Stephen Curry is embracing the opportunity for he and the Golden State Warriors to become the the ‘hunter’ once again, believing the franchise has a chance to return to the podium as NBA champions next season.
Coming off a title run in 2022, the Warriors stumbled out of the blocks and never truly got going in 2022-23. Curry did work his magic to lead the franchise to the second-round of the postseason, but they eventually paid the price for long-held issues across the course of the season.
Two-time MVP and franchise superstar Stephen Curry is confident the Golden State Warriors have another championship run in them next season.
On the latest episode of ‘Gil’s Arena’ presented by Underdog Content Network, Curry spoke about the Warriors as one of a handful of teams capable of taking the crown from the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
"“If you’re in the group of six-to-eight teams that legitimately has a shot in terms of the experience, the cohesiveness, the sense of identity of how you play the game…You get to the playoffs and it’s just roll the dice and see what happens. That’s all we want — is just a chance — and we feel like we’ve got it this year.”"
“We’re the hunter now, not the hunted… this year’s the run.”
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) August 21, 2023
Steph thinks the Warriors Big 3 has at least one more title run in them. pic.twitter.com/NeAp5XTO8N
After arguably the most impressive of their four recent NBA championships, Golden State felt the pressure of being the ‘hunted’ last season. As a result they often got the best from every opponent, including young developing teams who wanted to prove themselves against the reigning NBA champions.
That was evident from early on as the Warriors slipped to a 3-7 record through ten games. That period included a five-game road-trip in which they went 0-5 and suffered losses to the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons — the three teams that finished bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
While they may not be regarded as championship favorites among league analysts, there’s still plenty of expectations among Golden State fans for what their team will deliver next season. With that comes pressure, not that the likes of Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are newcomers to that.
That’s only been heightened this offseason though, with the franchise giving up Jordan Poole and other young assets for a 38-year-old Chris Paul in a clear indication towards the focus of win-now aspirations.