OAKLAND — There’s something Stephen Curry will readily admit: He loves breaking NBA records.
And his obsession with personal greatness, as much as winning, is a direct reason why the Golden Warriors are now a championship caliber team.
Curry knew exactly what was on the line late in a trivial early-season game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Steve Kerr or Kevin Durant didn’t know, but Curry did. Nothing was going to stop him.
Swish, 10. Swish, 11. Swish, 12.
“It was one those nights,” Kerr said. “We let him go.”
And 46 points later, the greatest shooter alive accomplished one of basketball’s toughest code to crack: make 13 three-pointers in a single game.
Curry admitted to reporters afterwards it’s a record he’s always wanted. And he didn’t mind being a little selfish obtaining it.
“Ever since I tied it the first time, I thought about what it would take to get one more,” Curry said afterwards. “When you get that close, there is a little something that says get one more and get the record for yourself. The envelope has been pushed a little bit more.”
It’s exactly this, Curry’s pursuit of his place in history, that is an essential component to why the Warriors have taken the NBA by storm in the last three seasons.
Nobody works harder during a practice than Curry, and when that work ethic started translating to results, more Warriors players started taking practice more seriously. Klay Thompson was a direct beneficiary of Curry’s practice habits, and the two share a mostly unspoken competitive bond unlike any other teammates in the NBA.
Also remember, Curry and Draymond Green were the two Warriors who convinced Kerr and their veteran teammates 73 regular season wins was worth the stress because of it’s historical significance.
It ended up being a footnote after Golden State lost in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but tearing out pages of history books gives Curry a high. Chasing those feelings have pushed the franchise to heights not even Curry, Kerr or the biggest diehard Warriors fan could’ve ever imagined just a few seasons.
Kerr helped change the culture in Golden State, on and off the court. The Warriors were to have fun and as much of it as possible. But Kerr couldn’t have delivered results this quickly without Curry’s killer instinct and his obsession with being the best.
The two-time MVP used to be compared to Ray Allen and Reggie Miller. Now he’s compared to Michael Jordan. What could even be next on his list of records? Last season’s 402 made three-pointers were more than nearly half the league.
It doesn’t matter that Curry’s running out of records to break. His place in history keeps becoming stronger every season he takes the court.
