In 2009, the Golden State Warriors used their first-round draft pick to select point guard Stephen Curry in a move that has changed the landscape of the organization. Even though Curry went through plenty of hardships over the past six seasons, while the Warriors went through numerous trials of their own, the 27-year-old always maintained the idea of making good on a promise he made to the team’s fans on November 11, 2009.
Promise to all the Warrior fans…we will figure this thing out…if it’s the last thing we do we will figure it out
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 12, 2009
The tweet came after Golden State lost 108-94 to the Indiana Pacers. Coming off the bench, Curry recorded a measly six points in 21 minutes. Truth be told, he did not play horrible in the contest. He had four assists, one rebound, one steal and converted 42.9 percent of his seven field goal attempts.
The main issue was the Warriors had lost five of seven up to that point and Curry was beginning to slow down after scoring double-digit points in his first two career NBA games. The team never really gelled and veteran guard Monta Ellis was convinced the Warriors made a mistake drafting Curry. Golden State finished the season 26-56, and more embarrassingly, Curry’s play was called into question, with the biggest issue being his small frame would not allow him to properly defend the top-tier guards.
Five seasons later, Curry is the only remaining player from the 2009-10 Warriors team. The organization traded away players, drafted others and even went through a surplus of head coaches before landing on Steve Kerr. Despite the doubts, it is quite clear management made the correct decision to stick with Curry. Their reward is witnessing their franchise player become the league MVP. More importantly, Curry has led Golden State to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975.
The lesson here is organizations and fans should never turn their back on a player that has displayed the potential to become great. Everyone knew Curry could become a difference maker in the NBA, but he pushed himself to the point to become one of the greats. He was seven games into his rookie season when he made the promise that the team would figure it out. Even though it took longer than expected, he is a championship series away from making it come true.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.