Stephen Curry Named 2014-15 MVP: Top Takeaways from Star's Press Conference
Matt Fitzgerald@@MattFitz_geraldTwitter LogoCorrespondent IIIMay 4, 2015
Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry held court with the media on Monday in a press conference for being named the 2014-15 NBA Most Valuable Player.
In addition to highlighting his family and just about everyone in the Warriors organization, Curry spoke of his passion for the game of basketball. He credited his MVP award to the importance of having a strong work ethic and constantly working to improve.
Then Curry called out each of his teammates individually, going into detail about how he appreciates what each player brings to the Warriors.
The NBA on ESPN recorded what Curry had to say about Draymond Green, who Curry not-so-subtly hinted should get a huge payday this offseason:
NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
Curry to Draymond Green: "You're the voice of this team." http://t.co/eaz1wdF8DG
Curry shared all the nicknames he has for his teammates. A couple of notable examples were Harrison "The Black Falcon" Barnes and Marreese "Mo Buckets" Speights. Curry playfully referred to Speights as the biggest shooting guard in the league.
Speaking about the adversity he faced early in his career, Curry thanked the fans for their unwavering support, per Fox Sports' Jimmy Spencer:
Jimmy Spencer @JimmySpencerUN
Curry on GSW fans: "The year I was drafted, we were awful … you walked into our arena, and you wouldn't know this is a losing team."
SportsCenter logged the higher aspirations Curry has for the immediate future and over the long term with Splash Brothers backcourt mate Klay Thompson hopefully at his side:
SportsCenter @SportsCenter
Steph Curry says he is still focused on NBA championship. "That's the ultimate goal. This is a minor checkpoint on that mission." #LIVEonSC
Steph Curry wants long career w/ Klay Thompson: "We can do some special things and hopefully be the best backcourt to ever play this game."
Earlier on in the presser, Curry got emotional when talking about his wife, Ayesha, and his father, Dell, who played in the NBA and helped him onto his path to the pros, per Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group:
Marcus Thompson @ThompsonScribe
Steph was trying hard not to cry. He warded off the tears talking about Ayesha. But when he got to his dad, it was over
Curry then opened up the floor for questions, and Green took the opportunity to inquire about the gifts the point guard planned to get his teammates, per NBA on ESPN and Yahoo Spots' Marc J. Spears:
Draymond Green asks Curry: Kobe got his teammates watches. "What are you getting us?" http://t.co/44BkMXcMpE
Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpearsESPN
Stephen Curry says he's going to beat the gift of watches to teammates that Kobe Bryant gave to teammates when he won MVP.
David J. Smith of ESPN.com reflected on how he was one of so many who doubted whether Curry could even succeed in the NBA after starring in college at Davidson, much less that he would one day be a league MVP:
David J. Smith @davidjsmith1232
To think that many, myself included, wondered if Curry was too brittle to be elite. Happy to be wrong. Tremendous player. Well-deserved.
And that is exactly what drove Curry to achieve such greatness and evolve into one of the most exciting players to grace the NBA in recent memory.
Curry led the Warriors to a 67-15 record during the regular season as the runaway top seed in the loaded Western Conference, averaging 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.0 steals per contest.
As was implicit in Curry's press conference, though, Golden State has its sights set on the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The next step in that quest begins Tuesday with Game 2 of the conference semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies.