The Golden State Warriors have played some spirited games against the Memphis Grizzlies over the past year, and some have even said the two teams have a budding rivalry. Stephen Curry has not felt that.
After the Warriors defeated the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, Curry was asked by a reporter if there is a “feud or rivalry” between Golden State and the Grizzlies. The two-time NBA MVP thought for a few moments before giving an honest response.
“I don’t want to be short, but no,” Curry said. “It’s just a team that is tough to beat. They’re really talented. … It’s more so just a team you know you need to play well to beat, but the history isn’t there really yet. We’ll just block that out and play basketball.”
Klay Thompson was sitting next to Curry when he answered the question. It was clear Thompson agreed with everything his teammate said. You can see the exchange at around the 6:45 mark below:
There is definitely bad blood between the Warriors and Grizzlies. There was a lot of drama when the two teams met in the postseason last year. Dillon Brooks and Draymond Green have also gone out of their way to talk trash to one another recently.
What Curry likely wanted to say is that the Grizzlies haven’t won anything, while the Warriors have dominated the NBA for much of the past decade. If the Grizzlies want to be considered one of Golden State’s rivals, they will need to beat the Warriors in a playoff series.