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Before the NBA Finals began Authentic Jonathan Allen Jersey , Stephen Curry could only chuckle at how long it took for someone to inquire about how badly he wants to add a finals MVP to his decorated resume.
Maybe a minute passed.

Curry has earned two NBA MVPs, set the single-season 3-point record, captured a pair of championships and is on the cusp of a third. He doesn’t need the finals MVP, another title will do just fine.
It might come down to Curry and teammate Kevin Durant for series MVP with the Warriors up 3-0 on LeBron James and the Cavaliers going into Game 4 on Friday night with a chance to clinch at Cleveland.

”It took to the second question of my first media availability, so I’m pretty sure that narrative’s going to take life, as it has since 2015,” Curry said. ”But it doesn’t make or break my career or whatever you want to say looking back. If we win this championship and I don’t win finals MVP, I’m going to be smiling just as wide and just as big.”

Sure, if he could edge out KD, then Curry would join the big names of James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Cardinals Cheap Jerseys , Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone and Tim Duncan as players with a pair of NBA MVPs and a finals MVP.

Not that Curry is thinking about any of that: He would gladly settle for a second straight victory parade.

”It’s part of my motivation to try to get back to this stage because I want more championships,” he said. ”But I’ve never really highlighted the individual type (honors) – even before my regular-season MVPs, I’ve never even really attacked it as if that was the goal, per se.”

Still, the undersized point guard out of Davidson has defied the critics. Curry knows how much he has meant for the franchise during this special four-year stretch.

And this might have been the toughest one yet for Curry, even counting all those losing seasons early in his career, plagued by multiple injuries and so much missed time. He was even out for the entire first round of the playoffs.

Curry’s typically steady shot has been inconsistent, too.

As he always does regardless of whether they’re going in, Curry has kept firing 3-pointers.

He reached a mindboggling 0 for 9 Wednesday before finally making one from deep against the Cavs – just three days after knocking down a finals-record nine from beyond the arc.

That frustrating Game 3 performance epitomized Curry’s topsy-turvy season.

”I’m going to play aggressively, confidently, with that right energy and motivation to help my team win,” Curry said. ”And usually when I’m in that mindset, good things happen Josh Allen Jersey Youth , whether that means it’s a finals MVP or not, who cares, but I’m going to be playing like it, for sure.”

As Curry walked off the court with only 11 points on 3-for-16 shooting in the 110-102 win that put Golden State one victory from a repeat title, Andre Iguodala draped his right arm around No. 30’s neck and whispered something in his left ear.

”He was telling me what he’s going to order at our team dinner tonight, and I agree with his choices,” Curry cracked.

He certainly isn’t taking himself too seriously on the big stage, appreciating how hard it is to get here with hopes of doing so for the long haul.

Even on a night his shot wasn’t falling and he got outshined by Durant, Curry connected when it mattered and the game was on the line. That’s just what he does as the Warriors’ dependable star.

The defining moment of Curry’s postseason might have come in Game 2 of the finals, when he scored 33 points and returned to being leading man for Golden State with the home crowd at Oracle Arena cheering his every move.

”Thank goodness I never had to play against him,” said B.J. Armstrong, who spent 11 seasons in the NBA, mostly with Chicago. ”He’s a very special player. Every time I see him, I played in Charlotte for like a year and a half Cheap M.J. Stewart Jersey , so I remember him when he was very little, to see him now I chuckle every time I see him. I just remember when he was little and his dad would be dragging him around. He’s phenomenal. I’m in awe of his ability to shoot the ball and what he’s been able to do, his leadership, the example he’s setting for all the young kids and what he’s been able to do in the game. It’s just incredible. I have such respect for him, especially because I know his parents, and he’s a point guard, so I just marvel at what he’s been able to do.”

Curry showed his unselfishness when he traveled to the Hamptons two summers ago to recruit Durant, willing to cede the spotlight as Golden State’s singular star.

After back-to-back MVP awards that made Curry the face of the Warriors and one of the league’s most dynamic and thrilling players, he has taken a backseat to let KD get comfortable.

Golden State has been complete again since Curry returned for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Pelicans following nearly six weeks out with a sprained left knee.

Just having Curry back on the court provides a huge emotional lift, even if he’s not at his most dominant. There’s that noticeable joy coach Steve Kerr so loves with his star-studded bunch.

”I think Steph really sets the tone more than anybody in that regard,” Kerr said, ”for what our culture is about.”

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Jon Gruden targeted Paul Guenther as his defensive coordinator in his return to Oakland even before he got the Raiders job, believing his aggressive defensive scheme was just what the team needed to reverse years of bad play.

Guenther’s task has been even harder than originally thought because he is still waiting to get Oakland’s best defensive player in camp.

Star edge rusher Khalil Mack skipped the entire offseason program and now extended his holdout into training camp as he seeks a long-term contract commensurate with the skills of one of the NFL’s top defensive players.

”I really can’t worry about that right now,” Guenther said Sunday after Oakland’s first padded practice. ”I’m just trying to coach the guys who are out here. Obviously when he gets here Denzel Ward Browns Jersey , if he gets here, he’ll be an exciting piece to add.”

There is no indication of when that time will come as Mack’s camp and Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie have been quiet about negotiations. Mack is entering the final season of his rookie contract that is set to pay him $13.8 million and Oakland would have the option of using the franchise tag next offseason if no long-term deal is reached.

Mack is one of several prominent holdouts this summer, joining players like Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Seattle safety Earl Thomas. Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell is also staying away from training camp but is not a holdout since he has not signed his franchise tender.

”He’s working,” fellow edge rusher Bruce Irvin said. ”I talk to him every day. He misses it. You just know how it is. He’s working his butt off and when he gets in here he’ll be ready.”

Mack has been one of the top defensive players in football since being drafted in the first round in 2014. He was a first-team All-Pro at both defensive end and linebacker in 2015 and won AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. He has 40 1/2 sacks in four seasons and leads the NFL in QB pressures with 185 1/2 since entering the league, according to SportRadar.

Free-agent acquisition Tank Carradine has taken over Mack’s role at defensive end on the base defense but is not an accomplished pass rusher. The Raiders hoped to upgrade that rush by drafting defensive end Arden Key and tackles Maurice Hurst and P.J. Hall.

Key and Hurst have shown good bursts early in training camp as the Raiders prepare without Mack.

”We can’t worry about who isn’t here because when Khalil gets tired, when he goes out of the game, the guys who are here have to go into the game and play while he is tired,” Irvin said. ”He rarely gets tired, but when he does those guys have to be ready. We’re focused on getting these young guys ready and that stuff will take care of itself.”

Irvin is also taking on a bigger role in the pass rush after spending his first two seasons in Oakland as an outside linebacker who also rushed the passer.

Irvin dropped into coverage on almost one-third of pass plays last season, according to SportRadar. But Guenther plans to use him almost exclusively as a defensive end in his defense.

”I just think his best gift is going forward,” Guenther said. ”That’s what he should be doing each and every down. Instead of playing linebacker and dropping into coverage, we have to utilize his and everybody else’s talents the best we can.”

NOTES: CB Gareon Conley has missed the past two days with a hip strain sustained on the first day of practice. … RB Jalen Richard left practice with an undisclosed injury.

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