Warriors Notes: Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson

Star guard Steph Curry pleaded to his teammates in an impassioned pregame speech to go out and handle business against the Kings, per Marcus Thompson II and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Then Curry went out and dropped 50 points in Game 7 on the road, ending the Kings’ magnificent season.

“He is that guy,” guard Gary Payton II said of Curry, via Thompson and Charania. “So when he speaks, everybody better listen. Because (Curry) is usually quiet and lets his game speak for itself. But he had to say what he had to say, because he knew what type of vibe it was … and I don’t think he wanted to give this one up. So he led and we followed.”

Curry told teammates to put their personal feelings aside, as the likes of guard Jordan Poole and forward Jonathan Kuminga were among those who may not have been happy with their playing time in the series.

“He’s got the same edge as any of the other greats,” Poole said. “That’s what makes him so special. Maybe his approach is a bit different than the other guys, but we know he’s a killer. Everybody in the world knows he’s a killer.”

• Luxury tax concerns have many believing this could be the final playoff run for the likes of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as a dynamic trio, but Green stressed the focus is on the here and now. “Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” he told reporters. “Stop trying to turn the page on (LeBron James). We get so caught up in what’s the next thing, we don’t appreciate the current. Then you get to the next thing and you’re looking back, like, ‘Man, I wish we still had that. I wish we could still see this.’ So for me and our guys, we are going to appreciate this every step of the way.”
• This marks the first playoff matchup for the Warriors and Lakers of the Curry and Thompson era, and Thompson expressed his excitement. His father, Mychal Thompson, is a former Laker. “I’m personally excited. I get to play in front of my father, my mother and some of my best friends and go down to SoCal after our home stand and it’s just a dream come true,” Thompson told reporters. “I’ve waited for this for 12 years.”

Klay Thompson on facing LeBron James and the Lakers: "I'm personally excited. I get to play in front of my father, my mother and some of my best friends and go down to SoCal after our home stand and it's just a dream come true. I've waited for this for 12 years." pic.twitter.com/ldZ1K2gvfr

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) May 1, 2023