Legends 2014-15 Golden State Warriors

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to [Music] [Applause] [Music] in 1975 the Golden State Warriors composed a Cinderella story selfless teammates surrounding a single superstar ruined to more than the sum of their parts against the mighty Washington Bullets the underdog Warriors wrote a fairy tale finish [Music] [Music] but after that glorious victory the franchise quickly fell into disrepair as the NBA passed the Warriors by high draft picks went awry top talent was traded away the Warriors would spend nearly four decades outside the NBA's elite four decades of darkness would be enough to scare off most fan bases but that never happened in the East Bay the moments of magic were few and far between yet the occasional inspiration of a special player or exciting season was enough to keep warrior fans in love with their team [Applause] when Joe lekha banned Peter Guber purchased the club in 2010 they had already beaten the odds by outfitting a dozen other pursuers they weren't afraid to dream big if you look up there that is a very lonely flat but the team they inherited was far from championship-caliber injuries in an uneven roster made for a disappointing 2011-12 season when the Warriors traded popular guard Monta Ellis for injured center Andrew Bogut the frustration boiled over [Applause] [Applause] and I think there was I don't know distrust or mistrust as far as some of the decisions we were making obviously that was culminated in our owner getting booze rained down on them when we made one of our bigger decisions to make a trade when that was my first year but certainly you have to work to gain the trust to your fan base and because there had been some years where the team that struggled many years I think the fans were skeptical of a lot of a lot of things that we had done or we're trying to do so sometimes it is frustrating to to go home and and say well you're gonna see what we're trying to do just be patient to ask a fanbase to do that that had suffered for so long probably was a hard thing for them to understand little did the faithful realize that the seeds of a competitive team had already been plenty a process begun by former GM Larry Riley continued under his successor and another of the NBA's top talent evaluators NBA legend Jerry West with the seventh pick in the 2009 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors select Stephon curry with the 11th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors select klay Thompson from Washington State University trade winds blowing throughout the league with a deadline this week and the Warriors leading scorer appears to be heading out of town Monta Ellis fa you don't Kwame Brown are going to Milwaukee Andrew Bogut Steven Jackson are coming to the Warriors with the seventh pick in the 2012 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors select Harrison Barnes from the University Festus Ezeli to close out the first round then at number 35 draymond Green who had three triple-doubles in his Michigan State career sometimes you want to take guys and combine one player strengths with another players weakness five guys have to be thinking together moving together offensively defensively so you want to try to cultivate that type of roster and so that's what we tried to set out and do find players that are good on the ball find players that are good off the ball players that can play otai positions and oftentimes we we've passed up on players that probably are more individually talented but don't fit our needs and our team as much by the ball of 2012 a sea change had taken place Steph Curry was growing into a superstar and the Warriors were ready to compete [Applause] 6:3 upset I was definitely we're probably my second or third year just as you started winning a few more games the anticipation and anxiousness to get into the playoffs builds and for us that first playoff series I like the Super Bowl you know that whole series like every game especially the Oracle was just so exciting and that put everything into perspective my first words only and you know what the Warriors uh just how rough it had been and just how much winning means to the city especially in vegetable in the offseason that followed their second playoff series victory in 22 years the Warriors acquired one more key piece the Warriors were making news in a very big way the NBA 3 agent Simon period officially begins July 10th but that hasn't stopped the Warriors from taking care of the business all-star Andre Iguodala has agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors the Warriors had made a major leap from irrelevance to respectability but in the 2014 playoffs they failed to advance taking the next step required taking a risk [Music] like any company I think our owner Jacob says the best there's different CEOs for different stages and so Mark Jackson came in and did a tremendous job one of the most difficult jobs in any organization and it is talked about quite a bit has changed in the culture and so him and his staff or instrumental and pivoting on had been somewhat negative culture and difficult culture to creating one where the brand of the Warriors were starting to include a client we felt as an organization we needed to take the next step and that that was the hiring of Steve Kerr we assumed he was he was going to the New York Knicks their season had concluded before ours and we did not feel like we even have a chance to speak to Steve he had been talking to the Knicks all of a sudden he called me and he said I'm open to meeting with you guys and when we had assumed he was heading down the road and at that point we quickly flew immediately flew in met him in Oklahoma City where he was doing a TMT game so we got there immediately and met with him talked to him he had prepared a large binder of all his thoughts that he'd been accumulating throughout the last four or five years on what he wanted to accomplish as a coach what he thought of our team specifically so he was extremely prepared and it didn't take us long following him walking out of the room for myself and Joel a cup and Travis shrank and Kirk like who were there at the meeting to look at each other and say he's the guy let's go get this guy it's a special day for the Warriors today we announced Steve Kerr as the head coach I'm excited to inherit a good roster and a team that has really done well the last couple of years and I think Mark Jackson did a excellent job particularly in emphasizing defense and rebounding and toughness we kind of have emotions about you know coach Jackson and what he was able to do for our franchise and changing our identity and then obviously looking forward to whose replacement gonna be and making sure the direction of the team was still moving up for it and they had to get that higher right and they did with coach Kerr and he came in knew that he was taking over a talented roster but was gonna try to change you know a few things and tweak a couple of things and not not necessarily reinvent the wheel with how we play it was tough seeing mark go same time it was easy to respect Steve I mean he has five rings play the league for ten plus years and at every stop he had a great coach and you could tell he was you really wanted to coach you really wanted to be there and he he really cares about us honestly and he's really firing you forget how competitive he is because he's so easygoing but when he steps up you know as long as he wants to win more than anything when we called timeout with 25 seconds to go we went into the huddle and Phil told Michael he said Michael I want you to take the last shot and Michael said you know Phil I don't feel real comfortable in these situations so maybe we ought to go in another direction so I thought to myself well I guess I gotta bail my cloud again later so it was his ability to you know feel what we already had there where he had the chemistry we already had you know the connectivity on the court but it was just that principle that standard to get us to the next level and he was keen the Warriors entered the 2014-15 season with loads of talent but only a modicum of playoff experience it was unclear exactly how high their ceiling might be same with the words that accomplished the past two years they were only getting better you know Steph Curry klay Thompson and then added pieces like egged Iowa Bogut you know I play with bogan and Milwaukee's you know he's like he's a winner and those guys are winners so they were adding the right pieces they were putting the right right nucleus together to be honest I thought we can make the second maybe the third round and you know obviously try to try to win in the 50 game range somewhere I thought that would be a great successful season for us head coach Steve Kerr was handed a deep roster and with that came his first difficult decision Kerr chose Harrison Barnes to start at small forward relegating former all-star Andre Iguodala to the bench big wad Allah's reaction could make or break the team's chemistry try to get on the same page with the head coach just if you have a little rift or a battle there you know he doesn't work out or either party you know and it certainly doesn't help the team so trying to understand what he wants to do his reason for me it was just trying to get into comfort zone and finding a rhythm you know Andre it's not like he lost that spot it wasn't he didn't get outplayed Andre wasn't happy about it but you know him anchoring that second unit Harrison able to come out with the starters and get going and then we can get him out earlier and then play him at the floor with a small lineup was the ultimate goal and our guys accepted that and they executed it perfectly well it showed from one of our leaders that he's gonna put the team first he's gonna add whatever the coach asked him to do he's gonna do it he's gonna do to the best visibility and that had a trickle-down effect from our best player and staffed the last guy on the bench another line of change was triggered by adversity rather than strategy starting power forward David Lee injured his hamstring during the preseason third year man draymond Green entered the starting lineup and never left he's the spirit of the team sometimes doesn't show up in the stat sheet sometimes it does but he makes winning place and finds a little ways to influence the game you know what it's guarded for different positions in one possession knocking down an open three taking a rebound going coast-to-coast guarding the other team the best player who followed the way to help us win and does it was flair that gets us going so when his energy is high and he's locked in and he's all in I think it helps us kind of you know get going and and we feed off of it growing up there especially with my mom definitely saved Who I am I say the starkest toughness you know growing up in the house on her anything that you did it had to be with force it had to be tough you you know one thing my mom always taught us was to speak our mind you know not to hold back on anything and if you're going to do something you got to go about it with the mindset that you're doing it to win as kids you heard yelling understand get involved in the game stop being softer so you know that she definitely helps taking young being my biggest critic you know nothing was ever good enough her perfect example was my senior year of college we playing at girls like I had 37 points career high and I'm like yeah she can't say nothing after this game now and so I'm excited I get the call from her as soon as I hit the bus I'm reciting like yeah what's up she's like you've had two rebounds what were you doing out there now it was like are you kidding me I can stumble on two rebounds like that's all you had was true and it's just that mentality that she always instilled in me and you know as far as life go you know one thing she always taught us which helped me in basketball this woman she's not going to be a follower you know be a be a mean you could follow footsteps but you know you have to leave your own footprints walking alongside you see everything that everybody else is doing but when you sit there and say I have to be drape my agreen that's when you your stride starts so what was important for draymond was to know who he was where he came from and where he was going definitely affected my approach you know from your talking about coming in from a guy who's made me expect him to play maybe twenty minutes a game to start and in all the big games I played 38 or 40 minutes sometimes 44 and I didn't expect that going into the season so it kind of just completely changed my look on everything to where you know you're just hoping to be you know a small piece of something to be in a key piece to a championship run dream on just a winner he's a winner and he just gets it done by any means necessary you know you can't really put a value on those types of players and for us he's our heart and soul you know he's the first one in the thick of the mud in the foxhole he's a guy you want on the team but you hate playing against them he brings it every night and so he you know he's our heart dream on had been kind of a guy that we put in the game just cuz he helped you win you really didn't know a position he played a lot of people weren't even sure if he was a small forward or power forward he complimented Steph Curry quite well as far as maybe making plays off the pick-and-roll he's a he's a great rebounder he's a tough player his ability to guard really helped us defensively partly from necessity partly by design the Warriors had hit on a perfect combination Green was thriving in a dominant starting lineup and it would Allah anchored a second unit that also included scorers most space and leandro barbosa along with defensive stand out Festus is Ely the Warriors jumped out to a 5 and T star and then [Applause] drop the hammer back-to-back 13 assists nights back to backs took care of business [Applause] and the Warriors have never started ten and two six wins in a row perfect road trip and winning streak continued undefeated on the trip nine on December second a stubborn Orlando squad seemed destined to end the winning streak nothing was going right then the Warriors trailed by nine with just four minutes to play before the splash brothers took over when a big defensive stop gave them one last chance Andrew Bogut challenged the layup coming down the lane and he made him miss and we got the rebound and I was kicked out to me on the right wing so I'm going on in transition and knowing the time's running down we're down to we needed to just get the best shot and I just had this idea you know I could maybe get you know my golf balance and he bit for a dribble move and I created enough space that I could you know take a tough shot that we met you know difference between losing and thankfully whenever Curry's game-winner propelled the team to the longest winning streak in the franchise's 70-year history dream on inside you could stick a fork in and they are done 16 in a row [Music] most NBA champions are built from the inside out the Warriors Foundation was the league's best back home as the winds piled up the spotlight shined on both superstars Steph Curry and his partner klay Thompson plays I've been all over the shoulder the Curry deep free laugh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] they're just having Stef's an amazing player an amazing score an amazing passer an amazing show if you're going to see stoke are you going to see your stuff one public can't do what he does in the court justice because it's something a lot of people have never seen things he can do on the court people pay to see and not only people that are in the community but I'll say what when we travel on the road he has a huge gathering of Korea jerseys and supporters he's a showman too when he gets had on the court he wants to show you what he's capable of doing he is capable doing quite a bit Clay's a young rising superstar in this league and people love to talk about his shooting but his on-ball defense too was is incredible he's you know he's one of the better wing defenders in this league you know he's a big physical guard he likes the challenge of guarding other team's best players and his shooting is so good that you couple that with staffs ability and now the floor is wide open Klay is interesting because he's totally differently I'm Stefan I think that's why they've missed so well together you know his guy who has the ultimate confidence and that's when I keep him to be able to play at this level for a very long time you know he can miss five shots in a row or half off bad games in a row he's coming up in this game was letting it fly like he's hot you know it's a gift and a curse for most but for him it's a gift his confidence is never wavering it's hard to find one guy that can shoot the ball you could find two it's really a luxury and those guys man it's it's fun to watch them shoot it's really unique to have two guys at the guard position that are as capable as both of them and most teams have one maybe you're lucky that one guy like that but both of them can hit five six threes in one quarter we'd be building this chemistry for 3-4 years now and I feel like every year every day we get got something new we get better we know where each other is on the core we really benefit play from each other after a sizzling 34 and 6 start steps nightly brilliance was generating MVP ones but January 23rd was all about a Thompson Thompson [Applause] Thompson chuckling yes eighty-three heat check firm Ben Thompson three it felt like every time I left my fingertips they were going in we built a pretty big lead about 15 points and I was thinking in my mind you know what you know coach might not agree with what i'm doing here i'm she was every time I touch it until I miss so luckily for me I missed in those nine minutes and that's why I was taking some bad shots too at the end but they just happened to go in that's a really cool moment as a player when you could feel like Tris in the building we can feel the Hoos and AHS and just the fans staying on the feet every time it hits your fingertips so that was a house a great moment they ran two plays get the ball to clay [Applause] he just went to K I mean I've never seen anything like that it was just like oh great ok good shark play that's another shot clay makes it like he was just crazy I never see like that my life I just remember everybody was just so excited to get on the ball you know we all were fighting to get that assists because we know it was going on I've never seen somebody just go unconscious like that for 12 minutes and it really was like nine minutes cuz he did it that fast and the shots he was taking and making were unbelievable everything seen their rhythm is being aggressive and he was feeding off the crowds energy which was just fun to see you [Applause] they just decided to take over and it was incredible as many spectacular things as Michael did which he did nightly I never saw him do that the best part about it though is when we watch the film is this Alex taught my teammates off for me they're all jumping up and down on the dance going crazy and it really makes you feel special when they do that for they really wants to you excel it was a fun night and something will hopefully show my grandkids my molding and trying to toot my own horn and tell them you know their grandfather had game back in the day like his brother in arms klay Thompson has an NBA pedigree his father Michael was a two-time NBA champion I think it's really unique I'll know if there's a lot of teammates with fathers who played in the NBA I mean me and Steph in a very blessed to have two fathers who played long careers in league and had successful careers in saying that and it's funny when I talked to him about it he was able to go to a lot of Dell's games and you know his dad obviously passed down a shooting trait to him you know I kind of had to work for mine cuz my bed big my daddy could shoot but he wasn't a 3-point shooter you could actually really shoot you could see in our game we're both really fundamentally sound I think just being around the game for so long we were able to pick up the little nuances growing up klay Thompson honed his competitive edge against another elite athlete in the family brother trace now a major league outfielder has so fun to watch him play I know how much work it took to get to that get to the big leagues you know I respect all the baseball players to go through the minor league system and had a mental toughness to never get down themselves and keep that coffee and stuff it's not it's not an easy life either you really got to love the game and trace does love the game and he's just starting this big-league career and I know he's gonna reach great heights at the NBA's all-star showcase in February the splash brothers showed just how far the Warriors had come leading vote-getter Steph and fellow starter clay took over the joint so answer this [Applause] we think start with David Lee and 2013 we hadn't had an all-star since 88 or something like that so that was special in itself to just have a representation and then you know I was able to doing 2014 and to be able to do it with clay at 2015 was special we got to start in the backcourt together and it just says a lot about the team in general you know the direction that we were trying to head to becoming not only you know a good team but a great team and individuals would be you know acknowledged along the way so it was special as the regular season wound down Steph joined playing the record books for the second straight year he set the NBA single-season record for three-point field goals the splash brothers combined for 525 three-pointers an NBA record for teammates three three-pointers a new NBA single-season record the first time you do we obviously know the name Ray Allen who held it before me just what he was able to accomplish in his career and be able to hold that records are very special but I always try to get better and try to find another way to take my games in the next level you don't go into a season you know attempting to break the record like they just want to play well do it out as a result that hopefully make a lot of shots and at the end of the year you know I was able to break it in push it to a number I didn't really think was possible after I did the first time the Warriors dominated the NBA in a way few teams ever have hosting a remarkable point differential of over 10 per game they compiled winning streaks of 1612 and eight games while never losing more than two in a row coaching staff our preparation and then our competitiveness our will to win we have a lot of guys on his team who you know they just have a will you know - once a win made Halos and I'm one of my heroes and we kind of understood what it took to win a golf for us the stylet season was don't lose more than two in a row we still remember to this day a couple of those games those two games after we lost to the unites winter are we actually demolished out in that third game I think when we had a bad game and we felt like we didn't bring in a deal that you need that next game was even a step high and how I usually play I think you have to really love playing basketball with with your teammates - to avoid losing more than two in a row because there's nights where you are tired and you're on the road and you know you can easily accept a loss in a combination of those things of wanting to win of being competitive of getting along that's how you end up with a season like we had last year the John Wooden used to always talk about competitive greatness you know how valuable that is in teams and players they rose to the challenge when it was needed and you know that came from the fact that they hate losing they know they lose one they lose two now the third team's coming in and our guys are foaming at the mouth to get after it and get them get back on a winning streak I do franchise Road record they tie into 24 winds and they are the Pacific Division champions and looking for that 60 wins which would be the best in franchise history and coach curry had told us beginning season it's the best group of basketball players in the world there's not a team like this with as many guys and shoot it pass it and handle the ball and at first you know I kind of hit me with shock like oh the Warriors best in the world but as I started winning so many games I really realized wow we could be the best in the world we had you know extreme compliments you know losing the confidence that we knew if we played our best games and nobody could beat us and I don't think we've you know my career we have felt them just had this confidence that I think was deserved because we put the time in to work in and we just clicked when 67 games only 10 teams have ever seen 67 wins for the first time in 39 years the Warriors entered the postseason as Western Conference favorites many of the experts were not convinced I upset the exact same thing for 16 years here I don't like jumped shooting teams I don't think you can win the championship beaten good teams shoot jumpers we used as motivation just because everyone said you can't win a can't win the championship shooting as many threes as you can you guys can win a championship playing small basketball and we're like but somehow we seem to win 67 games so I don't see how that adds up so we definitely use that as motivation to go to the playoffs and prove people wrong all that means that someone expects you to win or expect you to lose but the game still has to be played and that's our part and so we never go out wandering or worried about you know who got us favored about how many points or what it is what someone expected we have a standard that we hold ourselves to and that's to be the best that we can possibly be the first challenge was a New Orleans team that had caught fire late in the year with their home crowd taking the volume to a new level the Warriors held surf [Applause] [Music] [Applause] lay Thompson to the rim loosen to handle two-on-one dream on on cold snap split the D it's a pumpkin and the lawyers take a to games did that lead but as the series shifted to New Orleans smooth superstar Anthony Davis and his teammates came out sizzle [Music] [Applause] with six minutes left in the game the pelicans held a seemingly insurmountable 17.8 only the Warriors themselves believed to come back was possible well you got the shooters we do and the defenders we do we're not we're never out of it just like a game the radio seating at the Celtics we're down twenty five one point and we still have stuck with it came back in one and same in New Orleans we were down 17 with six minutes to go you know we knew as a game we get closer they that team that have as much experience as we did so they might have got a little tighter you know Coach Carr he was like come on guys finish the game strong try to get some window blowing in the game for I thought he's playoff series works so you can't win all the game but you gotta get some momentum going to the next game and me and Sean looked at each other like you know this game not over and he was like ident let's go and so we come out and I swear we probably got an offensive rebound on every shot that we missed and we were to turn the game around you know how to call back one play at a time on one home run plays not going to get you back in the game with six Oscar here six o spurt there you know before you know it 17 times to 12 12 times to 6 and then before you know it tie game if it started with just finding some kind of momentum we didn't have anything going for us except our her I kind of belief in ourselves every time out where I can just you know get it to signal digits we can maybe see what happens it down to the eight was for three four minutes left and you see kind of energy in the opposing crowd both go out we had like a remarkable rally was still three points short as the Warriors readied themselves for the final seconds most teams would need a miracle the Warriors and MVP the eldest son of longtime NBA guard Dell curry did not seem destined for basketball stardom but Stefan Curry's smaller frame was fueled by an extraordinary Drive love sports and love competing with my my family we had a pretty competitive household when it comes to their just playing horse in the backyard or board games and stuff like that so it was bred early but I was always one of the you know smallest kids on my team so I had to be firing it to make a major impact it was young that I knew I'd outwork you know every other person in my level to to you know make an impact on my team and that drive still continue today to try to figure out how to get better from year to year and then it never really stops was not very athletic or it wasn't the tallest I couldn't jump the highest but in terms of him getting after it in the gym showing up early staying late so I pulled him up for the state tournament at the end of his freshman year put him in the game with about maybe a minute 30 to go the other team scores we inbound the ball he comes down looks around so you could kind of tell like we were gonna get beat he just launches a three nothing but net and I looked over to my assistant coach and says we're just handing the key to our program over to this guy despite an incredible career at Charlotte Christian curry was ignored by major NCAA programs who saw only his slight stature nearby Davidson turned out to be a perfect fit coach mckillip basically obviously the academics of the school you know it was really close to Charlotte where I grew up and what I knew so I felt comfortable and going there and coach mikela really just saw a lot in me and some in the vision of what you know he can hopefully mold me into it was a you know player on and off the court and I believe everything that influenced Steph's game was part of the chip on the shoulder that he carried around with great pride and a great inspiration told he was not good enough to play at the highest level and n-c-double-a division one told he was too small young frail boyish look they're an individual instruction in September of his freshman year he had gone through three 40 minute workouts to three weeks in a row and just in that short period of time it Boldin me to stand before our alums in mid-october of that freshman year and say we have something special the expectations of the team were not very high when I said that we were going to be very good this year because we got one of the to Davidson history in our freshman class favorite memory Davis is probably the tournament run there was a time where the whole Davidson community could kind of come together and support basketball team and we were on a great ride reaching levels at Davidson I hadn't been to and you know most 40-plus years so first as a you know low mid major small liberal arts school to make splashes on the national stage and the tournament was a dream come true and for a lot of hard work into itself those are memories that we'll have for a very long time Steph grew up at the foot of his parents he was raised as such an outstanding young man and and Sonia and Dell I think they should write a book on parenting and part of that early education for Steph was sitting at his dad's lap or at his knee and watching tape or being at a shoot around or being in the backyard or watching a game so he developed this sense of what goes on in the game visually he had an image and Steph is very very good at putting an image into reality my dad was on the sidelines of me my brother on the same team so it was pretty it was a family affair basically so we had a really great time they learned a lot from her and obviously had a wealth of knowledge of the game of basketball and a great IQ for the game so he kept a good balance of the dead and as a coach that was pretty healthy religious relentless passionate determined set the bar for himself every day and then raise that bar higher he's a great shooter cuz he's willing to take a shot no matter the circumstance the amount of the time of the game and no matter what happened before in the previous possession there's a ton of great great shooters that played in this league but I can't remember any that can do it off the dribble and create it for themselves and do it consistently like that I mean those those times you just thinking oh that's that's not a good shot and her staff it is because he's that good of a shooter that you know he can he can take a shot that would be a 15% shot for most players in the league and for him it's a it's a 15 60% shot which you're fine with living with those odds you have a leader that leads by example this hard work and dedication to the court you know you see him working every day on the shot best shooting the lead working on a shot you know like things were shooting the lead and very humble you know that kind of sets the tone of the guys behind him and how they approach the game as well Steph Curry's never complained about anything so how can we complain about something you got one of the best players in the world not complaining about it the approach that he takes again unselfishness that he has about his teammates it trickles down there carries over to everyone else and you know as he pushed us all to be not only better players but better people and that's that's something special with all the fame with all the glamour to me the most important thing is that he continues to be a great husband a great father a great example to people and you know a lot of times he's willing to give up his time when he really doesn't have to do it he's accomplished things that no one ever thought possible for him he hasn't sorted about pressed around like a proud peacock but rather has handled the responsibility with great humility shared the joy with great love and is not satisfied he wants war and he will work for more and he cares he's a great member of his family he's a great teammate and he's a great representative of what the best in the world truly [Applause] most baits got a huge offensive rebound found Steph and the chaotic broken play at that point and Steph hitting one of the most incredible shots I've ever seen anything just pictures of it that has the balls we've in his hands that his eyes are closed and there's three guys coming down on it shot you know that stuff had to send it to overtime was one of the probably best shots that I've ever seen or been a part of any game it was over two guys you know and they probably both fouled him I remember I saw on the bench like once you get that shot we knew it was like all right we're gonna win this is it and here comes fun you know mow through the lanes and you know he grabs the rebound takes a little one dribble hop step and you know shovels passes me the ball and I was able to relocate a little Fred in the corner and at that point it kind of just blanked out you just then you got one last shot at it you know lock it on the room follow through and right but after at least as I saw you know Johnny at seven footer flying in my face and kind of hit me in the air I did trying to brace myself around greatness I used to play with Kobe and he used to hit those type of shots that you just you can't believe someone can make them I mean if they never even touch the rim it was so pure and it was just incredible I felt like a fan for a second and not a coach as that ball was going through the net they absolutely to put it over time Steve Kerr saw his team come up with the suite in the last time the water swept the team the championship here Steph Curry [Music] tacular playoff heroics were the icing on the cake of Steph's historic season at one point players and media had debated alternatives for the league's top regular-season award in the end the voting wasn't even close my honor my pleasure to present you Steph Curry for the 2014-15 Kia the winning of apt kind of just look at the list of players who have whatever trophy just like I do sitting at their house right now they're legends Michael George Magic Johnson and Kareem abdul-jabbar Charles Barkley I could go on and on here at Steve Nash it's a pretty special you know accomplishment to be able to you know be the best player on the best team during a season and for me to help my team win I remember that for a long time you know stay hungry hopefully maybe get another one be a part of that fraternity of guys who stood out in their respective years it's pretty special [Music] in round two the Warriors faced the clash of styles against the ground-and-pound Grizzlies after winning Game one the Warriors watched Memphis seize control of the series just the 3rd visitor to win at Oracle Arena all season the Grizz repeated the feat on their home floor as worrisome as the deficit was the deliberate pace we did not have a ton of playoff experience and Memphis is a very smart team a very tough team Mike Conley had missed the first game he was back a great leader great player Marcus so low sack right now these guys have been around the block more than once as far as in the playoffs so think they had us on our heels to climb back into the series the warriors would need a total team effort including the coaches who devised the crucial tactical adjustment the warriors double down on the post leaving Grizzlies guard Tony Allen open and the gamble paid off tactical switch defensively was big as far as how we were gonna guard him we were used to not doubling the post we decided to do some of that we decided to go small a little bit more we had Harrison Garden Zach Randolph so there's a lot of things and adjustments that were made the strategic change helped us we knew with that Memphis series we had to get the lead Memphis is really good when you're trying to catch up because of the way they play they just you know they pound you inside and we had to get an early lead I think that change helped us get a lead and from once we got that lead our guys just they just kept going and kept battling in look back I think what turned the series around in Memphis was our hunger our competitiveness our will to win our intensity the intensity level the way guys came out to play every single person that came in the game was ready to play in Game four we were down to one and you know everybody was panicking but we all came together and it was just like you know we were fighting for our playoff [Applause] after regaining control with a pair of wins the Warriors were determined to finish the series in game 6 as the third quarter of a tight contest wound down Steph Curry again delivered the blow that SAP is a farm spirit [Music] I remember Andre getting a handle address greenshot and kind of the weirdest change of events turn of events when you know you see everybody complaining about a foul call they thought was supposed to happen but from my angle obviously late all ball and you know it drops from one bounce right into my lap and you know we practiced those shots and in practice and we were stretching it's kind of dangerous but you seemed like everybody chucking balls from half court for full court one hand two hands we make one every so often but that one I took and I was able to release it and that was when I just stared down the hallway because it felt good it was online and I knew you never had a chance there's a huge plays in those moments so when we celebrated like it like it was a game winner they kind of had to calm him down like we got 12 minutes to finish this Alan let's get it done and the Golden State Warriors tried to charge to the floor and capture this Western Conference semifinal series four games to two in the Western Conference Finals the Warriors would face a team with substantial star power of its own the Houston Rockets were built around James Harden who was marching to his own beat he told nba.com quotes I feel as though I am the MVP I think the MVP is the most valuable player to your team obviously Gaffney winning can be one of the top teams in this league and we are but the real MVP was on his game as the Warriors cruised in Game one down the free pass to Jacques Curie dribbles waits shoots contested shot at coming [Applause] it's right up on curry sorry [Applause] the NBA's two best guards went at it again in Game two steps stayed hot and poured in 33 points but hardens 38 kept Houston in the game by the final possession a substantial warrior lead had been whittled down to a single point giving the Rockets one last chance to steal a weason Louis like 10 seconds in my life we had a chance to go up I think there's a missed layup and you know they're coming back in transition so he's trying to just make it make him take a tough shot I was stressful that was tough because James Harden coming at you in the fast break and they were down 1 or something like that that's not a good position to be in defensively he gave the ball up and really probably wished he did Dave gives it up as white Dwight's looking around trying to give it back to him and I see clay kind of next to me but we're not really talking like hey let's do this to stop him they kind of just read each other's body language I'm positioning and funnel them right into the trap I remember trying to get in the James airspace make it tough on him they can try go right but you know Steph the cerebral play is new he could help off his man he knew James was gonna give it up and you know the best players going to take the last shot so we he doubled and he helped me out huge and I set the tone for the series and you know I was a great moment for us you know stuff made a huge play to come over and commit that TT know the transition situation everybody busting back on defense and all of a sudden now those two guys tried to bother come up with a steal that's as good as they get and so you know for two guys who I think and I know from playing with him Doug you know very good defender but don't get much credit because they're so good off this team to make a play on that in for us winning gang with you after Game two turned on defense the Warriors obliterated the Rockets on both sides of the ball in Game three with curry out scoring harden 4217 the Warriors crushed Houston by 35 to move within one game of winning the West Neely's made his presence felt down the lane left get high off the glass good with the off hand over our car drives his side shot goes by three ball goes to curry on the corner he'll fire it hit afraid hurry the ESPYs baby gotta get done here it is good the Rockets kept their season alive with a game for victory but for a moment it looked as if the Warriors had lost much more he's Alden is that now he's facedown on the floor oh my goodness Steph Curry is hurt [Music] and he has not moved yet orders are slowly starting to walk over now they realized the serious situation has left the locker room although the Warriors could not complete a comeback there were sighs of relief throughout dubnation when curry returned to the floor seeking a knockout blow in Game five the Warriors saw another of their stars knocked out of the game by Ariza on the drive and he kicked Thompson in the head of his direct hit on the right temple area of klay Thompson and Clay's holding his head I knew I had gotten dinged up before gotten a concussion before I knew I'd be good in the weak unfortunate cuz I was having my best game while I got hit in the head and you know he had Harrison he had a great game dunking on people with hitting threes and so that's what the beauty of our team is one guy goes down next man up you can step up [Applause] three to the basket [Applause] 15 in on stuff big-time clay gets going and try reads a kiss clay in the face or you leave the game and at that point we're just kind of looking for you know whatever whatever type of pump we need and everyone had took upon themselves to bring that energy at that time it happened to be you know neither coins but you know everyone lose the game and definitely kind of pass over your hump the phrase you thought you would not hear in your lifetime but Golden State Warriors are kulli to the NBA Finals Riley's great quote when you're coaching in the NBA there's there's winning and there's misery and he's right winning feels like a relief it's more than relief it's it's joy the Bay Area's been waiting 40 plus years so biggest Tom [Applause] [Music] as the Warriors entered their first NBA Finals in 40 years the lights were bright indeed on the biggest imaginable stage and under intense media scrutiny they would be facing the king of the basketball world LeBron James the other going into that series was you never know when you're gonna go back to the finals you know this is the first time any of us have been there we were through the new guys and you know we just want to make the most of that experience they be top players hit by the game so we know that he's gonna get his every night golf for us was to try and make sure the guys start making impacts that hopefully you know we think she may be impacts didn't want anyone else to get off and getting a good plug the Cavs took a big early lead in Game one but the Warriors second-unit spark to come things he could score every time he has space does it again very corner three [Applause] steps back for a distillery but after taking lead the Warriors were unable to gain separation Game one became a tense battle as the league's two best players and their teammates went toe-to-toe in overtime the Warriors turned up their defensive pressure [Applause] go through trip that's owned by draymond Green [Applause] Passover the parties over the hill fire [Applause] as the Warriors closed in on victory misfortune befell their visitors the Cavaliers watch their star point guard go down and unlike Stefan Clay's recent injuries this one was serious injury alert three time calendars all-star guard Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the NBA Finals after fracturing his kneecap in the overtime session in Game one as the finals is a special time you want guys would be healthy to be able to experience it and it was just a tough situation your heart goes out to him and hopefully he comes back stronger than he was before with Steph Curry's opposite number on crutches the Warriors seemed to hold a clear advantage but it was the determined Cavaliers who led throughout Game two the Warriors rallied from nine points down in the final three minutes [Applause] by far quite open but the home team had expended all of its energy in the comeback attempt and as the series shifted to Cleveland the troubling trends continue the Cavs were out battling the Warriors all over the floor one of basketballs all-time greats was at the top of his game [Applause] you go against the player in a series you have a new appreciation for them to see their mental makeup they resolved how they adjust how they compete and I had told somebody Ella I haven't really never been against LeBron in this series and a lot of Eastern Conference teams clearly had and you talk to those gyms and they say man this guy's a monster you don't know what's coming at you and I will tell you they were they were underestimated he is an unbelievable player mentally as well you certainly don't feel like you're gonna run over any LeBron James led team trailing two games to one the Warriors braintrust searched for a way to engineer a change in momentum the answer came from an unlikely quarter of the coaching staff 28-year old Nick urine I was at breakfast that morning and Steve said has talked you for a minute and I said sure he's I'm thinking about starting a kadala and I thought wow I don't I don't know I mean Harrison's been doing fine and you know what's that what's the idea and he said no I was started for bogey let me think about that I said Oh we'd be pretty small me I would have been our tallest player almost out there with that group of guys Steve's the best because he likes to give credit to everyone else all it was was a suggestion and you know he had to make the decision to whether or not to do it and as a rookie coach who's won 67 games and the number one seed in the playoffs in the NBA Finals to change the starting lineup that had been pretty much the same all year when people were healthy took a lot of courage Steve hurt changing things up Andrew Bogut would not start at the middle [Applause] for the first time this season that's Steve Kerr I mean he's not afraid not afraid to make those decisions not afraid of the scrutiny it would come with it but again our players trust in you too and understanding that he's he's the one leading his ship that's what he thinks we should do we will and they believed in it clearly went out and did it James drives hard off malice bird shot misses dump it in throws it down rotate this jumper he'll take the three over [Applause] the next thing I remember was the first time out we had to take and we were down seven old and we were kind of looking around and we're we told ourselves we said listen we've had good looks they've made a couple tough shots we're gonna be fine let's keep this going and then the question followed okay but if this thing gets to 18 0 what's our rhythm for a triple knocked it down and the Warriors are back in rhythm when they leave 31 622 that really worried for myself you know it's just kind of thinking of how the other players react you know is their rhythm gonna stay the same or they're gonna find they have the same slope when we practice with one another every day so we know each other's game play with that unit the previous year in the playoffs so and throughout the whole season with Steph and klay so knowing their game and being prepared for the moment at their hour of need the Warriors called on a player who had spent his entire life preparing for the moment Andre Iguodala was a true student of the game a little bit everything you know so not too small not too big I had some good relationships with some good friends a lot of going on a sports world especially with boys and girls club that was a huge influence on me how older brother and older cousins and playing basketball against them I always wanted to beat them you know I always wanted to be older brother you know he's to pick on me a lot so basketball was kind of my outlet to beat up on him a little bit once my brother see them put a ball in his hand he slept with the ball he bathed with the ball he did everything with the ball but he was just a real vibrant very smart very challenging child but in a positive way his junior year he was still not the man yet junior year I always described Andre as being good player not a great player but his senior he was a great player I think he just grew physically grew got stronger got better skill wise came a better shooter ball handler I think he became a student of the game and he would come to the gym late at night with my assistant coach and they'd open up the gyms for him he was not afraid of hard work he's got a strong work ethic I think I attribute that a lot to his mother she's got a good work ethic and a strong strong heart think he sees that in her and that's you know kind of been a reflection of her you know a compliment to Linda and how she raised him and he's you know he's a good student too he's not just a good basketball player you were not allowed to play in sports if you didn't have a certain grade point average and my grade point average was well above what the school district required required you bottom line you couldn't make below a c-plus in my house and c-plus because they were in honors classes AP classes start as a fear you know you fear your mom you know she she was six feet tall so I didn't catch her talk about 15 16 so you know couldn't stand up to her for a long time so you have pretty much out of stay in line but at the same time it kind of grew into like the same as basketball court kind of having that competitive nature you wanted to excel in the classroom he is behind the scenes a jokester you never stop laughing he never stops with practical jokes he's very engaging with the younger members of the family Greg was raised in a house where I taught your success is based on who you pull along failure is not a word that we use and we're not allowed to say hard nothing is hard it's challenging understand God doesn't make things far he makes the challenging because that's the only way you'll appreciate his blessings at the end for our brains klay Thompson tops at a David wait for the finish have all knocked away stolen by Iguodala bring closer to the limit since back out Iguodala what's up sup rage gavel a gets a laugh off it good floated in high over Mozgov the Warriors lead by 19 we made the decision this morning and so when I was asked today Bogut was starting I like I did I mean I like so my options were tell the truth so if I tell the truth it's the equivalent of me knocking on David Blatt store and say hey this is what we're going to do I could evade the question which would start this you know [Music] Twitter phenomenon who's gonna start for the word or I could lie so I lied sorry but I don't think they hand you the trophy for based on morality they they give it to you if you win so sorry about that in addition to sparking the Warriors offense Iguodala had changed the series with tenacious defense on LeBron James in Game four he limited the King to just 20 points on 32% shooting you know got it some of the best players to ever play the game and the approach is you know look at the strengths look at the weaknesses you know try to make them had a hardest game possible try to make everything difficult fall understand the scores lead guys can get their points then the forwarded game you know trying to just keep them off balance you know one possession at a time one quarter at a time one half at a time one game at a time there's one man who can kind of keep LeBron James in check it's gonna be Andre Iguodala he's so long he's just some of the best a dissipation skills ever seen and his hands you know he's got such the quick hands that he's so good at stripping guys and he made it tough on the blowing he was constantly disrupting the play and make him take contested shots and he was studying film about you know his go-to moves knowing that when he was dry one dribble left he liked to shoot the step back and just every little nuance that he could study on film he was studying the best way that you have a shot to beat being his team's of making them work you know making them take tough shots making them exert a lot of energy on the offense and defensive him you know because you know the more fatigue starts to set in the less skill and athleticism have to do with it going small had restored the Warriors pace and flow aguado had pushed his scoring average up to 20 points again and David Lee had come off the bench to make a welcome contribution with the series now time Steph Curry stepped into the spotlight you get a low set the straight curry dribble by the back waist stage of fires history gets double dunk of books behind the back left at crossovers fades acquired [Applause] we're small but we were also active we were wrong we had threats from every position we forced them to play our style and it sped the game up and you know we're also playing 70 players you know eight nine some games and they were only playing about six seven so I mean we felt like Dodds won our favor we've played faster and I think we just do a wrinkle in there they were prepared for we were just able to turn the tempo up and start games faster and they put him on their heels and we had to play bigger than our size out there to get it though the MVP had summoned his best when it mattered most curry dropped 37 on the Cavs in Game five and finished with a flourish now just one win from a title the best team in the NBA left no doubt [Music] [Applause] [Music] I've gone through some some down years and injuries and transition from a roster standpoint to be able to sit here six years later for my rookie year and hold this trophy this is unbelievable experience but it's very rare everybody by everybody not beyond our own personal agenda when you mix that time teamwork together with a great staff great organization now I'm a defense this is the formula is the championship absolutely is is the best feeling yeah had a lot of individual accomplishments as have a lot of the guys in this locker room but to be a part of something like this and to do it the right way with with chemistry with character you know it there's nothing else like it I didn't think we could do this I I mean I knew we'd be good but to win the whole thing is it's such a huge feat it's a difficult task I didn't really have any illusions that we would win the title this year but we pulled it off 40 years winning a title in the bay area those fans are so fantastic throughout the Bay Area and they deserve this they deserve this we're so happy to be able to provide it for them every single one of my teammates that their sacrifice put in the work the time for us to be able to enjoy this coach yourself as well as so it just makes it so much more special to have you know gone through some lows gradually work your way up every year learn some things and it all come to fruition with a championship trophy [Music] jewelle man the Warriors knew that their title was more than simply a triumph of talent this was a team built around chemistry and character in professional sports in life they're gonna face some adversity when we play a game we win or lose and when you lose everybody knows that you know it you feel that and sometimes winning and losing can bring out the best in you and also the worst in you so we're trying to find people and put on long a roster that in moments of difficulty and adversity there are still good people so character is of the utmost importance when we make decisions it ultimately does matter whereas a very tight-knit group the cores been together for three years now so we've been through some some great moments who suffers and some tough defeats and yeah I think we've learned from all those and we've grown together we all care about each other you all want to play our best and do our best because we know the next guys counting on us my four years of the Warriors I have one bad teammate we got guys who work so hard practice laying at 12:30 but guys will be in the gym for 132 and we got guys who are really hungry as well you know even our vets guys been League ten plus you're still getting that extra work still know what it takes for every warrior winning an NBA championship represented the goal of a lifetime achieved the moment of victory brought both euphoria and relief I had the ball of my hands I made the rookie mistake of throwing it in the air I didn't meant to oppression it kept the biggest leaves we didn't have to play a game anymore because everybody's bodies are beat-up and the exhausted from just a mental a physical effort it takes to win a championship but that was a moment that you know very few people in this league it's an experience felt like a clip came off my love for both of my house because I just felt like I didn't take the good breath and seven weeks parishoners just throughout the season there's got sacrifice and stuff throughout the season in order to get to that moment it's a seeing all payoff and I share that moment with them whose amazing and that buzzer went off it was it was mass hysteria I mean just thinking that you finally got to that pinnacle you know all see the meets a look one win a championship one win a championship but to say that as one thing to do it and actually realize it I don't know better feeling in the world the ultimate prize also brought appreciation for the long road so many had travelled and the family that was along for every step you know all that hard work you put in for so many years I never thought I'd be a NBA champ today 25 very very blessed and it was so great to have my brother there my mom my dad but I've never seen my dad and brother so nervous which is funny because when you're out there it's almost more comfortable it's worth all those hard days at work and all the sweat all the getting up early all the ice baths called from Milwaukee which is a team we're teetering between six and 12 on the playoff seedings to then go to a Golden State which was in a similar position at that point you know no one to coming in on Tucson is a free agent great fans and that was kind of about it dreams can come true essentially I think things do work out funny in life it's not worried the Lakers or want a big block of team is it I met Andre hearing he won MVP I've known him since we were kids I was so happy for him Shaun Livingston the knee injury that he had almost being out of the league just a phenomenal human being seeing him celebrate an NBA championship just little things like that were what really you know really made it special for me too much emotion to to digest too much too much to consume for me growing up here and being a fan of the Warriors for so long and feeling like we'd finally gotten to where no one thought we could get to this wasn't thought of but the Warriors would win a championship other people get to win championships we don't get to win championships just to get in that Club for these fans and for someone who grew up here is it it's one of those moments that you take with you forever for the Golden State Warriors the slogan strength in numbers meant much more than just a deep roster Bay Area fans had long since proved that they are basketballs most loyal the electricity in the stands helped make possible teams a player and that's an advantage you know that gives you an advantage I give it a three and all of a sudden you get a stop and come back and hit it three in a row that messes with the other team there's so our crowd in the success there we are I just think it's great in the day support of the team when they suck to put it bluntly that's that's a sign of true fans you know when we played here on Milwaukee out you know the Warriors were ten and thirty or whatever they were that point was vitamin and you get to article and sort out what do you guys coming to watch so they deserve this just as much as anybody there's so much of the players and coaches in the gym as the fan zone because been a long time coming there's being a lot of a lot of dark years but they've stayed if states were sold out that place 90 night out so what could be happier for fans of there and I want to thank everyone who came out today y'all showed so much love I know we say you guys the best fans the NBA but the support all season how you guys came out here today in droves screaming yelling on on trees hanging out of buildings and then it's unreal I'm so excited to be a part of this group that we talked about all day every piece so the puzzle had to come together to make this happen and we did it it's been a long journey as this year has been so much fun I mean 67 wins is unbelievable they'd be able to cap it off for the championship that's hard to do and we should be proud all of dubnation we did it we did it thank you very much [Applause] it's time for the ring presentation and banner unveiling for the NBA champion Golden State NBA all-defensive [Applause] the Finals MVP [Applause] your 2000 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: 3Eye TV

Views: 2,108,513

Keywords: nba, golden state, warriors, legends 2014-2015, legends, basketball, baloncesto, sthephan curry, curry, splash brothers, champions, steve kerr, bay area, basketball documentary, documentary, klay thompson

Id: Nhj9KFCAovw

Length: 79min 3sec (4743 seconds)

Published: Thu May 19 2016