Stephen Curry recently revealed that he thinks the 2022 NBA title the Warriors just won has been the most meaningful championship he’s won in his career.
During a Sports Illustrated podcast interview, Curry said that the 2022 Finals win “hits different,” especially after the Warriors went from being a lottery time and just missing the playoffs in 2021 to returning to the playoffs and winning the whole damn thing after beating the Nuggets, Grizzlies, and Mavericks on the way to besting the Boston Celtics in six games.
The fourth title was significant and the process to getting back on top of the NBA mountaintop was so meaningful that it was only natural that Curry shed tears on the court as the final seconds ticked off the game clock and the Warriors have crowned champions for the fourth time in eight years.
“You don’t find me ugly crying on the court for no reason,” Curry said. “That raw emotion that came out after Game 6 kind of signaled how much this meant to me, how much this meant to our team.
“The first one, you don’t really know what you’re doing until you accomplish it, and then you’re celebrating. The next two were kind of validation, trying to remain champions. But after these last three years and winning that one, definitely the most special.”
When Curry was asked if he would rather have the 2022 championship or the back-to-back Finals wins he got with Kevin Durant in 2017 and 2018, he responded that he would take his 2022 “all day, every day.”
The statement is further validated when you realize Curry was able to erase any notion that he can’t dominate an NBA Finals after he won his first Finals MVP while putting up 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game on 48.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.7 percent from beyond the arc.
“No, I want this one,” Curry said. “No, give me this one, all day, every day.”
Curry and the Warriors will look to start their championship reign with an opening night win over the Lakers on the same night they receive their NBA Finals rings.
