Every great relationship experiences highs and lows, but Steph Curry and Draymond Green stuck by each other’s side during the roller coaster ride that was the 2022 NBA Finals.
With the first two games in their territory at Chase Center, the Warriors then headed to Boston for Games 3 and 4 vs. the Celtics at TD Garden, one of the most hostile environments in basketball.
Green, who is no stranger to trash talk, typically doesn’t get fazed easily but admitted that the crowd in Boston got to him during Game 3.
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“I struggled so bad in Game 3, I was a f--king disaster,” Green said during a special edition of his podcast that joined forces with JJ Reddick and Tommy Alter’s “The Old Man and The Three” on Monday. “And the reality is, I was a little rattled. And I’m never rattled because it was just unexpected.
“You expect the boos, you expect people screaming and yelling at you, but I never expected 21,000 people to be yelling ‘F--k you Draymond.’ And then you’re running down the court, and on the sideline, it’s ‘F--k you, b---h.’ So I was a little thrown off by it and on top of it, I was struggling playing.”
The Celtics won Game 3 and were looking for a 3-1 series lead in Game 4, but Curry’s masterful Game 4 performance prevented that from happening.
Curry’s remarkable 43-point double-double evened the heavyweight Finals fight two games apiece before the series headed back to San Francisco.
Golden State Warriors
Green has a very specific theory as to what sparked Curry’s epic Game 4 effort.
“The emotion from him in Game 4, I selfishly think, and no one’s going to stop me from thinking this, I selfishly think it was in protection of me,” Green said. “What you dive into is your game, but I couldn’t really dive into that because I was struggling [in Game 3]. And I think he visibly saw that.”
Green said after Game 4, still on the court at TD Garden, that he thanked Curry for carrying the team on his back when they, especially Green, needed him most, stating Celtics fans “were going to f--king destroy me.”
Golden State went on to win the next two games to secure its fourth title in eight seasons.
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And after winning Game 6 in enemy territory, Curry didn't hide any emotions as years of adversity poured out into tears on the floor.
Being told by (misguided) critics that they needed Kevin Durant to win championships, being ridiculed for not winning a Finals MVP, the slander of Curry and the Warriors was then silenced when Curry -- finally -- won the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award.
It wasn't Curry and Green's first rodeo, but this win felt so much more special for so many reasons. And as Green boldly proclaimed, if the Warriors indeed do win three of the next four NBA championships, they'll once again be by each other's side through it all.