On Wednesday, the annual ESPY awards were held, and to a certain extent, it was a celebration of the NBA world champion Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry hosted the event, and he took the occasion to tweak one of his rivals, LeBron James, a little bit.
Steph with the LeBron jokes already pic.twitter.com/Gb9BqqG0nR
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 21, 2022
But as the night went on, the Warriors won multiple awards, as it marked the culmination of a great year for them and a long-awaited return to glory, not to mention a validation of their dynasty.
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Although Curry lost the award for best athlete in men’s sports to Shohei Otani, the phenomenal Los Angeles Angels who is also a great home-run hitter, he did win another big award.
He took home the honor for best record-breaking performance for the contest in which he surpassed Ray Allen to become the NBA’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers.
The moment took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City back in December.
Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen on the all-time 3-point list.
The moment at MSG. (via @AWolz30) pic.twitter.com/oswvtCKikb
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 15, 2021
Overall, Curry had a bit of a “down year,” at least by his standards, as he shot 38.0 percent from 3-point range this past season, compared to his career mark of 42.8 percent, and he made just 43.7 percent of his shots overall.
But he picked it up in the playoffs, making 39.7 percent of his treys, which is very close to his career average in the postseason, as well as 45.9 percent overall.
In the NBA Finals versus the Boston Celtics, Curry shot a sterling 43.7 percent from downtown, helping him win his first NBA Finals MVP award.
Best Comeback Athlete
After winning three championships in four years, Klay Thompson injured his ACL when the Warriors lost the 2019 title to the Toronto Raptors.
He missed all of the 2019-20 season, only to tear his Achilles just prior to the next season, forcing him to spend it rehabbing again.
Although Thompson’s play was somewhat spotty after he returned in the regular season in January, he started to look more like his old self come playoff time.
He hit eight 3-pointers in Golden State’s close-out games versus the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks in the second and third round of the playoffs, respectively, and he went 5-of-11 from deep in the pivotal fifth game of the championship series against Boston.
Best NBA Player
Although a few players may have put up better stats than he did, when it mattered most, Curry was the best in the world.
With the Warriors trailing the Celtics 2-1 in the Finals and looking a bit overmatched, Curry dropped 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting overall and 7-of-14 from downtown, along with 10 rebounds as his team made it a new series, 107-97.
CURRY CLASSIC | #CHASINGHISTORY | #NBAFINALS GAME 4
In an epic Game 4, Stephen Curry turned in a legendary performance, putting his team on his back with a 43-point masterpiece. The Warriors showed their championship grit with a gutsy win on the road to even the series at 2-2. pic.twitter.com/wzKmex1yjV
— NBA (@NBA) June 12, 2022
It should be remembered as one of the better individual performances on that stage in league history, and now people are talking about Curry in terms of being one of the 10 greatest players ever.
Best Team
The Warriors also took the award for the best team in any sport, beating out other champions such as the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Braves.
Golden State’s 53-29 regular season record wasn’t too gaudy, but they spent much of it rediscovering their championship mojo after three years of major injuries and rebuilding the supporting cast around Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green.
With Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman on the rise, the Warriors could look dominant again all throughout this coming season.
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