Stephen Curry became a mainstay in the NBA Finals through the last half of the previous decade. Led by their superstar point guard, the Golden State Warriors made five straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019 and won three championships. Curry may not have won a single Finals MVP in those three titles wins, but with his self-less ego, that probably doesn't matter to him.
The Warriors finished with the worst record in the league this 2019-20 season thanks to Curry's extended absence, but he returned to MVP form in the 2020-21 season. With Curry looking like himself again, let's take a look back at Stephen Curry's top five moments in the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a game
Curry is already undoubtedly the greatest 3-point shooter of all time. He already holds a ton of 3-point records, including the most triples in an NBA Finals game.
Curry set the record in Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals with nine triples en route to a game-high 33 points. He made five in the fourth quarter, including this impossible rainbow with the shot clock winding down.
Crossing Delly Twice
With Kyrie Irving out for the series due to a knee injury, the Cavaliers entrusted reserve point guard Matthew Dellevadova to guard the 2014-15 NBA MVP. Cleveland, without their two All-Stars Irving and Kevin Love, shocked Golden State in Games 2 and 3 and took control of the series.
Dellevadova had done a splendid job in containing Stephen Curry. Delly him to an average of just 22.7 points on 38.3 percent shooting from the field through Games 2 to 4, including a dismal 5-of-23 shooting, 19-point night in Game 2. However, in the pivotal Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2, Curry had his best game of the series. He erupted for 37 points and erased any chatter about Dellevadova being the “Curry Stopper.”
In two of his most iconic shots in the NBA Finals, Curry also shook Delly twice in the fourth quarter to help hold off the gutsy Cavs in Game 5.
Putting LeBron on skates
LeBron James took away what could have been the greatest season ever from Curry and the Warriors when they came back from 3-1 series deficit and won the 2016 championship. James also embarrassed Curry on a couple of occasions during the 2016 Finals, such that iconic trash-talk moment after blocking the 6-foot-3 Curry underneath the basket.
The two teams saw each other again in the 2017 Finals and Curry was finally able to exact revenge on James and the Cavs. One particular play symbolized that, which was this filthy series of crossover moves that put The King on skates.
As soon as he got the ball, Curry clearly wanted to show up on James on the isolation. He was ecstatic to get this little revenge move on his Finals nemesis as well. The slow-mo may have shown that Curry double-dribbled on the play. But let's not ruin a great moment
Game 3 vs. Raptors
The Warriors were extremely short-handled and hobbled entering Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Kevin Durant had been out since round two, Klay Thompson sat due to a hamstring injury, and DeMarcus Cousins and Kevon Looney were clearly not playing at a hundred percent.
With that, Stephen Curry put the team on his back and put on his best individual performance in the NBA Finals. The two-time MVP exploded for a playoff career-high 47-points. Even though the Raptors threw everything and focused their entire defensive game plan to stop him, Curry still managed to pour it on, shooting 14-of-31 from the field and nailing six 3-pointers.
Unfortunately, that Herculean effort ended up in a loss. Toronto's deep squad proved too much for the depleted and injured Warriors. This Curry performance would be lost in memory due to the defeat, but it's still one of the best individual Finals games in NBA history.
Winning title No. 1
If you would ask him, which of his three titles is the most special, Curry would most probably choose his first. There's no feeling like reaching the mountaintop for the first time. After putting together one of the best regular seasons in recent memory, many still doubted whether the Warriors could get it done on the big stage.
The Warriors saw many challenges through their first title run. This included falling behind 2-1 in the second round against the Memphis Grizzlies. They also found themselves in a 2-1 hole against the extremely short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. However, Golden State proved their resiliency and won their first title in 40 years in six games.
In his NBA Finals debut, Curry averaged 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3. Many pundits say that the Warriors superstar struggled through the series and was even held in check by a reserve guard in Matthew Dellevadova. But putting the narratives aside, the 2014-15 MVP actually had a great series overall, highlighted by the aforementioned 37-point eruption in Game 5.
Unfortunately, the narrative prevented him from capturing the Finals MVP, which went to Andre Iguodala. Curry still hasn't won Finals MVP in his career, as Kevin Durant won the Bill Russell MVP in Golden State's succeeding two titles.
Given how this has already become a major talking point of his career, winning a Finals MVP, if it ever happens in the future, would probably be his best Finals moment ever.
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