Steph Curry and his Golden State Warriors have terrorized Toronto Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic over the decade
Steph Curry came into the league as an elite scoring guard. But there are many scoring guards in the league who have not terrorized opponents to the tune of what the Golden State Warriors star has done. In the past decade, he has single handedly transformed the term ‘elite shooter’.
Those redefining performances have netted him two league MVP awards. Those MVPs started the decade long dominance of the Golden State Warriors. Their six trips to the NBA Finals are the most of any team in the league in this past decade.
During their second trip to the NBA Finals, Curry and his Warriors faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. On one hand were the NBA single season record setting Warriors. On the other hand, a Thunder team featuring the likes of Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook.
Durant and Westbrook could not keep the Warriors at bay and lost the series 4-3 despite leading 1-3. One of the coaches on that Thunder team was Darko Rajakovic. Now as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, he faced Curry again. When asked what it is to coach against him, the Serbian said.
It’s a privilege for all of us to live in an era and to work in this era in the NBA when he is playing. I’ve been (coaching) against him for a long, long time. I can’t wait for him to retire. I’m going to get drunk that night, I promise you that, I’m going to celebrate.
Darko Rajakovic said
"I can't wait for him to retire. I'm gonna get drunk that night and celebrate."
– Darko Rajakovic on how difficult it is coaching against Steph Curry
— Samson Folk (the coach) (@samfolkk) January 14, 2025
Darko Rajakovic has seen Steph Curry in all the seasons he has been in the NBA. Having seen what the four-time NBA Champion can do, his response at the post-game press conference was no surprise. However, in this game, he ended up winning the battle.
Darko Rajakovic’s Raptors won despite Steph Curry’s game leading performance
Steph Curry and his Golden State Warriors landed in Canada to take on the Toronto Raptors on January 13th. Their goal was simple, beat the struggling Raptors and head back to Western mainland. However, they were in for a rude awakening.
Playing in front of his close friend Drake, Steph Curry led the game in scoring with 26. However, his teammates could not lend him a helping hand. They struggled to play defense and could not match the Raptors team scoring.
Eventually, the Toronto Raptors tightened their defense. Even though Curry tried, he could not find openings to heave his famous rainbow jumpers. At the same time, the Canadian side started a rally that pushed them into the lead and eventually won them the game 104-101.
Darko Rajakovic had finally won a home game against Steph Curry and his team. However, he knows all too well his team faced a struggling Warriors side devoid of the defense and playmaking of Draymond Green.
