Looking at its history, American professional sports is littered with stories of superstar teammates clashing and egos getting in the way of winning.
So to see the Golden State Warriors still competing for a championship and remaining unified despite 5 straight trips to the NBA Finals, fans are being treated to a phenomenon that's almost unheard of.
That’s in large part because their leader, Steph Curry, has taken on a selfless approach to the team dynamic.
One major NBA award Curry hasn't won yet is a Finals MVP, and should teammate Kevin Durant miss some games in the title series versus the Toronto Raptors and the Warriors win it all Curry would be in position to take that trophy home.
But to Curry, he’s far more zeroed in on the bigger prize.
“At the end of the day, the first thing I do is look up and see, ‘Did you win or lose?’ ” he said in a story posted on The Mercury News website.
“That’s like secondary to that you win or you lose,” he added. “Probably even way down the list.”
Andre Iguodala won Finals MVP in 2015, before Durant bagged the honor in 2017 and 2018.
If these Warriors were concerned about the numbers at the back of their jerseys, they likely wouldn’t be wearing rings.
“Everybody has a part in what we do, and whoever wins it this year, it’s the same vibe,” Curry said.
“I could go out and average 50 [points]. But without the contributions, the effort and the focus of everybody that steps foot on the floor, we’re not putting banners up. Everybody can feel pride in all the individual accolades as well as the team.”
Andrew Bogut, in his third Finals as Curry’s teammate, said the goal is always clear for the 2-time MVP.
“Our league is competitive individually sometimes, but Steph is not one of those guys,” Bogut said.
“He more wants to kill the guy that is guarding him. He doesn’t want to compete with somebody on his own team.”
Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach who has been on some of the most accomplished teams in NBA history, agreed with Bogut.
“I’m sure he would love to win Finals MVP, but he’s much more about the team than he is about the individual,” Kerr said.
“He’s proven that over and over again.”
source: news.abs-cbn.com
