No stopping Steph: Curry’s unrelenting drive finally yields Finals MVP

BOSTON – Before his standard post-game press conference, before recording an interview with ABC, before appearing on ESPN, before doing another interview where he shared headphones with the host, before joining NBA TV, before sitting down for another ABC/ESPN interview… Stephen Curry had about as private of a moment as a Finals MVP can have in the immediate aftermath of winning a championship. He sat in a folding chair in a hallway deep into the arena while waiting for Warriors coach Steve Kerr to finish at podium. Surrounded by “just” a few videographers/photographers and a couple other people, Curry couldn’t stop jabbering.

“This is amazing!” Curry shouted. “This is freaking amazing.”

“Aghgh,” he yelled from the back of his throat.

“Ahhh!” he yelled in a higher pitch.

“Wow!” Curry exclaimed. “Wow!”

He looked down in disbelief at the Bill Russell Trophy in his arms, noting how many Finals MVPs the Celtics legend would’ve won if the NBA presented the award back then.

“It’s really over,” Curry said. “It’s really over.”

He remarked how long these last few months have felt.

“This is different,” Curry said. “This hits different.”

He noted he’s undefeated in purple shoes.

“I went to Davidson!” Curry said. “I’m not even supposed to be here!”

Stephen Curry is unyielding. For seven of the last eight years, he has run literal circles around the NBA, cutting and weaving his way through screens to four titles, two MVPs (including the only one ever voted unanimously), an All-Star MVP and now – finally – an NBA Finals MVP.

That missing hardware has been brought up by critics for years, ever since Andre Iguodala won 2015 Finals MVP. Never mind that Curry was the most-deserving Warrior that year. Never mind that Curry has a long track