|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA ALL-STAR 2018February 18, 2018Stephen CurryLos Angeles, California - Postgame Team LeBron - 148, Team Stephen - 145 Q. DeMar and K.D. said this was the most fun they had thus far playing in an All-Star Game. Would you agree? Secondly, what was the most memorable part of the weekend for you and how excited are you about playing in your hometown next year? STEPHEN CURRY: That was a lot of questions (laughing). Q. I know. STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, it was an amazing environment, obviously with the new format, having guys mix and match from different conferences, same conference, whatever the case is. I think we tried to set the tone early of playing a little bit of defense, creating that competitive environment that was a great kind of change and tone just for the fans in the stadium and watching it on TV. I think we accomplished that all the way down to the finish. So very competitive game. I think we did it the right way, showcased our talents and our skills and put on a show, so that was fun. The game itself is always the highlight for me. Also, it's a crazy, chaotic schedule, so much you can do and experience and whatnot. You get to Sunday, and that's what it's all about. We appreciate that environment out on the floor. And I tried my best to answer all three, and I forgot the third question. Q. How much are you looking forward to playing at home next year in Charlotte? STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, it will be great, obviously, finally getting the game there, first time in a while. It will be kind of crazy for the Curry family. But it will be a really cool experience to go home and enjoy bringing the NBA and celebrating the game of basketball and what the NBA is about in Charlotte. Q. Talk to me about your draft order. What went into your decision in who you picked? Also, do you expect to hear about K.D. talking about the defense so late in the game in the locker room? STEPHEN CURRY: I tried to just put together the best team. As the draft kind of unfolded, you start to game plan around positions. For me, I tried to get the best shooting, and that was kind of the strategy from a whole. It was kind of cool to see all the teams just come together or both teams come together as me and LeBron were picking. So that part, that vibe of the format and having two guys select from your peers will be a fun show as it unfolds year after year. Yeah, K.D. and Bron, they double teamed me hard and pushed me to the sideline. Two tall giants out there not letting me shoot, tried to make a play and it just didn't work out. So that was a tough way for our team to end the game. But I think it was a great show for the fans. Q. Are you looking to be captain again next year? STEPHEN CURRY: For sure. I enjoy the process. I enjoyed leading the team. I enjoyed taking ownership of that, and hopefully I get another opportunity to do so. Q. Steph, you struggled with your shot a little bit and then you started finding it. It's been kind of up and down for you in your All-Star career. What's different about shooting for you in an All-Star Game? STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know. I think a little bit is about the overall pace. It's kind of a different vibe. Your body and your mind is telling you it's like a normal game, but when you get out there, we know it's an All-Star Game, so it's not a 10 out of 10 on the intensity scale, but it's just a different kind of pace. You obviously take some shots. Probably a little more aggressive along the way throughout the course of the game than you probably would in a normal game, but same confidence, really. It's make-or-miss situation, so I don't really look too much into it. Q. A lot of your other peers who are not All-Stars have already been on that break for a while now, and you guys, All-Stars, I know you had numerous obligations over the weekend. Do you feel like you'll be able to go into the second half refreshed? And if not, will you be able to get your body fresh before the season starts? STEPHEN CURRY: For sure. I think that's kind of a double-edged sword of being an All-Star. It's an amazing accomplishment, an amazing honor, but if you're thinking about it in the perspective of getting rest and really taking advantage of the full slate of All-Star break, it doesn't really start for us until right now. So a little bit of it is just having the mindfulness of what you need to do to get your body right, get off your feet, not run yourself to exhaustion throughout the course of All-Star Weekend, and take advantage of these next two days that we have to get off the radar, get our minds right. Because that's a big part of it, too, not even just your body, but get a refresh mentally to know that when you get back to practice on Wednesday that that's when the real grind starts. We've got 20-something games before the playoffs to chase another championship. So ready to hit the ground running when we get back. Q. Adam Silver just announced the third NBA Africa game in South Africa. Do you have any plans of attending that? STEPHEN CURRY: I'm not sure. I don't know. Q. Steph, the competitiveness of this game, how much was it about the new format and how much was it about you players willing to get a competitive game to fans? STEPHEN CURRY: I think the new format really just gave us an opportunity to hit the reset button and take ownership of the game and understand that there's a way to do it to up the level of competitiveness and intensity a little bit. Protect each other and obviously avoid injuries and whatnot. But to put on a great show and have an actual game and not just up and back, the olé defense, just watching basically a pseudo-dunk contest. I think we accomplished that this year, and hopefully that will set the tone for years to couple of how to do it the right way. How to appreciate the opportunity we have to play in front of the world, basically, and celebrate what it means to be an All-Star, because I think that's why we're all here. The top 24 guys in the league, understanding that we all work hard, we all appreciate what we do in our careers and the success we have in being an All-Star is a part of that. Q. Practicing against K.D. every day and playing with him every day, what's it like to then go against him in a game and get that opportunity to try to score on him, try to defend him when it actually matters? STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, honestly, I still remember the days prior to his Golden State or him wearing that jersey and joining us. So we've had battles against, with, now against in the All-Star Game and whatnot. It's just fun. You can talk a little trash. You can understand how much he torments defenses throughout the league every night, and just have an appreciation for his talent, and I think he felt the same way about me, Klay, and Draymond. Q. Apart from the game, the NBA Cares and that platform for the community outreach is just off the chart. It continues to grow and expand and bring more of our communities, and we say east L.A., south L.A., wherever the love of the game is and the communities also really love the players as much as the games themselves. Your thoughts on continuing now with NBA Cares and expanding that even more for those who are really, really in need like say here in Los Angeles, very, very badly. Pockets of our populations are suffering. But you as a leader in the NBA, you and LeBron and a number of others, Carmelo, have stood up and have said this has to stop. We're going to put something to it. Just give us your thoughts on that in the future. STEPHEN CURRY: I think basketball, we've talked about it a lot, sports in general, basketball brings people together. For us to be able to bring resources to the table and use an event like All-Star Weekend to financially donate $500,000 between us two teams to two amazing groups that, like you said, are impacting the local community and the local youth every single day and they live through that. So to be able to support that is definitely important. We have our Day of Service where guys get to go out and touch the community in different ways. And this year they gave us more ownership of what that means, so we got to choose what we wanted to do, and I think it made it more authentic and more impactful in that sense. That's why we're here. It is a show. Like I said, it's about the players celebrating All-Star Weekend and the NBA and whatnot. But just the impact that we can have in the community from an awareness standpoint, from a financial standpoint, from a support standpoint, all those things go into it. I think the NBA has done an amazing job of doing that. Q. Steph, the last three or four years as you guys have gained popularity and been in the NBA Finals, talking about the Warriors specifically, how have you seen the perception of your team change and how have you dealt with any potential backlash that you faced in that time that you guys have been playing for championships? STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, we were the underdog story, whatever. Our first time around, chasing championships, hadn't been there in a while, we got it done. Had an amazing season the year after, almost won it again, but couldn't get the job done down the stretch. K.D. joins, the whole conversation around that. It's all just really a bunch of noise around. We try our best not to let it filter through our locker room and through our identity as a team. Because we know who we are, we know what we're about, we know how we play on the court, and what we need to do to be successful and how we do it together. So you might see us kind of approaching it with a little humor, super villains and all that type of stuff. But it's really about what we do on the floor and how we carry ourselves. Just appreciate the moment we're in as a team to have this fourth year around, trying to chase this championship and be in this stratosphere of success, that's what it's about, and we appreciate that. Q. Being at the All-Star Game last year with Kevin and Russell, the first year after Kevin leaves Oklahoma City and being around those two guys this year, how did you get a sense or what sense did you get from their interaction this year that was different from last year and where their relationship is at? STEPHEN CURRY: Honestly, they were both on Team LeBron, so I didn't get to see them much. But just from stuff K.D. said and whatnot, I think friendships and all that stuff is bigger than basketball. I think everybody understands that across the board. Q. You kind of touched on your community involvement and why it's important to you a moment ago. But could you specifically talk about why you chose Brotherhood Crusade? Also, was there anyone in your life who instilled the attitude of giving back in you? STEPHEN CURRY: Brotherhood Crusade, obviously there was a plethora of options that I could have decided to go with, but the people that I asked from the local L.A. community, Brotherhood Crusade was the one that I think people recognized the most and understood the people that are leading the cause, how authentic and genuine they were about what they were doing in their mission. They spoke nothing but extremely highly of the leadership there. So that's important to know that the money is going to actually be put to use and have an amazing impact. So I think that was a pretty easy choice in that sense. I've always had that kind of mentality. My dad playing 16 years in the NBA, kept it as a priority for me, my brother and sister when we were growing up that life is bigger than basketball and there are ways that you can, like I said, use the resources that you have access to to give back. That should be a priority. So we were always doing things with my dad to improve the community in Charlotte. No matter where I end up, I want to be able to do that as well. Q. What was the play like for the last ten seconds, especially when the ball is in your hand, you got double teamed, what's going through your mind? STEPHEN CURRY: Just trying to get a shot up. We ran a play to try to get an open three in the corner and then maybe a three at the top of the key. Team LeBron had length and quickness all over the course. So once I got the ball from Joel and turned and looked to get a clear shot at the rim, I saw LeBron and K.D. try to double team me. At that point you're just trying to make a play, and nothing really surfaced. DeMar tried to get one off in the corner before the time ran out. But it's obviously just great defense by them and they just made one more play than we did to get the win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|