"The culture is based on Steph, really" - When Steve Kerr set the record straight on the Warriors dynasty

Steph Curry is the engine that made the Golden State Warriors dynasty go. While it may be easy to say that in hindsight, it wasn’t terribly apparent at some points down the long road. Introducing Kevin Durant as his teammate in 2016, Golden State hit another stratosphere with their already laughably-high ceiling. But the outside noise is already loud if you’re an average team. If you’re a dynasty — a’la the Warriors — it becomes close to insufferable.

Back then, fans and pundits often debated the “best” player and the most “valuable” player on the Warriors. This put Durant and Curry in numerous debates during their run together. If you asked the man who called the shots on the court, he wouldn't have hesitated in defending No. 30.

“Steph makes the whole thing go,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in 2017 . “Steph sets the tone for our group. People talk about Warriors culture all the time. The culture is based on Steph, really. We try to foster the principles we think are important, and that culture only works when your leader and best players identify with them. People talk about our joy all the time, and that matters a lot to me. It all comes from Steph. That all starts with Steph and filters down from there.”

Curry was there before the train left the station. KD joined when the train was on the track. While both No. 30 and No. 35 were winning championships — Durant capturing the Finals MVPs — they understood how the world tried pinning them against each other. At least to Chef’s credit, he recognized his rank in the Bay was one-of-one.

“KD [Durant] knows. Draymond [Green] knows. Klay [Thompson] knows. Shaun [Livingston] knows. Andre [Igoudala] knows. Coach Kerr knows,” Curry said. “That’s all that matters to me. I looked every single one of them in the eye when I walked off the court, and I could see the joy and the happiness. To know I was a part of that and did my job, that I did what I had to do to make this happen. … It’s never been about me. I never really put any emphasis on that.”

Having each other’s back

When Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals neared the finish line, Durant was overcome with emotion when he grew privy to the fact that he was now a champion. Loosely dribbling the ball while pumping his right fist, the star ran forward to hug his chief rival, LeBron James, before turning his attention to Curry. Just a year earlier, KD wished the Warriors point guard good luck after his team had suffered a collapse in the Western Conference Finals. Now, he locked the guard in his arms as he celebrated a title. Oh, how things can change so quickly.

“The stuff you hear about Steph as far as sacrificing and being selfless and caring about his teammates, caring about other people is real,” Durant said . “It’s not a fake. It’s not a facade. He doesn’t put on this mask or this suit every single day to come in here and fake in front of you guys. He really is like that. And it’s amazing to see a superstar who sacrifices, who doesn’t care about nothing but the group.”

“There aren’t but a handful of players who can come in here and have that kind of effect,” Curry said of Durant . “And he’s one of them.”

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Redemption for Steph

James was on the other end when the confetti started to fall in Oracle Arena. After he passionately led the Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA championship a year earlier, he stormed off the court after embracing the Dubs forward in a tough defeat. Meanwhile, it was the Warriors, especially Steph, who really stood tall at the moment.

Finally, the bitter taste of 2016 was expunged. The critics were silenced. And even though he had huge help in the form of his 7-foot teammate averaging better than 35 points per game in an MVP effort, it was hard to ignore the two-time MVP, who was a +30 in five games, missing just 0.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds from a triple-double average.

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