Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals took place nine months ago, but Warriors star Steph Curry remembers it like it was yesterday — the hard-fought battle, the final seconds and, of course, the tears.
In an exclusive interview on the latest episode of “Dubs Talk,” Curry explained to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke and Monte Poole what went through his mind as he celebrated Golden State’s championship win over the Boston Celtics on the TD Garden floor.
“It was releasing the pressure that we put on ourselves, the work that went into it, the patience that went into it,” Curry told Burke and Poole. “… The three years prior leading up to it, just the emotional rollercoaster we had been on.”
The Warriors experienced a lot in the three-year window after losing the 2019 NBA Finals, from Kevin Durant’s departure to injuries for their core of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Curry, and even a last-place finish in the Western Conference. The ups and downs made them, and Curry himself, cherish their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons even more than they would have before, he explained.
“You understand how hard it is to win a single regular-season game in this league, let alone a playoff series, let alone four to win a championship,” Curry said. “So all of that baked into it, and the fact that Boston was a hell of a team, every game felt like just the most intense, grueling competition of all time.”
And when it was over, Curry let the emotions flow through him.
“All that stuff comes out when you get to the finish line, because you want it so bad,” Curry said. “You pour so much into it, it matters so much and you want to be that team that’s standing on that podium. Until you get there, there’s just so much built up inside of you that you carry.
“I didn’t know it would flow out in ugly tears and all that in that moment, but it was special. I can place myself there right now, and it’s a beautiful feeling.”
When Burke assured Curry that he doesn’t have an ugly cry face, he joked his family has made fun of him for it in the months since.
As for Curry? The moment always is in the back of his mind.
“From the end of Game 6 and even to now, those thoughts still pop in your head of, ‘Yeah, we really did that,’ ” Curry said.
