The Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship and it meant much more than a new distinction for their showcases. The victory, with Stephen Curry Finals MVP for the first time, was a cry of relief and a message in itself.
In liquid times when it is customary to hunt treasures however and wherever, Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, with Steve Kerr as the elite driver, showed that there is another way to do things. Stay even in times of storm, build and build in silence. Sometimes it’s well worth covering your ears to avoid the enchanting sound of sirens calling for urgent modifications. Knowing how to bear the pain of injuries, working to recover happiness, believing that a magical return may be possible.
Life, when these kinds of sports miracles happen, reminds us that it can be wonderful.
Let’s go back in time a bit: Two seasons ago, Golden State finished with the worst record in the NBA (15-50). Curry, in the bubble season, played only five games and Thompson, as we know, missed the entire league. Today they are NBA champions and became the first team in history to completely turn around their present in a span of three seasons. From depressing sports poverty to absolute wealth. It’s the fourth title together for Curry, Thompson and Green, and they tied the Spurs’ Big Three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker for the most titles by an All-NBA trio in the past 50 seasons.
Here is a pivotal case called Draymond Green. He could have taken a different path, he could have chosen to join other healthy choirs for personal gain, but he said no. He preferred to be the cornerstone of an inexperienced youth choir and endured the pain of defeat. No excuses, no crying, no complaining. He bit the dust of ruthless criticism and laughed out loud at the short-termism of a world accustomed to the fact that what happened yesterday no longer matters. Second-by-second logic may be attractive for social networks, but for sports it never worked.
Green waited, and in the silence, Curry and Thompson embarked on a phenomenal comeback that featured tears, joys, disappointments and hopes. From medical offices to the gym. From the gym to the court to try at least one more shot for the deserving side. And what if they conquered it.
If Noah built a basketball ark today to preserve species, he would save Curry and Thompson as his quintessential shooters. With them the mold was broken forever. There is an unassailable reality: some professionals, not all, are better at playing with friends. There is a share of amateurism that also survives at these kinds of levels. The joy of undertaking a job with the people you love is decisive for subsequent success. And this trio showed it every time they were together in these NBA Finals. Curry assists Thompson and the Splash Brothers hug at center court. Thompson holds Green to keep him from losing his temper. Green screens Curry with such determination that it is a message in itself, a way of saying, without speaking, “I’m here to defend you.” That coexistence of years, that going back to back with the other, ended up being crucial at the moment of truth.
Maybe that’s what we’ve learned with these Warriors. Loyalty does not come with guarantees: it is a longer, thorny path, which may not lead to the port that is sought. But when resurgence is achieved, when redemption is achieved, the flavor is different. Those are Curry’s tears, that’s the hug with Thompson and that’s Green’s scream. A howl that explains that here, tonight, things will be as we promised they would be. I didn’t want to win: I wanted to win with you, which is something very different in essence and conception.
Who does not enjoy a script of these characteristics?
We live in times where everything has to be fast. No one can wait for anything. Patience, worth the play on words, is today seen as a waste of time. If the benefits don’t come soon then it’s better to change. Work, partner, friends, neighborhood, city, country. “Post four videos and become a millionaire. Become a graphic designer in a month and a half. Learn to play guitar with three Twitter threads.” Sorry to disappoint you, but real life is something else. You have to train, you have to prepare and you have to make an effort to achieve things. Get up early and go to bed late. The theory of the disposable, of the ephemeral, of the express, today lost several bodies of advantage in the eyes of the world.
How far tonight are the athletes who ran months ago to put on the most beautiful shirt possible, with the most prestigious teammates, to celebrate in any way in June. I feel sorry for them: fidelity, work, companionship and brotherhood have a prize again.
Raise your glasses, boys. Curry, Thompson, Green and Kerr are back.
And history, once again, proves them right.
