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Rocked by Tragedy, Stephen Curry Offers Clarity on Tough NBA Season: “We Had an Identity”

Published 02/13/2024, 10:25 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

The Golden State Warriors are waging a war. They are on the path of staging a comeback. In the last five games, Stephen Curry & co have been unconquerable. They haven’t lost any contest and they now look like a completely different side. The change comes mainly due to Draymond Green’s successful resurgence. It has helped the Warriors transform from a mediocre side to an in-tune squad. Their recent win came against Utah Jazz, a game that was rescheduled.

The entire NBA world might be aware of the disheartening tragedy. Earlier in the season, when the Bay would originally be playing in Jazz in Salt Lake City, their assistant coach Dejan Milojevic suffered from a fatal heart attack at their team dinner. Since that day, the atmosphere had been somber. He was a beloved part of the Warriors camp. His loss affected many.

From the day the Warriors returned after a much-needed break, something has been different. After a convincing win against the Jazz, Curry opened up about the various challenges the Warriors have had to face this season and how they are finding the map to recovery.

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Stephen Curry speaks on the tragedy and difficulties the Warriors have had to face

Nothing about the Warriors’ season has been regular. They began the year with a stretch of power. A 6-1 start to the season gave the impression that they have an “identity” as Curry called it. The Dub Nation believed it, and so did the players themselves. However, until their current undefeated streak, the Warriors hadn’t had a single month where they had a winning record. Curry, the foundation of the entire system, went into detail about the various incidents that affected the Warriors this season.

“Every year has different challenges. This one’s been a lot of stuff that’s kind of uncontrollable. Hits to the family that kind of rocked us, for sure: the tragedy with Deki and all that; injuries; and then with the tease of how the season started, thinking that we had an identity and all that, and we obviously haven’t. So it’s been a challenge for sure, but that’s part of being in this league, honestly. We have, at the core of the team, standards that we have, so just got to embrace it,” the 35-year-old said as per The Ringer.

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The most prominent and hard-hitting incident was undoubtedly Milojevic’s passing. His death wasn’t easy to process. It came at a time when the Warriors were sinking, and he was a member the entire franchise respected. The day they returned to face the Atlanta Hawks, the entire Chase Center gave him a touching tribute. Several of the Warriors players, including Green and Klay Thompson, were reduced to tears. It was an emotional night. But it also seemed to bring them together.

USA Today via Reuters

The Warriors also famously had to deal with a reckless Draymond Green. The former DPOY earned two suspensions, only separated by weeks. His latest cost him 16 games. But since his return, he has been the Warriors’ most instrumental star.

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Starting at the center and allowing the Warriors to go small, Green’s contributions have been remarkable. He has the highest net differential amongst the Warriors and seems to have restored his old mentality. He is no more a mercurial personality, but a calm and motivated star who is making a major impact on winning.

They are at a stage where every game matters. To begin, it looked like the Warriors were one of the best teams in the NBA. Slowly, as the ruse started scrapping away, they had to realize its vulnerability and work its way back up. In these last five games, they have looked like their best. They have given some of the most promising teams a spanking.

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But it didn’t come without having to overcome the prior hurdles of the season. It was a new set of challenges. Probably the most brutal of any season. But Stephen Curry and the Warriors stood together. As their motto says ‘Strength in Numbers’. Living by that phrase, the Warriors are coming, and they are charging as one.

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Written by:

Anuj Talwalkar

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Anuj Talwalkar is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Having composed close to 2000 articles, he aspires to manage his own team one day and is pursuing a top-tier college-level management program specializing in sports. Anuj's love for basketball blossomed after he started following the NBA a few years ago, and he decided to merge his writing skills with his understanding of this thrilling game.
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