NBA Hoops

NBA Finals 2022: Stephen Curry cements legacy with MVP performance

NBA Finals 2022: Stephen Curry cements legacy with MVP performance

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Steph Curry grabbed his knees before collapsing onto the court in a seated position, burying his head in his hands. The emotions were pouring out of him with so much intensity that they got the best of him.

For Curry, this NBA championship hit differently.

Just a short time ago, his team was counted out. He was dismissed. The dynasty was left for dead, buried with other legendary teams that faded away to history.

Curry heard all the talking heads who claimed the Warriors‘ run was over after Kevin Durant left in free agency in 2019. He heard people laugh off their chances of ever being great again after they finished with the worst record in the league in 2020, winning only 15 games. He heard everyone call him too old, too injury-riddled, too past his prime to lead this team to the mountaintop again.

That’s why as the buzzer sounded Thursday night in Boston, Curry got goosebumps. It’s why as he hugged his father, Dell Curry, he was so consumed by the moment that he says he blacked out.

“It was surreal because you know how much you went through to get back to this stage,” Curry said after Golden State’s 103-90 title-clinching win over the Celtics in Game 6.

This was Curry’s greatest accomplishment yet. These Warriors weren’t supposed to be here.

The team’s Big Three are all at least 32 years old. Klay Thompson was a lesser version of himself after returning in January from ACL and Achilles injuries that sidelined him for two-and-a-half years. Draymond Green was accused (unfairly) throughout the Finals of being more interested in his podcast than his play. 

In fact, during the broadcast for Game 6, ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy called this iteration of the Warriors the least talented group Steve Kerr has coached, intending it as a compliment.

Curry put this team on his back.

On the biggest of stages, he kept producing masterful moment after masterful moment. He was a wizard on offense, while also playing the best defense of his career.

In Game 1, he had six 3-pointers in the first quarter, an NBA Finals record for a single period. In Game 4, he had 43 points and 10 rebounds. In Game 6, he scored 34 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field, going 6-for-11 from beyond the arc, while also finishing with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Performances like those cement a player’s legacy, and, for whatever reason, Curry entered the Finals with his in some question. Even though…

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