Stephen Curry erupted in the NBA Finals and helped the Warriors avoid a dangerous Game 7, putting the Celtics to bed in the fourth quarter of the series-ending Game 6. He ended the game with 34 points and 6 triples.
It was his fourth game of the series with 6 or more triples. Curry, who put the Mavericks away in the Western Conference Finals, continued his celebration when the game was obviously out of reach. His “night-night” motion was a perfect send off Boston in TD Garden.
Two-time league MVP Stephen Curry added an NBA Finals MVP to his resume, and he’s now in an illustrious club that features many well-known names.
Curry has had an illustrious career, and he’s more than deserved a spot in the top-ten players of all-time conversation. It doesn’t matter who you kick out, but his resume speaks for itself. While that will be debated for some time, he’s not in a group of just six players, all household names.
He was awarded the spot on the list as he earned his first Finals MVP, having missed out on the award in all three of his other championships. Andre Iguodala snagged one and Kevin Durant won the other two although Curry arguably could’ve already had two Finals MVPs.
Curry averaged a series-high 31.2 points per game. It was really his sniping that did the trick as he averaged 5.2 threes per game and shot 44% from deep.
That said, Curry now has 4 rings (2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022), two MVPs, and a Finals MVP which qualified him to join this-era legends LeBron James and Tim Duncan among three other Hall of Fame names.
Only 6 players in NBA history have 4 rings, multiple league MVPs, and a Finals MVP:
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 17, 2022
LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan and, now, Steph Curry. pic.twitter.com/KTEVeCz7XJ
Curry was incredible for the majority of the six Finals games, and while the Warriors’ offense continued its best attacking when it worked off the star guard and used the motion that head coach Steve Kerr designed it to have, the Dubs no doubt needed some of his heroics.
34, Curry did have just 16 in Game 5, missing all nine of his attempts from deep. That didn’t get to him though, and Curry continued to implode the Celtics’ defense, one that ended the league No. 1 in defensive rating, throughout the series.
Curry’s shooting was a key reason the Dubs won all four of their games by double digits. Seeing him with that Finals MVP was monumental for the Warriors as they are once again the most-feared team in the league.