OAKLAND — The NBA Finals are here, which means the circus is back in town.
Hundreds of credentialed media members were on hand at Oracle Arena Wednesday afternoon, watching shootaround and holding interview sessions with members of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
Steph Curry was asked a provocative question about whether he’s surpassed LeBron James as the face of the NBA.
Curry was careful with his response before diving deeper. In the room, you could hear his tone change. Without really saying it, and keeping his humble tone, Curry was putting King James on notice.
“I’m not in the business of ranking or debating who is what,” Curry said. “At the end of the day, it’s about winning and the fact that we won a championship last year and were the last team standing, obviously is what was most important to me. Us being back here against the Cavs again there are obviously story lines and whatnot that as a basketball fan are pretty cool when you have two teams fighting for the same trophy once again and trying to play at a very high level to help our team get there. At the end of the day, that’s all I’m worried about.
“It’s really annoying for me to be — that’s not what I’m playing for — to be the face of the NBA or to be this or that or to take LeBron’s throne or whatever. You know, I’m trying to chase rings, and that’s all I’m about. So that’s where the conversation stops for me.”
Mic dropped.
For those who say Curry gives robotic answers, this is your peak inside his mind. He’s a natural born killer, a player who has exceeded his potential in every way, shape and form. Winning fuels him. Succeeding fuels him. Curry liked winning a championship so much, he spent countless hours away from his family and improved his points per game by seven this season, raising his game to unforeseeable heights.
In an interesting parallel, LeBron had a heavily scrutinized quote on the immense pressure on bringing the city of Cleveland a title.
“I don’t really get involved into the whole pressure thing,” James said. “I think I’ve exceeded expectations in my life as a professional. I’m a statistic that was supposed to go the other way, growing up in the inner city, having a single-parent household. It was just me and my mother. So everything I’ve done has been a success. So as far as the game of basketball, I just go out and play it and have fun and love it, and be true to the game and to my teammates and live with the results. So I don’t — (pressure) doesn’t really get to me too much.”
That’s either LeBron downplaying how threatened he feels, or him being at peace with knowing he’s passed the torch to Curry.
But Steph is right: winning will decide this debate.