Stephen Curry excited about Warriors' future despite playoff exit
Stephen Curry said Thursday he is excited about the Golden State Warriors' ability to challenge for more championships in the future despite a disappointing early exit from the NBA playoffs.
The Warriors bowed out of the postseason on Wednesday after the Minnesota Timberwolves romped to a 121-110 victory to complete an emphatic 4-1 win in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Curry spent the final four games of the series as a frustrated spectator after suffering a hamstring injury in the Warriors' Game 1 win last week.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday as the Warriors held their final media availability of the season, the 37-year-old superstar insisted that the team's veteran lineup, whose core players are all well into their 30s, can approach next season with optimism.
Curry said the last two months of the regular season, with the team transformed by the arrival of Jimmy Butler in a trade from the Miami Heat as well as a win over the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, had convinced him that Golden State could reach the pinnacle again.
"You look at the sample size the last two months and even the Houston series when we had our mind focused on a goal, we had enough to accomplish it and get to a point where we were playing pretty high-level basketball," Curry said. "Does that mean we can win a championship? We hope so. That's really all you want is a fighter's chance.
"You look at the league right now. I know there's a lot of youth taking over, but we were one of the last eight teams that realistically had a shot, and if you can run that back, make some tweaks that can help our overall roster ... I feel like we had enough that we showed we could be that team."
Curry is hoping the summer will provide some much-needed recovery time following a grueling 12-month period that saw him spend last year's offseason preparing for and playing in the Paris Olympics.
"I don't have any Olympics, and it's going to be just about rebuilding — one, getting rest, getting away from the game a little bit, and then rebuilding everything for another great run," Curry said.
"I'm going to take full advantage of the offseason knowing I've been playing a lot of basketball for the last year, and a lot left in the tank to prepare for, so I'm excited about it."
Curry indicated that he expected Butler, Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr all to be similarly motivated.
"Me, Draymond, Steve, Jimmy — our contracts are all two years, and we want this ride to last as long as possible," Curry said.
"That's all I'm really focused on right now. I'm excited about it because there's clarity, although there are a lot of decisions that need to be made over the summer."
Curry said the prospect of renewing his partnership with Butler was a particular cause for excitement, describing Butler's integration into the team as "seamless."
"Me and him complemented each other so well," Curry said of Butler. "He gave us so much belief that we could beat anybody any given night and make a legitimate run at climbing up the standings and even having some playoff experience to look forward to.
"I think it was a success, and now you have to build off of that with a full season hopefully in front of us. I'm excited about it."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Japan Times
Rory McIlroy eyes U.S. Open form after Masters triumph
Rory McIlroy is making no apologies for savoring the biggest accomplishment of his career, but insists Oakmont Country Club has his full attention this week. Since claiming his first Masters title in dramatic fashion in April, McIlroy's form has fallen off precipitously. After a tie for seventh at the Truist Championship, he tied for 47th at the PGA Championship before missing the cut by 12 shots last week in Canada, where he finished better than only four players. "You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next," McIlroy said on Tuesday ahead of this week's U.S. Open outside of Pittsburgh. "I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week." McIlroy missed the cut by two shots the last time the U.S. Open was contested at Oakmont in 2016, carding a 77 and a 71 to finish 8 over. "Don't really remember much about 2016. I think I just tried to erase it from the memory bank," he joked. McIlroy called Oakmont "a big brute of a golf course" that will test every club in the bag. The club with the biggest question in McIlroy's bag has been his driver. After driving it "OK" in his words at Augusta, McIlroy struggled mightily off the tee at the PGA Championship after having to make a switch after his driver failed a pre-tournament inspection. Despite missing the cut in Canada, McIlroy said he has made progress with a new driver while playing at home and during Tuesday's practice round. "Hopefully I can hit a few more fairways than I have been hitting and give myself some opportunities," he said. "It's very penal if you miss. Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. "But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win." With his Masters victory, McIlroy accomplished the career Grand Slam at 36 years old. His lone U.S. Open victory came 14 years ago at Congressional. The Northern Irishman was asked about the biggest challenge he's facing as he attempts to reset from the high of Augusta. "I think it's trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago. Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working," he said. "At some point, you have to realize that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season, here, (the Open Championship at) Portrush, Ryder Cup. So, those are obviously the three big things that I'm sort of looking at for the rest of the year. "But I think weeks like (the PGA at) Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, OK, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process." Many speculated that finally claiming his first Masters would free McIlroy to reel off several more majors. But even if that doesn't happen this week — or ever again — McIlroy plans to enjoy this stage of his life. One that includes playing more tennis with friends on the road, less concerned about suffering an injury that impacts his golf game, and traveling the world with his daughter, Poppy. "I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen," McIlroy said. "But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you've just accomplished. I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that."
Japan Times
16 hours ago
- Japan Times
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani moves closer to pitching return
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani pitched a three-inning simulated game on Tuesday, increasing optimism about his return to the mound in the major leagues. Asked whether Ohtani could pitch for the team before the All-Star break, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the chances are "north of zero." Roberts added, "It's tempting. I'm sure Shohei feels tempted to just kind of rip the Band-Aid off and get into a big-league game. But I think we're doing a good job of being patient. And truth be told, I don't think anyone knows the right time to get him in a big-league game. We're still being very careful, I guess." Ohtani last pitched in the majors in August 2023 before undergoing his second Tommy John surgery a month later. The Tuesday work marked the third time Ohtani had thrown from the mound against batters, and he fired 44 pitches. The prior time, on May 31, he tossed 29 pitches. According to Ohtani allowed just one hit and one walk in his three innings on Tuesday. While he works to return to pitching so he can again be a two-way player, Ohtani remains one of the majors' top hitters. Entering the Tuesday game against the Padres, Ohtani was batting .291 with a .387 on-base percentage, a .628 slugging percentage, a National League-leading 23 homers and 39 RBIs. Ohtani won NL Most Valuable Player honors last year after serving strictly as a designated hitter, as he led the league with 54 homers, 130 RBIs, a .390 on-base percentage and a .646 slugging percentage while stealing 59 bases. For good measure, he helped the Dodgers win the World Series last fall. Ohtani was the American League MVP in both 2021 and 2023 for the Los Angeles Angels when he was superb as both a pitcher and a hitter. For his career on the mound, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA in 86 starts.
Japan Times
20 hours ago
- Japan Times
Pacers admit Tyrese Haliburton is hurting but will play Game 3
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle admits his point guard is not fully healthy, but he's 100% certain Tyrese Haliburton is playing in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1. "I don't think you're going to hear him making a big deal out of it," Carlisle said Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse of Haliburton's status as the Finals stage was being set in Indiana for the first time since 2000. "This is the time of year where it just doesn't get any better than this. The atmosphere, the interest, the opportunity, coming back and being at home. I mean, there's just so much to be excited about. We've got a couple guys that are slightly under the weather; I don't think anything is going to keep these guys from playing in the game." Haliburton delivered the dagger jumpshot to sink the Oklahoma City Thunder on their home court in Game 1 and win 111-110. Carlisle said Haliburton was "feeling it" during Game 2, when he was dogged by a physical defensive rotation, turned the ball over five times — more than any game in the previous series against the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks — and is 5-of-15 from 3-point range in the first two games of the Finals. Haliburton described his injury as a "lower leg thing" and referred to it as a non-factor. "I'll leave it at that. I don't think there's anything more to elaborate. I feel fine and I'll be ready to go for Game 3," Haliburton, 25, said. In 73 regular-season games, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists. Game 4 is scheduled for Friday night in Indianapolis.
