NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 12, 2022

Stephen Curry

Golden State Warriors

Practice Day

Q. Tomorrow is the three-year anniversary of your elimination from the Toronto series in Game 6 and Klay getting injured. Wondering if you can just remember your emotions that day. I watched a video of you slamming the ball when Klay went down and squatting and looking very pensive. Your emotions and some perspective, three years later, here you are back in a critical Game 5.

STEPHEN CURRY: It was mixed emotions all the way around. KD's injury a couple days before; Klay going down; us just trying to find a way to stay alive. It was the end of an era at Oracle, as well. So there was a lot going on. It's hard to pick out exactly what you're feeling because it was all mixed together. We lost a game. Klay goes down; know he's probably going to be out for a while. You're getting ready for the summer, trying to regroup and figure out what's going to happen next year and all that.

And to think it's three years ago and all that we've been through, all that Klay has been through personally since that time, and to be back here, it adds a sense of gratitude of being back on this stage. That chapter will always be part of our journey, for sure. That's something we'll probably talk about for a very long time.

Hopefully we can get this job done and pay homage to that three-year journey actually leading to something truly special.

Q. Rory (McIlroy) is up two, in case you were wondering.

STEPHEN CURRY: I was wondering. Thank you very much.

Q. As much defensive attention and physicality as you face in the playoffs and the series, how much more and what difference do you expect tomorrow night given the way you played Friday?

STEPHEN CURRY: I don't know, because every team is built different. Every team has a certain way of doing things that you've perfected or tried to perfect over the course of a season. They have a certain defensive identity that has been successful for them. You obviously understand in the series, adjustments can happen on the fly between games. You have to be ready to adapt.

I think I'll be ready for that. We'll be ready for that, whatever it is. But at the end of the day, for us to be successful and win two more games, it comes down to the way we defend, the way we bring intensity, especially to start games. Understand how they respond after losses.

That was one of the big points in the series -- two great teams that know how to respond and know how to win in other people's buildings. They have shown that, and we have shown that. We have to be ready for that response and hopefully throw the first punch tomorrow.

Whatever adjustment that means is going to be a part of it but is secondary to just the effort and intensity and physicality that we need to have, knowing that is their calling card. That is how they try to force success when they are coming off a loss.

Q. I think Klay is leading you guys in minutes played in the playoffs. He's way up the list. You're second on the team, way up there on the list of playoff minutes --

STEPHEN CURRY: Used to be a sixth man, though. (Laughter.)

Q. Wow. Wow. You've thrown me off. You're coming off, you had the foot thing. You guys are the old guys, but you might be getting stronger. Do you have a sense of pride in that? And what might it mean for how long this window is going to be open?

STEPHEN CURRY: We've talked about that. I've said it plenty of times: We have a lot left in the tank in terms of what we can do out there on the floor.

You bring up the age thing. It's something to talk about, but it doesn't really reflect how we approach this playoff journey and our confidence, what we can do going forward.

But that doesn't happen by accident. It's just the work that you put into it. You know, Klay, especially, the fact that he was on a minutes restriction for like a month, and slowly got to ramp it up every couple weeks leading up to the playoffs, and then he was so proud of himself when he first eclipsed 40 minutes in a regular-season game one time.

Just the pride -- he talked about it that like a year ago, he wasn't even running. It just speaks to how much this matters and how much work goes on behind the scenes for being ready for whatever happens out there in the games that matter. We are obviously only worried about right now, but we definitely feel like we have a lot left in the tank.

Q. How does the foot feel?

STEPHEN CURRY: Great.

Q. Any treatment you needed?

STEPHEN CURRY: Always.

Q. Draymond, this is obviously a challenge for him offensively with their length, so what is the key to thriving better offensively when he's on the floor?

STEPHEN CURRY: It comes down to understanding that we have our certain pet plays and actions we've done for years and years and years. They've scouted it. They have a certain approach and personnel that is trying to take those away, some of our bread-and-butter plays.

But a lot of it is just being a lot more organized on our spacing and our force on pick-and-rolls, on cuts and stuff like that, so that we can just get everybody in the right spots. And whether they want to shade off a certain guy or try to clog things up, we have a counter to all of that.

I think he is going to do an amazing job of adapting and figuring out where he can find his angles, his ways to impact on the offensive end. And that will, again, feed off the way he impacts the game on the defensive end every game.

So usually the high-IQ guys figure it out, and he's at the top of that list when it comes to understanding the game of basketball.

Q. You're 3-0 with those purple shoes. Is there anything to that? Are you going to bring them back out again at some point?

STEPHEN CURRY: I did not even know that, so I appreciate you -- I don't know if that messes with the juju on there if I'm aware of the record now. I've got a lot of different colors, so we'll see. We'll see what happens. Got me thinking now, too. (Laughter.)

Q. The U.S. Open is obviously in Boston this week. You have obviously much bigger priorities, but do you try to squeeze in part of the practice round Wednesday? Do you have golfers hitting you up for tickets? Do you watch it on Thursday?

STEPHEN CURRY: Got a couple friends on the TOUR who will probably hit me up between now and next week if they get the early tee time, the early/late on Thursday. We'll see. Or Thursday/Friday, we'll see.

I'm not going out there. Obviously, all of my attention is on rest and recovery, getting ready. I'll pop in front of the TV and make sure I watch as much of it as possible, though.

Q. Forward those tickets our way.

STEPHEN CURRY: I've never been to The Country Club at Brookline, so send me some pictures if you get out there.

Q. The game on Friday, what's it like to watch the film of it?

STEPHEN CURRY: It's cool. You watch film, there's a lot of different emotions because usually you know the outcome of the game. Whether you play well individually or not, you always know what happens at the end. It's like watching the end of a movie. It's always nice to know that the movie turns out great at the end.

But I think it's more so just the balance of watching what worked and trying to understand those patterns so that you can repeat that for the next game. Maybe anticipate some adjustments that might happen. Try to slow it down and try to be one step ahead of that. In the meantime, also watching a lot of different reactions in the crowd and on the bench and stuff like that, too. That's always some good entertainment.

Q. Steve was just comparing you to Roger Federer in terms of how the greats do things and he was --

STEPHEN CURRY: I have to get a list of all the people he's compared: Tim Duncan, Roger Federer. Add it to the list.

Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off.

Q. He said you met him a few years ago, and how you find that joy in the daily routine, the work you put in, the discipline. In your perspective, how is finding that joy and that passion and that work that you put in every day to sustain the highest level for a long period of time?

STEPHEN CURRY: It goes back to just how I started the game back when I was playing AU back in the day. I love to work. You kind of get lost in the sessions you have on the court in practice, in the weight room, wherever it is, because you know it's going to lead to you being as prepared as possible for those games.

Try to have as much fun as possible. Days that you want to get up and do the work, the days that you don't, days you're tired, all that type of stuff. But it's all just built on my approach from the time I started and just trying to carry that every year for as long as I can.

Win, lose, whatever it is, however you play, you have to keep coming back to the well to keep sharpening the toolkit and finding ways to evolve your game. That is the hardest part of what we do. I mean, going out there on the floor, everything is more reactive and you're kind of just living in the competition. But the hardest part of what we do is the grind of the year-long prep that it takes to be great at this level.

Q. You're playing in your sixth Finals in eight years. How much does this become routine for you, and how much is, wow, I'm playing for a championship again?

STEPHEN CURRY: You understand, I guess, the routine of it and the ebbs and flows of game days, off-days, media days, travel days, especially how to keep your body prepared on those long East-to-West Coast flights and all that. That helps with the experience.

Every task is different, though, when you get out there. Even when we played Cleveland four times, every year was a different team that you had to prepare against. That's just part of it.

I love every experience at this stage because so much attention on what we do. You understand the whole world is watching you when you're out there on the court, and you're obviously keeping in mind what you're playing for and to be the last team standing. So I love everything about it.

Q. During Game 4, you couldn't see it because you were playing, but Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were back and forth praising you throughout the game/ Dwyane said something after it, that they have to make room for you on the Mount Rushmore. When you see that, if you see that, are you amused? Are you surprised? What's your reaction when you see it?

STEPHEN CURRY: Any player will tell you when you get respect and praise from your colleagues and guys who have been on this stage and know what it's about and how hard it is to do what we do, that means the world.

You obviously want everybody to appreciate what you do and all that, but it hits different when there's people that you looked up to once upon a time, when they were having their first and second experiences and you're watching them, like, I wonder what that's like, and then you have some battles.

For them to go out of their way and to speak about your impact on the game and all that type of stuff, it means the world, for sure. Because it takes a great to recognize what it takes to do what we do, for sure.