Stephen Curry briefly wore a black sleeve on his shooting arm Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, joking that it was his attempt to emulate Allen Iverson.
Stephen Curry on his arm sleeve: "Lowkey, I always wanted to be Allen Iverson."
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 2, 2017
(Curry ditched the garment, and helped lead the Golden State Warriors to a convincing 113-91 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.)
The back-to-back MVP finished with 28 points and 10 assists.
Per the AP:
Curry sported a fresh haircut for the occasion and the two-time reigning MVP initially wore a black sleeve on his shooting arm to protect a tender elbow that still had some swelling, but he quickly removed it and found his stroke. He shot 11 for 22, 6 of 11 on 3s.
The sleeve didn’t feel right, but Curry joked of his arm wear, “As a little kid I always wanted to be like Allen Iverson and that was the only way I could really come close.”
[Kevin] Durant punished Cleveland for leaving him free, taking the ball to the hoop for emphatic dunks as a man on a mission to deliver what he came for: a championship. He had six slams in the first half alone for the Warriors, who at 13-0 are already the first team to go this far in a postseason unblemished.
“They’re the best I’ve ever seen,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “They’re 13-0. They’re constantly breaking records every year.”