Warriors notebook: Steph Curry recalls meeting Red Sox legend David
Ortiz at ‘raver of a bachelor party’
NBA Finals: Curry inspired by Big Papi, the Big 3 bond on the plane and
foul talk
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 15: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) smiles before a practice session the day before Game 6 of the NBA
Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (Jose
Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 15: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) smiles before a practice session the day before Game 6 of the NBA
Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (Jose
Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 15, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. | UPDATED: June 15, 2022 at 3:58 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/15/warriors-notebook-steph-curry-recalls-meeting-red-sox-legend-david-ortiz-at-raver-of-a-bachelor-party/

BOSTON — Fans in this city haven’t held back on the Steph Curry trash
talk, but the Warriors’ superstar is one of them. Sort of.

Curry has been a Red Sox fan since he was a kid, a fandom that started
to spite his little brother, Seth, a New York Yankees fan. Curry has
sent out celebratory tweets when the Red Sox won World Series titles in
2013 and 2018. Apparently, he’s taken plenty of inspiration from Red Sox
Hall of Famer David Ortiz.

“Those iconic moments that Big Papi was always a part of, even the
championship moments, the way that he was kind of an ambassador for the
city, spokesman for the city, just the I guess reception and chemistry
he had with this town. All of that is inspiring, for sure,” Curry said
on Wednesday at practice.

Curry had a “raver of a bachelor party at a Red Sox game back in 2011,”
he said, for two games against the Chicago Cubs. Growing up in
Charlotte, North Carolina, Curry didn’t have many trips to Fenway. But
after his second year in the league, Curry got to meet Big Papi at his
bachelor party.

“He gave me a bat. Got to go into the depths of the Green Monster and
just see the atmosphere and the culture that he was trying to continue
as an iconic Red Sox player,” he said.

Steph, Klay and Dray on a plane

Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have been playing together for
10 years, including six postseasons running deep into the summer.
They’ve spent a lot of time together — on the court, in practice, in the
air. Maybe too much time.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers was surprised, then, to see the trio
sitting at a table together on the six-hour flight back to Boston for
Game 6 on Tuesday.

“It’s funny, we were sitting on the plane yesterday and we sat at the
same table and Bob walked past us and he’s like, man, y’all are funny,
y’all still sit together,” Green said. This group is tied together in
NBA lore — with a Game 5 win, they became the first NBA trio in the last
30 years to win 20 NBA Finals games together.

“Y’all don’t understand, it’s 10 years. Like this, does not happen,”
Green said. “Guys still sitting together at the same table. He’s like,
guys not even on the same team for ten years, let alone still sitting
there at the same table and enjoying each other’s conversation and
presence.”

Thompson recalls the plane ride a little differently. Yes, all three
were sitting together. But Thompson was trying to get some shut-eye. And
possibly avoid Green.

“I owe Draymond some money in dominoes, so I don’t want to see him too
many times,” Thompson said with a smile. “That’s funny. That happened
like two days ago. I was half asleep. Draymond and Bob were chatting
their hearts away for six hours on a plane ride. I was just trying to
get some sleep. Good times.”

Crying foul

The Warriors have been called for 24 more fouls in this series than the
Celtics, yet it was Boston in Game 5 who was rattled by the officiating.

After the loss Monday night, Celtics coach Ime Udoka admitted that the
officiating “got to us.”

The Celtics seemed out of sorts for most of the game as they argued for
call after call. So much so that Udoka was slapped with a technical foul
for complaining to officials at the end of the first quarter after
Robert Williams III was called for a shooting foul on Andrew Wiggins.

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Boston’s frustrations spilled into the second half. Marcus Smart was
throwing his body around as he practically begged for fouls.

Thompson said the Warriors don’t necessarily feed off an opponent losing
their composure amid a game.

“I don’t think we focus on it too much, to be honest. We have a
next-play mentality,” he said. “We’re just worried about getting a great
shot up in those moments, not what the other team is talking about.

“Basketball is a very continuous game. If you’re out there talking to
the officials the whole night, you might get in your own way.”

That’s something the Celtics hope to fix in Game 6 as they face elimination.

“It’s a physical series,” Udoka said. “We’re complaining at times too
much throughout the game… Some we need to block out and be better at
overall.”

Staff writer Madeline Kenney contributed to this story.

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter