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Stephen Curry Finally Opens His Heart on Mess Created By Kevin Durant’s Warriors Exit: “It Was Tough to Be Patient and Tough for Me, Just Staying Locked in and Motivated.”

Published 01/10/2022, 3:30 PM EST

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When we think of dynastic teams in the NBA, we predominantly recall sides of the past eras. Yet, the Golden State Warriors built a setup in the mid-2010s that was historic, to say the least. Led by the attacking trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant, and ably guarded in defense by the ageless Draymond Green, they were simply splendid. However, time after that was not easy at all.

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Coached by the great Steve Kerr, the Warriors were the team to beat from 2015 to 2019. Racking up NBA Finals slots like it was a piece of cake, the franchise secured three titles in that time span. However, life after that was not so welcoming, though. As KD drifted away to the Brooklyn Nets and injuries struck, there was a sense of defeat in the Californian camp.

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For the next two years, the blue and yellow army struggled to find any kind of form. And mainstay Stephen Curry recently admitted to how tough that phase was.

USA Today via Reuters

Stephen Curry recalls ‘tough’ Kevin Durant-less afterlife for Warriors

For the longest time, Curry has been the star player for Golden State. Arguably the best shooter in the game’s history, he was aided by potent men throughout. Nonetheless, Durant’s exit in 2019 came as a massive setback for the Dub Nation. In addition, consecutive injuries to the ‘Splash Brothers’ meant that GSW failed to reach the playoffs for back-to-back years. Talking about the same, Curry admitted the challenges he faced.

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In an interview with GQ, the 33-year-old got candid and open. “Well, as many good breaks as we got, we got kind of the same bad breaks,” said the 7-time All-star. He has previously admitted that when it rained, it poured in terms of the Warriors’ setbacks.

“The injuries that took us to a pretty crazy free fall right before the pandemic. And it’s weird because if you look at it in those two years, it was tough to be patient and tough for me, just staying locked in and motivated.” Clearly, KD’s exit meant more to Kerr’s roster than just a switch of franchises.

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After a tough couple of years, it is good to see the Warriors bounce back in 2021-22. Will it be the first title for Curry and co. in the absence of Kevin Durant? Let’s wait and watch!

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Written by:

Sankalp Harikrishnan

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Sankalp Harikrishnan is an NBA and Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He aspires to pursue Sports Journalism and has represented his institution in cricket, badminton, soccer and table tennis. Sankalp idolises Roger Federer and Stephen Curry, and has an inherent love for statistics.
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