In their run to the Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers had to go through the defending champion Golden State Warriors led by Stephen Curry. It was a very close and tough series, but ultimately LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way as the Lakers sent Curry and the Warriors home in six games.
This meant that the Warriors had a slightly earlier start to their offseason than anticipated, which for Curry meant some extra time on the golf course. Golfing has long been one of Curry’s favorite activities and he recently competed in the American Century Championship, a celebrity tournament.
In fact, Curry would go on to win the entire tournament, sinking an 18-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to clinch victory. Before he had locked in the win, however, he was interviewed on the course and pointed to the loss to the Lakers in the playoffs as giving him more time to prepare, via NBC Sports:
What’s @StephenCurry30's secret to success at the @ACChampionship?
We’ll let him say it. 😂 pic.twitter.com/ErqcvwikaT— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 15, 2023
While it is funny in the moment, it does also check out. Many players like to take some time away when the season is over to get away from basketball and for Curry, that often means golfing. It also does show that the playoff loss to the Lakers remains on Curry’s mind.
Curry is known as one of the NBA’s biggest competitors and coming up short against LeBron and the Lakers won’t sit well with him. But he had a lot of joy in winning this tournament for the first time which, as he noted, he has been competing in for nearly a decade.
The Warriors superstar made news on Saturday by sinking a hole-in-one, but it was that final putt Sunday that sealed the victory over former pro tennis player Mardy Fish, who finished second. Other participants included New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who finished fifth, retired quarterback Tony Romo, who finished eighth, and NBA analyst Charles Barkley, who finished 81st out of 93 competitors.
Stephen Curry leaves hilarious message to Lonnie Walker IV after Lakers’ series win
The most exciting game of the Lakers-Warriors series was surely Game 4, which the Lakers found a way to get the win in large part due to the performance of Lonnie Walker IV. The guard who had been out of the rotation got a chance and scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ three-point win.
After the series, Curry would gift Walker a signed jersey in which he left the message, “will never forgive you for Game 4!” That was the contest that swung the series in the Lakers’ favor and it is completely feasible that Curry will bring up this game to Walker every time he sees him.
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