SAN ANTONIO — Golden State coach Steve Kerr set the tone in Friday’s thrilling 109-108 win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, well before Stephen Curry crossed the line with 6.4 seconds left and sank the two most important free throws of the night.
Hours before Curry scored the last of his 49 points and carried his proud team to the finish line to beat the Spurs for the second time this week, he listened to Kerr give a speech on a topic he doesn’t regularly discuss with his team.
“He rarely talks about his years in Chicago,” Curry said after the game. “And he made some references to how they approached their team and their identity comparing it to how a group forms by playing your role.
“You’ve got your lead singers, you’ve got your bass, you’ve got your acoustic, your electric, whatever, your drummers. You’ve got your stagehands, you’ve got the guy who plugs in the speakers.”
Kerr’s point toward his team was the same one Curry believed was instilled in his coach when Kerr was still playing with Michael Jordan and the Bulls nearly three decades earlier.
Everyone has a role to fulfill. Curry knows what role he plays for the Warriors; he’s the lead singer, the person who makes everything work and he’s played it almost to perfection these last two games in San Antonio.
In the Warriors’ most significant wins of the season, Curry scored a combined 95 points in the final two games, helping a team that seemed to be falling apart after Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and putting them back together.
If the Warriors (8-6) continue to have the success they hope for again this season, they will view these two games in the heart of Texas as a critical early turning point. Curry highlighted Kerr’s speech and his reference to the Bulls’ all-time teams of the late 1990s as an important lesson ahead of Friday’s game.
“He said he was right above the guy plugging in the speaker,” Curry said of Kerr. “But it means that everything matters, all of that, when a band goes on tour. And I think Phil Jackson instilled that in him, and he used that as a benchmark for how we should play, how we should approach our identity.
“It’s going to take a long time to get there this year, but it’s great to have a benchmark.”
Curry is at his best when he knows something is at stake, when he has his own point of reference. He is competitive, motivated and wants to do everything he can to win. That’s why it’s no surprise that another record-breaking run added a little extra fuel to his fire Friday night.
After scoring 46 points in Wednesday’s win, Curry was reminded by NBC Sports Bay Area announcer Bob Fitzgerald that he was just one game behind Jordan for the most regular-season games scoring 40 or more points by a player 30 or older. Jordan and now Curry have each reached the mark 44 times.
Curry said he was “very familiar” with the matter, because of course he was. So much so that when he crossed the 40-point threshold for the second straight game to tie the record, he threw a “2” and a “3” in the air with his hands to honor Jordan.
“But I did it backwards,” Curry said. “This is the second time I’ve done this. But I was definitely aware of it. I didn’t know it, on the outside, until the last game… it’s pretty cool from an individual achievement standpoint, just being in this type of company.
“Longevity is something I pride myself on, so that was pretty cool.”
What’s cool for the Warriors is how much they know they’re all lucky to continue to wear Curry’s cues, the same way so many former Bulls have felt the way they’ve worn Jordan’s cues all these years. That’s not to say there aren’t important performances that reinforced the greatness of both players.
In Friday’s case, Draymond Green’s terrific defense against Wembanyama immediately comes to mind, and Curry and Kerr took note after the game.
However, when an all-time player is still in his prime, especially against one of the game’s current and future stars, there is an added level of appreciation for what is being observed. It’s something Kerr and his players don’t take for granted when Curry delivers like he has over the last two games.
“He’s not bad,” Kerr said with a laugh, while describing Curry. “He’s not bad. What a battle between a guy who’s been doing this a long time and still amazing at 37 years old and a young guy (Wembanyama) over there. … It was an incredible basketball game. A high-level competition.”
Kerr, who coached Curry and the U.S. team to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said he doesn’t have flashbacks to the last game between the U.S. and France, but said he still thinks about the photo of Wembanyama running at Curry in the final moments when Curry hit one dagger after another.
“I need to get this photo copied and put it somewhere in my house,” Kerr said.
The Curry-Wembanyama rivalry is one of the best things going on in the NBA right now. There is a healthy respect between the players and how they compete on the court, but there is a sense of pride in Curry for the way he continues to come out on top when it matters most. He appreciated that Wembanyama tried to ignite the crowd before these last free throws. This gave Curry the extra competitive boost he needed.
“I’m aware of everything,” Curry said. “It’s pretty fun. I like the free throws at the end of the game. You have to find something to relax. For me, it’s just enjoying the moment, smiling, having a good time – especially with the fanatics that they put up in the stands right behind the basket, I wanted to kind of acknowledge that and not get caught out, so I played.
“Luckily I made them.”
Of course he did.
Curry knows his teammates follow his lead every night. He knows he’s in front of the band, performing with the microphone in his hand every time they go on stage. He knows he wants to put on a good show — a fact that was still evident Friday as he wiggled and hopped around the court after hitting a series of big shots.
So what kind of singer would he ideally like to be?
“It depends on the night,” he said.
What was he doing Friday evening?
“I don’t have a good reference for you,” he said with a smile. “I was Hayley Williams at Paramore tonight.”
As usual, it was Curry who rose to the big stage and enjoyed the moment.
