The Golden State Warriors shocked the NBA by winning the 2022 NBA Finals on Thursday night, extending a dynasty that most had written off as finished. Superstar guard Stephen Curry, AKA The Golden Child, led the way and earned his first NBA Finals MVP Award and his fourth NBA title.
Just as the Warriors’ win was shocking to odds-makers, many NBA pundits didn’t think they’d ever see Curry win the coveted Finals MVP trophy. But it’s all his now, and the accomplishment puts him on a very exclusive list. According to Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, only Curry, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan have two NBA MVP Awards, two scoring titles, and one Finals MVP.
That’s some big-time company for Curry. He had already accomplished so much in his career, but this previous lack of an NBA Finals MVP Award left many to say something like, “Curry’s great, but he’s never led a team to a championship as the unquestioned best player on the team.”
That’s a ridiculous notion, especially considering the 2015 NBA Finals, but it was held by many. And Curry apparently heard all the talk. Here he is celebrating in the locker room screaming, “What are they gonna say now?”
Well, the answer, Mr. Curry is not much at all. Except for “congratulations.”
Plus, the Warriors championship and Curry’s Finals MVP will lead many to put Curry in the ever-evolving conversation about the best players in NBA history.
As for me, people can talk all they want about whatever they want regarding the Warriors — before Curry’s stunning accomplishments this season or afterward. Because the franchise used to be an NBA afterthought, and now it’s one of the greatest franchises in NBA history.
That would have been true even if the Warriors had lost to the Celtics. But they triumphed, and life is sweet in the Bay Area — and, clearly, for Curry as well.
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