Nick Young only spent one season with the Golden State Warriors, but he won a championship that season and was able to witness a fierce battle between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant for the 2018 NBA Finals MVP award.
With Curry, Durant and Young, the 2017-18 Warriors won back-to-back championships, defeating LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Durant won the 2017 NBA Finals MVP, but Young said it was up to the two future Hall of Famers to win the MVP in 2018.
And Curry struggled in Game 3, knowing he'd missed out on the Finals MVP award, so much so that Young said he “almost cried” after the win.
Curry was limited to 11 points on just 3-of-16 shooting from the field in the Game 3 win. Durant led Golden State with 43 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists that night, ensuring he will win the individual award for the second consecutive year.
Andre Iguodala was the NBA Finals MVP in 2015 when Curry won his first championship, but the future Hall of Famer won it in 2022 after Durant had already moved on to another team.
The future Hall of Famer averaged 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 48.2% from the field and 43.7% from deep while leading Golden State to a six-game win over the Boston Celtics.
Curry was undoubtedly the NBA Finals MVP that year, and he has a 4-2 advantage over Durant in championship wins.
But Young said missing out on the award in 2018 affected Curry.
