The Golden State Warriors had an unforgettable NBA Finals run from 2015 to 2019. Stephen Curry and Co. won three championships in the period, concluding one of the best runs in league history with the 2019 Finals loss against Toronto. In 2020, Curry reminisced about the Warriors’ five-year run on the All the Smoke podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.
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Barnes had asked the Warriors guard to describe the feeling of being a 3x champ and almost securing two more championships.
Curry admitted that they could have easily won more championships if a few things didn’t go wrong. But the Dubs guard didn’t show any regret for falling short twice. On the contrary, he expressed his joy for being close to the title every year.
He pointed out how even many All-Time greats have never gone to the Finals, let alone win a championship. Curry said,
“I just love being in the conversation, every year in the finals. That’s a crazy sound, not many people get that experience. Some all-time greats never played in the Finals, or never won.”
To Curry’s point, there are indeed many superstar players who never made it to the Finals. 2x MVP Steve Nash, who retired in 2015, didn’t sniff the championship round despite four Conference Finals appearances.
Meanwhile, 2013 scoring champion Carmelo Anthony, who last played in 2022, managed just a single Conference Finals appearance in 2009. But after that he never got close to the Finals. Former All-Stars Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins, and George Gervin, are also among those who didn’t make it to the final round.
Later, Curry delved into the 2016 Warriors playoffs run. He noted the irony of coming back from a 1-3 deficit during the Western Conference Finals only to fumble a 1-3 lead in the Finals. The 35-year-old believes that NBA fans mostly focus on their choke job, but fail to register the heroics of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James.
While the two Finals losses were painful for him, the Warriors guard also enjoyed competing against LBJ and Kai for multiple years, and against Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry in the 2019 Finals. The 2x MVP cherishes even his losses during the five-year-period because it came against top-notch rivals at the ultimate stage.
“You know those wins were special, but even the loss is like you got to put into perspective, we’re in the finals. It was a fight. I think at the end of the day, when we all, you know, hosting our own podcast, I look across the room, I see Bron and Kyrie, Kawhi and Kyle Lowry, ‘Like you that was fun,’” Curry continued.
Later, the veteran guard was asked about the 2015-16 season when the Dubs won a league-record 73 games. The Warriors superstar acknowledged that losing the NBA Finals discredited the season, but at the same time, he reminded fans that they went on a historic 24-game winning streak to open the season, which remains the only such instance in league history.
He recalled the intensity and togetherness with which the squad played to achieve such a humungous feat. Despite the Finals loss, if Curry had to do the season all over again, he’d change nothing about it.
Two years after this episode, the Warriors will go on to win the 2022 championship. Stephen Curry would be crowned the Finals MVP. That championship may have been the sweetest for the Chef as it came after a couple of tumultuous seasons.
