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MINNEAPOLIS — The best way to measure Stephen Curry’s full purpose and power as a Warrior, of course, is just to watch him play — for all these seasons and for all those stylish superhero moments.
It’s about seeing him take a jab-step left, fake-step right, rhythm crossover dribble step-back 25-footer over Nickeil Alexander-Walker early in the second quarter of Game 1 on Tuesday. It’s about seeing him do it in a hostile arena, setting a tone for this second-round series, and to know that Curry might never have been better than in that moment. And also realizing that he’s been making these kinds of shots and doing these things his entire career.
He’s been just that great. Hitting those kinds of improbable shots. Every day for 16 NBA seasons (and counting) that have changed the Warriors franchise forever.
As Curry said after the Warriors’ epic Game 7 victory in Houston just days ago, when asked what he wants his reputation to be in that town after so many monumental victories there: “I’m a winner.”
The Warriors are winners, too — because Curry landed with them and stayed with them.
The next-best way to measure Curry’s value, though, is to understand what’s lost when Curry is not out there. And to begin to reckon with the void he’ll leave when he stops playing for good.
OK, sorry for getting so heavy so quickly, but that’s what immediately hit me after watching Curry swish that poetic three-pointer on Tuesday then, just a few minutes later, grab his left leg in pain and eventually hobble off the court. He missed the rest of the Warriors’ huge victory, limped slowly from the locker room to the team bus, and the look on his face told every bit of the story.
He was there, at an incredible peak for a 37-year-old. Then he got hurt and was (temporarily) gone. Yes, everyone should remember to appreciate all portions of the first part and acknowledge that the second part is unavoidable. Which makes each additional Curry game and shot that much more precious.
When I told Curry on Tuesday morning that I needed to write about his rebounding after he grabbed 10 of them in Game 7 against the Rockets, he immediately fired back: “14 years too late!” And he was right.
There is nobody like him, folks. Absolutely nobody.
On Wednesday the Warriors announced that he’d suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain and will be out at least a week — so Curry will miss Game 2 here on Thursday and Games 3 and 4 at Chase Center on Saturday and Monday. It seems likely that Curry will also miss Game 5 back here on May 14 and then, thanks to a long break between contests, everybody’s eyes will be on a possible return for Game 6 in San Francisco on Sunday May 18.
So to ensure that this series gets there, the Warriors have to win at least one more game in the meantime and hope Curry is back for a final push in this series. They will do this for themselves, of course — to keep striving for the fifth championship of this era. And they will do it, unquestionably, for Curry.
“Everyone loves and respects Steph so much,” Steve Kerr said at the team hotel between meetings on Wednesday. “He’s the reason that this whole run has happened. There’s been plenty of contributions — I would say the same thing about Draymond and Klay. …
“But when it comes down to it, this is about Steph, this whole thing. It’s like Tim Duncan in San Antonio, Michael Jordan in Chicago. None of it happens without Steph. And everybody knows that, the whole team understands that. So I don’t need to give a ‘win one for Steph’ speech. It’s going to happen on its own. The guys, they want to do it for him. No one needs to say that.”
Duncan and Jordan are long since retired, but their names still ring in all sports discourse because of their greatness and their victories. Because everybody who played with them — even fellow Hall of Famers — will almost always be best known and appreciated for the time they played with Duncan and Jordan.
Because players such as Duncan, Jordan, and Curry give these seasons their full meaning. And what could be more meaningful for Curry’s teammates, right here and right now, to keep this series going long enough to make sure Curry suits up again this season? Can they win one for Steph?
“We ain’t trying to win one, we’re trying to win every one,” Kevon Looney said with a smile. “We know how much he means, how much he wants to be out there. We want to win as many games as possible and hopefully he gets back sooner than later and we are in a great position when he gets back.”
The Warriors’ front office did their part to heed Curry’s call for “meaningful basketball” this season by acquiring Jimmy Butler and turning around this season. Curry did his part by playing so magnificently down the stretch, teamed with Butler. His teammates have done their part to help get that victory on Tuesday. Now they have to get one more.
“We know what he’s done, the amount of things he’s done for our group throughout these years, this organization, everything he’s given to this team,” Brandin Podziemski said Wednesday. “We know we have his back. He has our back. And we’re just going to put our best foot forward and we know we can win with whoever’s out there.”
Curry has played with 65 other Warriors in the postseason — 153 playoff games now with Green, but also a few over the years with Steve Blake, Carl Landry, Mo Speights, Jermaine O’Neal, Quinn Cook, and Juan Toscano-Anderson. He’s currently in his first postseason with Butler, Hield, Podziemski, and Pat Spencer, among others.
This list will end at some point. Curry will run out of games. Future Warriors will not get the chance to go into an opponent’s arena with him and pull out a crucial victory. Everything will change whenever Curry decides to retire — maybe not for many years, but eventually.
But the Warriors won Game 1 because they are winners now. Even with Curry injured, they’re still Curry’s team. Everyone should recognize that. Every Warriors fan should treasure that. When and if Curry is playing in Game 6 of this series, everyone should absolutely, 1,000% not take any of it for granted. Every bit of this will ring throughout history. But it’s also happening right now.