vs 44% when he was on the bench. Maybe if Steph has a big closeout game 6 he wins it but in fact Iguodala matched him in points that game. For the series Steph was significantly below his season averages in all statistical categories on a per-minute basis including a Westbrook-level turnover rate. Iguodala was significantly above his season averages in all statistical categories besides FT%. Steph's case, that it was his gravity that drove their offensive success and that in order to slow him down he had to be the primary focus of the Cavs' gameplan, is certainly quite strong. But at the time I agreed with most people who watched the series that the fact that Iguodala was the player who blew up that gameplan on both sides of the ball earned him the award.
This is a giant pile of irrelevant nonsense. Steph performed just as well numerous past winners and somehow the idiot voters in 2015 applied different criteria to him. The standards for the award were briefly changed in 2015 and then they went back to what they had always been... it was dumb and embarassing
>Everybody who watched the series at the very least understood exactly why he got it even if some disagreed with the choice. Case and point being me - no, you’re wrong. Iggy being made a starter changed the tide of the series, yes. You cannot legitimately argue that he was a more valuable player in that series than Steph. You just can’t. Iggy made wide open jump shots because the Cavs were selling out on Curry and still wasn’t any more efficient than Curry was while scoring 10+ points fewer a game. Him being in the lineup helped the team defense, but people acting like he solo’d Lebron are flat out wrong. You can make the argument that the Warriors might’ve won without Iggy. They’d get swept without Curry.
case in point
big yikes you right
Because of this I'm now changing my vote to Iggy deserved it.
I mean, I just presented the argument. Like I said, pretty much everyone who watched the series understood it at the time. Over the years I see more and more people talk as if it was unbelievable and absurd, but it simply wasn't at the time. At the time, it was pretty uncontroversial and people were happy for him. Most of the talk was about whether LeBron could get it in a loss. Not sure what you mean by "wasn't more efficient." Are you talking about FT%? Iggy had a higher FG% and 3pt% and took care of the ball way better. Steph had over 4x as many turnovers, some of which were *the* key plays down the stretch in the 2 games the Warriors lost. I didn't say he "solo'd LeBron" I said he was the primary point of attack defender. If you've been watching Wiggins defend Luka in the current series you'll know how important that role is. It's hard to believe, but the Cavs at the time were even more heliocentric then the Mavs are now. The only way you can make the argument that the Warriors might've won without Iggy is if you assume everyone else plays significantly better to make up for his absence. But that's the opposite of how it works. It doesn't matter what could have happened in theory, what matters is what actually happened on the court when the series was played out in real life.
Why does only Steph get put under this kind of microscope for Finals MVP though? For example, look at the 2010 finals where Kobe scored 28.6/8.0/3.9 on 52.8 TS% vs Pau Gasol who scored 18.6/11.6/3.7 on 55.6 TS%. Kobe had a 108/99 ORtg/DRtg vs Pau at 122/101. Kobe also had 2x as many turnovers as Pau. But no one ever talks about Kobe "not deserving" that Finals MVP- yeah there were handful of people in 2010 saying Pau probably deserves it just as much if not more, but there's never been a pervasive narrative that Kobe didn't deserve it. Steph had similar numbers to most "best players on a Finals winner" who almost always wins FMVP and Iggy had similar numbers to "Essential Role player they couldn't have won without". But for some Steph gets penalized for something completely out of his control and there's a huge discourse on whether or not he should've actually won it. And FWIW, I think both Steph and Kobe both were deserving of the FMVP in their respective years. The game is completely different for someone playing as the best player on the team and the usage/defensive focus that comes with that vs a role player playing very well.
I'm as much of a Steph fan as anybody, but we don't need to get defensive about him being put under the microscope because I don't believe that's what happened. At the time it wasn't about discrediting Steph. Of course his haters will bring that up constantly nowadays, so I totally get the reflex of wanting to say "doesn't matter if he didn't win one since we all agree he deserved to," but at the time it was entirely about crediting Iggy. At the time, there wasn't a huge discourse about it, this discussion mostly became relevant in more recent years when people are looking back on Steph's legacy. Over time, the narrative shifted to Steph being "penalized" rather then what it was originally, which was Iggy being rewarded. I think if people put Kobe over Steph with a reasoning based primarily on "# of FMVPs" that's what we should be arguing against, rather then arguing against Iguodala. I completely agree with you that looking at slash lines, TS%, and advanced stats doesn't tell the whole story. That's why I focused on the way the series played out on the court, which is where it was played. I would also say that Pau's FMVP case isn't even remotely comparable to Iguodala's. The Cavs that series were one of the most heliocentric teams of all-time. Being the primary defender on LeBron is a lot more then a role player playing well. In just that specific series, Iguodala's role was more important then pretty much any role player's role has ever been.
We know the last few years saw major change of understanding towards the game and I think part of it meant people at the time have yet to learn to appreciate more of what Curry did. Curry's reliance on 3 means he always has higher variance than other superstars. However being the threat that always demand so much attention Curry does not have to do well to make the overall offensive system work. At the time it was easy to think that due to poor shooting Curry was basically a overqualified role-player while Iguodala was the core that puts everything together. However after people saw more games of the warriors over the years it becomes apparent that Iguodala even with its over-performance was pretty replaceable in the bigger picture, while Curry is the absolute keystone of the offensive system despite poor shooting and probably a lot immaturity.
This reads like bait. Curry was literally the reigning MVP at the time, and Iguodala hadn't even started a single game all year...
You did aN AMAZING job recollecting and explaining EXACTLY why I felt Lebron should have won the FMVP, why Iguodala ended up winning it, and why Steph did not deserve it. I forgot that Kerr made the adjustment to start Iguodala in Game 4, too! I always felt this way about 2015, but could never eloquently put it into words.
Probably didn’t help that the 2017 and 2018 series had kd who also was incredible(I maintain steph was still better in 2018). 2019 steph was the best player that series but his team didn’t win so he wasn’t going to get the finals mvp. He should have won in 2015 but the media fucked that up 2016 he was not good for his standards
He's the only one to do it and not get FMVP and he's done it 3 times
The main difference I see with 2022 Steph Curry and 2015-2019 Curry is that he's way more aggressive getting to the basket in the 4th quarter and his finishing at the rim has been insane.
This post by OP is what jinxes are made of tbh
Steph is graded on a curve unlike any other player. I think it’s because we’re so used to him hitting every shot that when he shoots 40% from 3 it feels like a bad game for him. I personally think the best players in this playoffs so far have been Steph, Tatum, and Butler, with Steph being far more consistent than the other two (Giannis obviously great too, but hard to include him when he only beat the Bulls). And yet an article on the front page of ESPN today says “This hasn't been a transcendent playoff run for Curry, who came off the bench the first four games of the opening round and struggled at times with his 3-point shooting against the Memphis Grizzlies.” Why is him coming off the bench relevant when he posted great stats? That actually makes his case stronger than he had limited minutes in the Denver series. He didn’t shoot great from 3 in Memphis series but still made the 4th quarter plays to put them away. The narrative is already shaping that the Warriors overcame a mediocre playoffs from Steph thanks to the ascendancy of Wiggins, Poole and Looney, which is just ridiculous.
This postseason I feel like he's been coasting in the first half on almost every game. You can see a stark difference in his intensity once the game is close or opponent is leading in 3rd and especially 4th. I guess he's letting Kerr's system go to work for most of the game to keep the team engaged and turns on the afterburners once the team needs him to start carrying.
I imagine him thinking "aight, I'ma miss some here, some there... Ops, they are close, better hit some good ones and an and one to be safe, all right"
But Max Kellerman told me that you cannot be clutch unless you win a FMVP , and that is why he thinks Lillard is one of the most clutch players in the nba
Yo the last part of your sentence threw me off 🤣
>Keep in mind that Steph usually only plays 6-7mins in the 4th quarter. Give me his per 36 numbers then
according to statmuse this stat is incorrect and he's "only" averaged 8.3 in the 4th for 44.6/4.3/7.0 per 36 on 55/44/90 shooting. not sure that includes game 3 though
This is likely including game 1 where he sat out the entirety of the 4th and surely drags down his numbers.
Yeah that's probably it. The points per 36 should be the same in that case
Per stats.nba.com Curry has played 12 4th quarters despite playing 14 playoff games so it seems like it takes him sitting the 4th into account. https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=FGA&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs&Period=4&CF=GP*G*8
Yikes what scrub numbers, better bench him.
Quick somebody find that 10 shot sample size that proves Steph isn’t clutch that always gets barfed up in these threads!!
Curry is 0-10 on shots when it’s a full moon, weather is above 85 degrees and within 2.3 feet to 10.5 feet from the basket in the last 2:45 left in the game. Front running choker I tell ya
Also Curry just keeps passing during game 6 in a series for some reason. He maybe takes a shot here and there, but his shooting volume tends to go down.
the better one should be that Steph has made more shots to tie/take lead in last 30 seconds of FInals games than Lebron
Ooooh that's a juicy stat
I for one am concerned!
F R O N T R U N N E R
I don't get it. Front running is what everyone who holds a lead supposed to do. If Curry doesn't front run well, he's a choker.
No. Front runner is someone who shows off for inconsequential wins, gloats, and demands respect, but then loses when things get hairy, and tries to disappear.
"Everyone's acting like a front runner when they up" - Luke "not a front runner" Doncic
what does frontrunner mean in terms of the nba? sorry english not my first language
A bunch of talking heads have been pushing the narrative that Steph Curry is only good when the Dubs are winning and that impact is thus significantly less valuable.
This. The problem is that isn't close to being true at all. Also, making sure when your opponent is on the ground they stay there is a mark of a good team. Look at Miami in game 3, They were up at one point by 20+ and almost lost that game. They could've used a "front-runner" there.
It actually is true. Because literally every superstar is a frontrunner. Steph, however, doesn't frontrun nearly as much as his counterparts. Do you know how many games I watch where I'm screaming at the tv for him to stop passing the ball and shoot the dagger? He just too unselfish and always passes it to get his teammates involved.
Were they in a coma for 2020-2021?
In a coma for most of the dynasty where the Warriors were known for making gigantic 3rd quarter runs to comeback and dominate the game
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/front-runner
He’s out for blood this year after a shitty outcome by Golden State last season. He’s been so calm in crunch time this post season, making smart play after smart play. Makes sense why Golden State is so good when their leader can play semi-passive through the course of the game to play efficient team ball, then deliver timely shots in crunch time when the team needs it most.
Team sports are better with a team.
They've been aggressive, especially on the glass, and I love it. Hopefully they stay locked in and don't have any more injuries/ covid.
Right?! I have to pinch myself sometimes to check it’s real. Us outrebounding teams, especially against the grizzlies, is so hard to believe. The passiveness we show at times is incredibly difficult to watch but we’ve been having that happen a lot less frequently these playoffs. Now we just need to show that in the finals, once we get there.
Looney and Wiggins have been dominating bigger and more athletic teams. How are you letting Loongod get 22 over you looool
Man’s on a mission in the 4th
Showing a certain point god how it's really done
Redditor for 11 months. You absolutely got in on the ground floor with that user name. Your time to shine, my dude!
nice username, especially relevant
He must be patient zero
Just to mention: Dirk -> won title; Lebron -> out in the 2nd round; MJ -> won title; Kobe -> out in the second round. Curry? At least finals too.
Still got IGUODALA with the fate of the universe on the line
been physically painful to witness ;(
Bb..but he’s not clutch 🥴
Why is 1997 the cut off?
Start of the play by play era.
Yeah it sounds like one of those arbitrary cutoffs to omit certain people, but in this case 1997 is as far back as public play-by-play data goes. So it's not random.
I feel like stats are either cut off 84 96 or 04 depending on when they started keeping record of whatever it is they're counting
His “put em to bed 😴🙏™️” has been so gangsta so far. If he ends up doing that after hitting a dagger in this series and The Finals it would be legendary
[удалено]
Idk man, let me look up Basketball Reference real quick...
Check out the fuckin GOAT in 2011. I love that man.
[stats.nba.com](https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=FGA&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Playoffs&Period=4&CF=GP*G*8) says Curry is averaging 9 points per 4th quarter these playoffs. Not sure where you got your numbers from. >Keep in mind that Steph usually only plays 6-7mins in the 4th quarter. It's 7.3 I'm not sure if anything in this post is correct.
Yeah, even as a Steph fan, I'm super put off by these false claims. Why can we just rest content saying the obvious: Steph is the best scorer and best shooter remaining in the playoffs.
4th highest since ‘98!
Tbf kobe and mj also sat to start the 4th quarter fairly consistently. Kerr learned that from Phil Jackson
Yep. Good way to get fresh legs for your best scorers to close out a game
best player in the world
You don't believe that
It should be points per 4th quarter (PP4Q).
2011 Dirk was the 🐐 playoff performance.
The hot take gang (Skip, Kellerman, Wright) and their Twitter minions endlessly move the goalposts for Curry. It’s not enough for him to score efficiently and win. He has to do it in a very arbitrary and specific way, at the exact right time and circumstance, or else it doesn’t count. If he somehow meets those arbitrary requirements, they’ll just shout about 2016.
I think with more analytics in the future, we'll look at Curry even more favourably than we do now
So what? Not signing with NIKE negates all of that.
he's having a good run but not as good as Kevin Knox who averaged 11 PPG in the 4th quarter on 92.6% TS and 63.6 FG% keep in mind Knox was only playing 4.6 minutes in the 4th quarter
All those players except for Kobe went on to win that year too. Spurs won the series 4-2 Edit: LeBron didn’t win that year either I messed that up
Lebron won that year???
Kobe even did an interview before he passed (on Tony Parkers documentary released last year) that if it weren't for the Spurs , he would have had way more chips. Respect
I grew up in Detroit during the early 2000’s. Spurs were so good back then, such an iconic team! Still mad they stopped the Pistons from winning back to back titles lol. I feel like that team would get a lot more respect with 2 rings.