Stephen Curry’s competitiveness is legendary in the NBA. The Warriors point guard transformed Golden State from a middling franchise into an annual contender — and he has four championship rings to show for it, emblematic of how his shooting and his personality have changed the game of basketball.
Curry’s competitive fire extends off the court, too, as he revealed once again to reporters following Golden State’s regular season finale. The 36-year-old was left feeling a tad bitter after the Warriors defeated the Utah Jazz on Sunday — even though another teammate benefitted.
Klay Thompson won the free-throw title
It seemed all sewn up for Curry. He was mere minutes from finishing as the NBA’s top free-throw shooter for the fifth time in his illustrious career. At 92.3 percent accuracy from the charity stripe, Curry — with 299 free-throws made — was well clear of the 125-make threshold to qualify for the title.
But on the season’s final day, Curry lost out to none other than his longtime Splash Brother. By virtue of making all five of his free-throw attempts on Sunday afternoon, Klay Thompson topped Curry with his 92.7 percent free throw rate — and, for the first time in his own stellar career, Thompson was the NBA’s best free-throw shooter over a whole season.
Unique note: Klay Thompson just beat out Steph Curry for the league’s free-throw % title after not qualifying for the race all season… until yesterday when he went 5-for-5 and got over the 125-makes qualifier.
Klay 92.7%
Curry 92.3%Neither was aware of this until today.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) April 15, 2024
When asked Monday about Thompson’s last-ditch effort to take the title, Curry — with a wry smile — talked about his teammate’s unique accomplishment, but he reiterated his commitment to winning everything he possibly can.
“No, I hate losing.”
Steph is salty Klay stole his free-throw title on the final game of the season 😂 pic.twitter.com/06vwztXDCV
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 15, 2024
Curry and Thompson’s next battle is a must-win Play-In Tournament game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night — where, in last season’s playoffs, Curry dropped 50 points in a do-or-die Game 7 to eliminated the Warriors’ in-state rivals.
