Steph Curry went full ‘petty king’ at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday night.
In an appearance on “The Long Shot” podcast, Grant Williams confidently claimed the Celtics were the better team in the 2022 NBA Finals and it was the Warriors’ discipline and championship pedigree that won out in the series that ended with Golden State beating Boston in six games, 4-2.
The comments appear to have made their way toward Curry, as the Finals MVP posted on his Instagram story a behind-the-scenes photo of him getting a haircut before he hosted the ESPYs. He wrote on the IG story, “A very disciplined cut.”
The four-time NBA champion didn’t stop there. In his opening monologue, after cracking a joke at LeBron James, Curry pointed out how Los Angeles, the location of the ESPYs, loves to see Boston lose. The ESPN broadcast cut to Williams, who was attending the ESPYs, laughing along. Then, Curry pointed out Williams.
“Speaking of the Celtics, Grant Williams, I see you in the building,” Curry said. “It’s great to see you again my man. I know you like this color (referencing his suit). I’ll let you borrow it after I’m done. I might even let you wear a ring (Curry winks). Eh, might, we’ll see. We’ll see.”
The broadcast cut to Williams during the jab, and the forward seemed to take the jokes in stride and laughed along.
In a later aired skit featuring Kevin Hart and Peyton Manning, Curry took another jab at the Celtics.
“I’m your host Stephen Curry — proud husband of Ayesha Curry, proud son of Dell Curry, proud daddy of the Boston Celtics,” Steph said in the skit in response to Hart’s suggestion of how he should open the ESPYs.
In addition to hosting the award show, Curry took home “Best NBA Player” honors, while the Warriors took home “Best Team” honors.
During the NBA Finals, Curry had fashioned himself as the “petty king” in response to the banter and trash talk Celtics fans sent his way. It seems the entire NBA will have to watch what they say about Curry in the future.
