The Golden State Warriors have failed to win their third straight title last season, falling at the hands of the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. But despite the team's shortcomings, two-time MVP Stephen Curry said he's still happy about what they've been able to accomplish.
In an interview with Complex.com's Adam Caparell, Curry said that he's more proud of this year's Warriors team the 2017-18 championship team simply because of the fact that they showed the rest of the league that even in a losing effort, Golden State everything they could. The All-Star guard added that he liked their resiliency to fight back all the adversity that went their way last season.
“I mean, I did say that last year, considering each playoff series and what not, you get into the Finals you're getting the job done. This year was 10 times harder, physically and emotionally for sure. All the tough blows we were dealt on the way with injuries, you got three guys getting pretty significant injuries throughout the course of the playoff series, they were important guys and I would answer that question by saying I'm even more proud of how we handled it and how we fought to the end this year. There's really no reason other than our sheer fighting ability and competitiveness that we were within a possession to get to Game 7. It says a lot about who we are as a team and what we've been through. It sucks to lose and we'll be thinking about for a long time, but we battled and gave ourselves a sliver of hope until the end to get the job done.”
The biggest hurdle that hurt the Warriors' chances of winning it all last season was injuries to their key players. DeMarcus Cousins suffered a thigh injury in the first round of the playoffs, and although he was able to play in the Finals, it was clear that he wasn't his usual self throughout the series.
Kevin Durant suffered a calf strain in the second round of the playoffs and missed the entire Western Conference Finals and the first four games of the Finals. He returned to the Warriors lineup in Game 5 only to tear his Achilles in the second quarter of the contest. Now, he's expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season.
Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL in Game 6, and it was the final blow to the Warriors' championship hopes, as they eventually succumbed to the Raptors. Curry's fellow Splash Brother is expected to be sidelined until February or March next year.
Still, the Warriors fought hard in the Finals, and although they eventually lost the series, no one can deny the fact that they still showed their championship pedigree. No one can question their heart as they gave everything they could to win the series.
But in the end, the injuries were just too much for them to overcome.
One thing is for sure though; they went down fighting.
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