Kyrie Irving’s iconic shot in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals over Steph Curry saw both athletes become parts of a key moment in league history. However, Curry’s immediate response to being scored on showcased the Golden State Warriors superstar’s innate competitiveness.
In 2016, Golden State had taken the first steps towards building their dynasty. However, the 2015-16 season goes down as one of the greatest upsets in NBA history. After going up 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the Warriors ended up losing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
An iconic moment in Game 7 was dubbed “The Shot”, an iso between Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry on the right wing. Irving hit Curry with the stutter step to shake him a bit, stepped to his right and drained a fadeaway 3-pointer on Curry’s face to give Cleveland the lead.
With 53 seconds on the clock, the Cavs had a three-point lead and the momentum. However, in those moments, Curry’s competitive spirit came to the fore in his reaction right after Irving hit the shot as he said:
“I gotta go back at him.”
With the pride of being the unanimous MVP blinding him, Curry chose to take on the Cavs’ defense on his own, but that led to some fatal mistakes.
“I look back and think I could have easily gone around (Love) and gotten a 2, and we could have gotten a stop, and then I could come back down and hit another shot, and we win another championship, instead of me going for the hero shot, which I felt like I could make. That was a shot where I was not under control. And it cost us a championship.”
While the sting of the loss remains, the Warriors would have their day again. Building one of the most successful dynasties in the modern era, the Dubs soon returned to the top.
Steph Curry will face Kyrie Irving in the West next season
The new NBA season will see Steph Curry match up against Kyrie Irving many times as both superstars remain in the West. With Irving re-signing with the Dallas Mavericks, there will be at least three games of regular season action between the two.
With both also looking to make noise in the playoffs, the possibility of a playoff match-up isn’t out of the question either.