Some sportspeople are such a force of nature, so determined to impose their desire, that they can lead a team to glory by sheer force of will. But they still need the team.
Steph Curry isn't interested in hearing about one-man teams. It's disrespectful to 'the other guys' according to the Golden State Warriors point guard and quite right too.
In the 2017-18 NBA season, the Warriors won the NBA championship for the sixth time by smashing the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Finals in four games.
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The Cavaliers were dragged to the Finals by LeBron James, an all-time NBA great and a global sporting icon, but he was not alone.
Curry helped the Warriors to take the Cavaliers down at the final hurdle but had no truck with the idea that James got them there on his own.
In a media scrum at the time, the NBA's highest-paid player shouted out James' supporting cast despite the prevailing opinion that they did not look like an NBA Finals team.
James definitely came up clutch, notably in a Game 7 win against the Boston Celtics, but the team is the team.
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"I hate when people say that," said Curry when asked about 'King James' and his maligned teammates.
"Theyโre NBA players. Bron is amazing... He's willed his team to his 8th straight final, which is unbelievable... but don't disrespect the other guys out there."
The Cavaliers came through that year's Eastern Conference finals in seven to set up what ultimately proved a one-sided series against the Warriors.
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Golden State were the seventh team in NBA history to win back-to-back championships and it was the fourth consecutive year in which the two teams had met in the Finals series.
The Warriors came out on top in 2015, 2017 and 2018. In 2016, James was the Finals MVP as the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in seven.
James joined the LA Lakers as an unrestricted free agent in 2018, adding a fourth NBA championship to his personal collection two years later.
He was the Finals MVP again as the Lakers defeated his other former franchise, the Miami Heat, in six games.
Topics:ย NBA, Steph Curry , Lebron James
Chris Nee