Las Vegas has pegged the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers as the teams most likely to represent their respective conferences in Super Bowl 50.
That would be just fine with Stephen Curry.
Curry, who grew up a Panthers fan in Charlotte, N.C., is in Boston this week as his Golden State Warriors prepare for a Friday night matchup with the Celtics. Like Golden State, Carolina has yet to lose this season, and the point guard was asked Thursday how he’d feel about the Panthers potentially facing the defending champion Patriots with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.
“I’d like to see that matchup, actually,” the reigning NBA MVP told reporters after the Warriors’ practice at Emerson College. “Two Under Armour guys (quarterbacks Cam Newton and Tom Brady) going at it. I don’t know who I’d least like to see. That’s the matchup I’d want to see. It’d be a cool thing for the Panthers to come out on top on that one.”
Of course, New England and Carolina already have met once on the NFL’s biggest stage. Brady’s Patriots and Jake Delhomme’s Panthers combined for 37 fourth-quarter points, and Adam Vinatieri booted a game-winning field goal to give the Pats a 32-29 victory in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
The Super Bowl probably isn’t occupying too much space in Curry’s mind right now, though. He’s likely more focused on the Celtics, who will try their best to snap his team’s 27-game winning streak. Boston came close to knocking off the eventual champion Warriors on two occasions last season, losing 114-111 at Oracle Arena and 106-101 at TD Garden.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@StephenCurry30
