The great Jackie MacMullan wrote a brilliant piece last week for ESPN that dove into how NBA stars, both past and present, deal with pressure.
It really is a fascinating read in which Michael Jordan, Kyrie Irving and others opened up about what it felt like – both physically and mentally – when huge moments arose.
One of those players to share his feelings was Steph Curry. The Warriors star talked about a key moment from Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals when he settled for a hero shot with his team down three points to the Cavs in the final minute, instead of trying to get an easier bucket. Kevin Love played some great defense on Curry, who missed the 3-pointer. It’s a shot that still bugs Curry, who feels like it cost his team a title.
And he feels like he “easily” could have done something different.
From the story, which you should definitely go read:
Curry pump-faked, created a sliver of separation, dribbled left, then crossed over to his right. The shot clock whittled down to four seconds and Curry, capitulating to the urgency, hoisted a 3 that bounced off the rim and out.
“I’m like, ‘I just need a little space’ — and that’s where I started to rush,” Curry says now. “I look back and think I could have easily gone around [Love] and gotten a 2, and we could have gotten a stop, and then I could come back down and hit another shot, and we win another championship, instead of me going for the hero shot, which I felt like I could make.
“That was a shot where I was not under control. And it cost us a championship.”
Well, Kevin Love saw that quote on Tuesday and tweeted his one-word thought on it:
You gotta love the modern-day NBA, where players aren’t afraid to have some fun and mix things up with things like this.
Fans sure liked Love’s take:
Never change, NBA.
