Really think about how much the world has gone through since June 16, 2015. Everything that’s happened, all the growth, all the loss.
There’s been a constant throughout these last seven years: Stephen Curry and the Warriors keep on winning. SLAM Presents WARRIORS is an in-depth look at the Bay Area’s basketball dynasty.
SLAM Presents WARRIORS is available now in these exclusive Gold and Black Metal Editions, as well as Cover Tees. Celebrate the 2022 NBA Champs with this special collector’s issue.
As the final seconds of the Golden State Warriors, 103-90 win over Boston ticked away, Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter of all time and the most outstanding player in franchise history, was crying tears of joy.
The rest of Golden State’s core, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green could be seen dapping up and hugging each other, and 2015 Finals MVP and the first critical free-agent acquisition of the dynasty Warriors era, Andre Iguodala, joined in on the festivities too.
“This one is definitely different because of the three years of baggage we carried coming out of that Game 6 in 2019,” Curry said per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I can say it now; I don’t know how many teams could carry that as long as we have with the expectations of comparing us now to teams of past and make it to the mountaintop again.”
For Curry, Green, and Thompson, their fourth title in eight years felt a little different. It’s mainly because Golden State’s developed quite the chip on their shoulder since their kingdom collapsed following their 2019 Finals loss to the Raptors. As he celebrated in his champagne-soaked jersey, Curry could be seen asking no one in particular, “what else are they gonna say?”
The 2022 Finals MVP and Thompson were on top of the championship dias, getting ready for an embrace, when Thompson blurted out, “All we do is shoot threes and win championships.”
Most importantly, the signature depth that led the Warriors to so much success since 2015 reemerged during this run to the 2022 title.
“This is a collective season,” Thompson said. “Strength in numbers is alive and well.”
Speaking of “Strength in Numbers,” Thompson perhaps had the biggest chip on his shoulder since he’s returned from not playing basketball for over 940 days. He took it personally when Jaren Jackson Jr. trolled the Warriors after the Grizzlies beat them in the regular season in March.
“I can’t wait; there is this one player on the Grizzlies who tweeted ‘strength in numbers’ after they beat us in the regular season, and it pissed me off so much,” Thompson angrily said. “I can’t wait to retweet that thing—frigging bum. I had to watch that, like this frigging — okay, okay. Sorry. Bad memory just popped up. Going to mock us? Like, you ain’t ever been there before, Bro. We been there. We know what it takes. Hold that. Twitter fingers, can you believe it? “I’ve got a memory like an elephant; I don’t forget.”
“I can’t wait to retweet that thing. Freakin’ bum.”
That the Warriors were able to turn these perceived slights into fuel for a championship run isn’t unusual. The greatest NBA dynasties, players, and teams have been able to turn it on after the proverbial bear was poked. Curry, Thompson, and the Warriors are just the latest to join the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the all-time champs of petty.
The basketball gods have certainly given the Warriors grace as their dynasty went through its ups and downs. Becoming the first team to go from the League’s worst record in 2020 to a championship in a three-year span speaks a lot to their resilience and championship DNA.
“You get goosebumps just thinking about, you know, all those snapshots and episodes that we went through to get back here, individually, collectively,” Curry said. “And that’s why I said I think this championship hits different. That’s why I have so many emotions, and still will, just because of what it took to get back here.”
After a grueling season, the Warriors can kick their feet up and appreciate what it means to be champs again. It’ll be a few months before the Warriors will likely have to find another collection of slights to help inspire them to another championship run.
HENDERSON, Nev. — Hunter Renfrow is coming off a 103-catch season for the Las Vegas Raiders. Darren Waller caught a franchise-record 107 passes two years ago. And Davante Adams, acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers in March, has at least 111 receptions in three of the past four years.
A good problem for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to have this season? Perhaps. But are there enough balls to go around to keep everyone happy?
Renfrow nodded, before speaking of Waller and Adams.
“Two very, very unselfish guys that … put the team before themselves,” Renfrow said. “That’s got to be a focus for all of us — that team success is far superior to individual success.
“It doesn’t matter if we have 50 catches this season apiece, as long as we’re winning. That’s the ultimate goal. That’s all that matters. And I think if we have that mentality, then it’s pretty easy to go and do.”
Easy for Renfrow to say, right? After all, he joined Carr and defensive end Maxx Crosby in signing multi-year contract extensions this offseason, while Adams inked a massive deal with Las Vegas (to be fair, Renfrow did make that statement before being extended).
Conspicuous by his absence from the list, though, is Waller, a top-3 tight end in the league who is paid far below market value and, yes, is also hoping for an extension. It’s just … he’s not about to make a scene yet, or a stink about it.
“I just focus on enjoying while I’m here, whether I’m here 10 years or who knows how long,” Waller said. “My agent’s job is to do that stuff and I just focus on the football part. Because if you don’t focus on football and your mind’s elsewhere …”
Waller wandered a bit.
“You’ve got to be locked in as a professional,” he continued. “So I try to be a professional every day.”
And therein lies the rub.
Because Waller, who turns 30 two days after the Raiders open the season at the Los Angeles Chargers, could potentially see his production dip with the ascent of Renfrow in the slot and the addition of Adams on the outside. And if it does, that could have a negative effect on negotiations, should an extension not be completed before the season.
Especially on the heels of knee and back injuries that limited Waller to 11 games, 55 catches and two TDs last season (he had a combined 197 catches, on 262 targets, for 2,341 yards and 12 TDs in 2019 and 2020, when he was named to the Pro Bowl).
Catch-22, much?
Consider: Waller’s four-year, $29.8 million extension in 2019 makes him just the 17th-highest paid tight end in the NFL in terms of AAV. And no money is guaranteed for 2022 or 2023.
More salt? The Cleveland Browns recently gave unproven David Njoku a four-year deal worth up to $56.75 million, and the San Francisco 49ers‘ George Kittle, who has a tight end-high AAV of $15 million, has exceeded 85 receptions once in five seasons.
Maybe that’s why, when asked about Adams joining him, Renfrow and Carr in coach Josh McDaniels’ offense, Waller was pragmatic.
He referenced the Miami Heat‘s “Big Three,” when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in 2010.
“The first year, it may not have clicked like the way they wanted it to because it takes chemistry,” Waller said, referencing the Heat falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. “It works great on ‘Madden’ and ‘2K,’ but guys got to accept roles and, ‘OK, this is the situation I do best in,’ and then just bring a certain level of unselfishness to the table. And know that everything we do is about the time.”
Side note: Waller has been represented since last September by James’ agency, Klutch Sports Group.
“As guys, we’ve accomplished individual things on our own,” Waller said, “and now it’s, you know, maybe sacrifice that a little bit to help the collective achieve what they want to achieve.”
All of which sounds good to McDaniels.
“Darren, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and more,” McDaniels said. “He’s obviously a good player. We love having him here. It’s really a pleasure to coach the guy. He comes with a great attitude and mindset every day. Works really hard. Here early, stays late, does extra, takes care of his body. Does a lot of the things that you would want any player to do, and obviously he’s been productive with his opportunity. So, love having him here and looking forward to coaching him.”
Plus, he’s had Waller watching tape of former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski to show Waller what should be in store for him in McDaniels’ scheme.
As Waller, who endured trade rumors this spring, put it, the tape should be called Gronk Running Wild.
“Up the seams, over routes, short passes and blowing through people, fade passes on the outside,” Waller said. “He’s lining up everywhere and doing everything, really.
“It’s exciting to see a lot of ways I’ll be used. It’s a challenging system, but I love a good challenge. I think it’s bringing the best out of us.”
But will it force the Raiders to bring out the check book, again?
The Boston Celtics have lost the Finals after surrendering Game 6 to the Warriors, 103-90.
The main issue that plagued Boston was turnovers. In Game 6, Boston coughed the ball up 22 times, and Golden State took advantage of Boston’s mistakes by scoring 27 points off the turnovers. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart combined for 13 turnovers. The Celtics are winless in the playoffs when they turn the ball over at least 15 times.
According to Statmuse, Tatum committed a postseason record of 100 turnovers.
Jayson Tatum is the first player in NBA history with 100 turnovers in a single postseason. pic.twitter.com/Jd7PKvYHCJ
Tatum finished the season-ending loss with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists on 31.7 percent from the field with 23 overall turnovers in the Finals.
In 18 games, the 24-year-old averaged 27 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. Tatum’s memorable playoff run ended with him becoming the youngest player in playoff history to post 600 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists in a single postseason.
Led by Tatum, the Celtics went on a revenge tour through the East, beating the Nets, Bucks, and Heat as he won the inaugural Larry Bird Trophy and led the Celtics to their first Finals appearance since 2010.
“It’s hard getting to this point, and it’s even harder getting over the hump and winning it,” Tatum said about the lessons he learned from the playoff run.
Tatum had a crazy playoff run:
— 1st in points — 1st in assists — ECF MVP — Youngest ever with 600/100/100 — Beat KD, Giannis, Jimmy — Dropped 46 down 3-2 at Bucks — Dropped 13 assists in Finals debut — Won 2 Game 7s
This was the first Finals run of Tatum’s young career, and hopefully, it won’t be the last. Tatum and Brown have proven to be a dangerous duo at the wing. The core of Boston’s group is under contract next season, Tatum, Brown, and Smart made history as the first trio to finish a Finals game with at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Michael Cooper did it in 1984.
Boston’s most glaring issue heading into next season will be finding a dynamic point guard or developing Smart to the point that he can make Tatum and Brown’s jobs easier as all-around wings.
With a tear in his eyes, all Stephen Curry can say is, “What are you gonna say now?”
Not only have the Warriors won their fourth title since 2015, but Curry won the 2022 NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his storied career. Curry finished Game 6 with 34 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, along with two steals and one block on 12-21 shooting from the field, knocking down 6-11 three-pointers to break his uncharacteristic streak of 10 straight missed triples.
Curry entered Thursday night with the second-most career playoff points before winning his first Finals MVP, trailing only Bryant (4,381) and Chamberlain (3,430).
“It means we won; it means we took advantage of the opportunity to get back here,” Curry said during a postgame interview with Lisa Salters of ESPN. “We hear all the chatter; at the end it’s about what we do on the floor. Ain’t gotta talk about just gotta go do it, and that’s what this is about.”
The Warriors’ run to the ’22 title led by Curry highlights a record-breaking season for the two-time MVP. Curry started the season grabbing the all-time record for made threes; he created the 3k club for made three, won an All-Star MVP, and got to play with Splash Brother Klay Thompson for the first time in over 900 days. Curry also became the first Warrior to pass 3000 playoff points.
Now with the season mercifully over, Curry can sit back on his reclaimed throne.
“I’m so proud of our group,” Curry said. “I thank God every day that I get to play this game at the highest level with some amazing people.”
“You know this is what it’s all about — playing for a championship and what we’ve been through the last three years, beginning of the season, no one thought we’d be here except everybody on this court right now. It’s amazing. It’s very surreal, though, very surreal.”
Game 6 was a game of runs; Boston raced out to a 12-2 run after making four of their first six shots, including two three-pointers from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But the Warriors went on a game-altering 21-0 run in the first half to bust the game wide and give themselves a 21-point cushion after a Thompson three-pointer.
Tatum stopped the bleeding and stopped the bleeding with a layup, but the Warriors had already thrown the first haymaker of the night. Oh yeah, and Chef Curry finally hit a three after missing his first attempt from the field.
Boston was able to pick up some major runs in the second half, cutting the deficit to within nine points after unleashing a 12-2 run, highlighted by a nasty and-1 over Thompson and Jordan Poole. However, Boston was never able to get any closer than that.
No moment was more significant than the 29-footer Curry buried to give Golden State a 22-point lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter. To top it off, Curry pointed right to his right ring finger like Aaron Donald did throughout the Los Angeles Rams run to the Super Bowl in February.
Curry couldn’t have gone the night without hitting his clutch silencer, putting the Celtics to sleep and sending his teammates, particularly Poole, into a frenzy as the Warriors grabbed a 96-81 lead with a little over three minutes to go in the game.
“We were so far away from it,” Curry said when asked why this title means so much. “We were here for five straight years and got three of them; then we hit rock bottom with injuries, then the long road of work ahead and just trying to fill in the right pieces and right guys. You could never take this for granted cause you never know when you’ll be back here. To get back here and get it done means the world.”
In six games against the Celtics, Curry averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He shot 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc. Curry’s Final MVP performance has put him in some exclusive company. Curry joins Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to win an MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and a scoring title per ESPN.
New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport looks to finally put to rest his finger problems after having a portion of one amputated.
Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport is struggling with his left pinkie finger, but after having a portion of it amputated this offseason, hopefully, it’s all up from here for him.
This issue has been around for a long time for Davenport. According to ESPN’s report on the situation, it began in 2016 when he tore ligaments in it.
More on Saints’ defensive end Marcus Davenport having the top portion of his left pinkie finger amputated this offseason after breaking a plate from a previous surgery and experiencing an infection, via @MikeTriplett:https://t.co/zk2LrFYUGR
He had to amputate because he broke a plate and got an infection from it, which can be extremely serious if not taken care of immediately. Those kinds of things can go from being something small to being life-threatening, so thankfully, they got it handled before it did get any worse.
Saints: Marcus Davenport has finger amputated
Davenport could have likely been back for training camp after having shoulder surgery in January, but with this amputation, it seems he will be out for longer.
However, a longer rehabilitation time is a far better outcome than what could have happened if he didn’t take care of this pinkie finger.
Once he can get back on the field, Davenport shouldn’t miss a beat, and his production shouldn’t be too affected.
Now, if it were another one of his fingers, that could have been an issue, but the pinkie finger is kind of like the toe — people can make adjustments without skipping a beat. Davenport can shine without it, and without it causing pain, it’ll be even better for him.
He missed 18 games because of various ailments, so getting healthy has been a top priority. Now that he is on that track, he can get back on track and make the Saints realize he is someone to keep around.
Even with his fifth-year option for this upcoming season, he needs a good one to stick around New Orleans. Hopefully, he will be able to prove himself, or Davenport will be hunting a new team.
Super Bowl champ got the Raiders to make $1 million donation to Uvalde.
Vann McElroy hasn’t played for the Raiders for more than 30 years but clearly, he still has pull with the men paying the bills.
According to Chron.com, McElroy, who is Uvalde native, spoke to Mark Davis and told him the city was in need and Davis delivered to the tune of $1 million going to the school district.
“I told Mark that I talked to (Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District superintendent Hal Harrell) and he told me we needed about $1 million to be able to implement some measures to make our schools here safer,” McElroy said according to the Uvalde Leader-News. “Mark, said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
The school district will use the donation towards making the schools safer including “stronger doors, cameras and more fencing.”
“In all the years that I played for the Raiders, this organization took care of me and my family, and has looked out for the players and all members of the Raiders family,” McElroy said.
Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Training camp begins in mid-July, meaning there will be competitions for starting roles. Here are three players on the Green Bay Packers fighting for their jobs.
NFL minicamps are reaching their conclusion, which means that there will be a break before the start of training camp in mid-July. From there, players on 32 teams will be fighting for increased reps for the 2022 season.
The Green Bay Packers were a team that dealt with a ton of personnel turnover this offseason, highlighted by wide receiver Davante Adams being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders and linebacker Za’Darius Smith getting released from his contract. With the moves the team made, there will be openings on the starting lineup, which means that some players could lose reps and get relegated to the bench.
Here are three players on the Packers that are fighting for their jobs in training camp.
Packers: 3 players who could lose their job in training camp
3. Royce Newman, G
The Packers offensive line has taken a bit of a hit this offseason, as Billy Turner, Dennis Kelly and Lucas Patrick all signed with new teams. When it comes to the guard positions, they were slated to have Jon Runyan and Royce Newman as the starting guards. That can all change once the team is in the middle of training camp.
In the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, the Packers selected Sean Rhyan out of UCLA. This past college football season, Rhyan was named to the All-Pac-12 First team. He is slotted in as a guard, but he has experience playing tackle as well.
Sure, it is not ideal to start a rookie right away, but the starting guard positions are far from locked down. This past season, Newman surrendered six sacks and was called for five penalties, per Pro Football Focus.
The Dallas Wings got to host and chop it up with a vital piece of United States history, as Opal Lee- the “grandmother” of Juneteenth was sitting courtside at the game against the Seattle Storm, as reported by Arie Graham of TheNextHoops.
For over forty years, Lee has been at the forefront of making Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. At the age of 95, her age hasn’t stopped her activism; even back in 2016, when she was 89-years-old, Lee walked from Fort Worth, TX, to Washington D.C. to show her support. Finally, like many others, Lee can officially celebrate Juneteenth as a federally recognized holiday on June 19th.
Hosting Lee before the holiday weekend was crucial not only for Coach Vickie Johnson but also for her players.
“It was great for my players to see such great history. She is someone who has experienced so much in life and has fought for other people. She has done what God has placed us on this earth to do — and that is to serve other people,” Johnson said per TheNextHoops.
The players got the chance to talk about what needs to change, gain insight, and most importantly, be inspired by Lee’s legacy. One of which was forward Satou Sabally.
“We have to protect each other, protect humankind. She said that it isn’t going to happen in a day, but over time you can change minds and use the power we have in our hands. Pay attention to homelessness, schooling, and education. Be involved in rallies and walks and celebrate Juneteenth but also know the history that America is laid on.” Sabally said.
The WNBA has continued to make efforts to change and bring attention to social injustices. This relates to Opal Lee’s actions of being able to think outside yourself and fight for something greater.
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