The Golden State Warriors haven’t been good for the last two seasons, and while it is oftentimes overlooked given the Warriors’ red-hot start to the 2021-2022 season, Stephen Curry hasn’t forgotten.
It all started with Klay Thompson‘s injury in the 2019 NBA Finals. Everyone knew that he was going to be out the entity of the 2019-2020 season after tearing his ACL, and given the Covid-19 outbreak that ensued, the entire year for just about everyone was made even more challenging.
The Golden State Warriors have missed the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, and some of those moments were difficult for two-time MVP Stephen Curry.
One thing that didn’t help was that Golden State tallied just 15 victories, and the combination of Curry and Thompson playing in just five games made it near impossible to rack up wins. Couple that with Kevin Durant bolting to Brooklyn, and life wasn’t easy in Golden State.
Curry called his moments while watching other teams in the bubble the “lowest point.” Curry told that to Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes. The Lakers ended up winning the bubble. It was a Lakers-Heat NBA Finals.
"“Watching the bubble was the lowest point of those two years. There was a part of me that felt it was nice to get refreshed, and a part of me really missed playing on that stage. That was the first time in seven years of not being in the playoffs. We know each player had their own experiences in the bubble, but I would have loved to have been there competing. I would say that was the lowest point in terms of my basketball experience because I felt so far away from it. This is what I love to do,” Curry said."
While there was some hope that Thompson and Curry could return in the bubble, it would’ve been unrealistic to think the bottom team in the West had any real chance at getting in the playoffs.
Curry returned healthy last season though, and he put up MVP-like numbers; however, the Warriors’ poor record allowed the voters to give the award to Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
However, without Durant or Thompson, getting that offensive upside was difficult, and the 8th-seeded Warriors were routed by the Lakers and Grizzlies in back-to-back play-in tournament games to end their season.
That’s how we get to where we are, and while the journey here wasn’t easy, no Warriors would want it any different, especially given that the team had been to five straight NBA Finals prior to that disappointing 15-win season.
Curry has seemingly put that season behind him as he has been absolutely electric this season, setting many three-point shooting records en route to helping the Warriors to the league’s best 20-game start (the Warriors are 18-2).
Curry has been terrific and has clearly put those lows behind him.