OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry slowed it all down, let the moment breathe, and now maybe history can catch up to what he and his teammates are really doing.
This is the Warriors’ Finest Hour — and one of the greatest accumulations of joy and success any franchise has ever experienced at one time.
You might be distracted by all the chaos, but this is it. Exactly here, right now.
Now, of course, the Warriors have nine more playoff games to win this postseason to record back-to-back championships, and they might stumble on the way, who knows.
And of course, the team might get better and Curry might get better into the coming seasons, and the parties and award ceremonies and speeches might go on for nearly forever.
But in the aftermath of Curry’s once-in-a-lifetime performance to win Game 4 in Portland on Monday, and during Curry’s speech after receiving his second consecutive NBA MVP award on Tuesday, the overall theme was hard to miss:
The 2016 playoffs are the Warriors at their absolute franchise peak, the middle-point of the salad days of the greatest player and greatest sense of unity this team will ever know.
Last season was the flash-forward; this season is the confirmation and the ascension to the highest level.
Curry became the league’s first unanimous MVP because the Warriors became the first team to win 73 regular-season games and because they also have the Coach of the Year (Steve Kerr) and a roster loaded with other glorious talents.
It might never get any better than this and Curry wanted to make sure he and his teammates absorbed and understood that.
“I think we need to appreciate what we have right now,” Curry said. “We want to keep it together. And we want to obviously see the end of this year out and finish our job and achieve our goal.
“But I hope we take a moment every single day really when we come into the practice facility or into games to appreciate the bond that we have and how much fun we have playing every single day.
“Like a night like last night, where things might not be going our way, we find a way to get it done.”
Yes, let’s just take Monday’s performance: That was Draymond Green at his best (seven blocked shots, ferocious play throughout), Kerr at his best, the Warriors’ perseverance at its best and of course Curry at his best, which is better than anybody else.
It occurred after Curry missed more than two weeks with a sprained right knee and while Portland was hammering away at the Warriors, trying to save the series.
And it occurred — fatefully — the day before Curry received this award, with this unprecedented vote.
“There’s a lot of stuff that’s never been done before … ” general manager Bob Myers said, shaking his head at the list of Warriors accomplishments this season.
“We’re not accustomed to it, we’re not one of the historic franchises in the NBA. So there’s a newness to it. It’s not something that we’re accustomed to.
“So we’re trying to figure out how to live within it, but appreciating it is where you start. I think that’s what we all were trying to say to each other last night after the game.”
None of it was guaranteed this season or in these playoffs: The Warriors have endured Kerr’s continuing health issues, Curry’s knee and ankle concerns in these playoffs, and many other difficulties this season.
And they still won 73 games and now they’re up 3-1 on Portland with a chance to clinch a spot in the Western Conference finals with a victory here Wednesday.
Through this season’s difficulties, there’s still so much joy.
“They all love to play, they enjoy being around one another,” Kerr said. “And obviously winning brings more joy.
“I think our guys really appreciate what’s happening with full knowledge that it doesn’t last forever. You’ve got to ride it out while you can.”
If the Warriors go on to win the championship in June, Curry would become one of only four players to win back-to-back MVPs while playing for back-to-back title teams.
The other three: LeBron James (2012-2013), Michael Jordan (1991-1992) and Bill Russell (three straight seasons, 1961-1963).
That’s a row of kings, basically. And some of the defining seasons and teams of NBA history.
The Warriors have put themselves on that list, because of Curry and because of everything around Curry, and because they know this is special.
“We’re definitely on the right path to being one of those historic teams that people are going to remember for a very long time,” Curry said.
He and Green take the lead. The rest of the team follows. The result: A game like Monday’s, that will be remembered forever.
This all has moved Curry and the Warriors into a new realm — it means they shouldn’t automatically be compared to and measured against all of the greats of the past.
It means that future greats will forever be compared to and measured against them.
