Inside The Warriors

Steph Curry Shuts Down 'Checkbook' Narrative

Brian Windhorst's comments didn't escape Steph
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Notorious for discrediting Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently credited their success to their payroll, labeling a recent victory a "checkbook win." Steph Curry, who frequently makes it known that he sees everything, certainly saw these comments as well, and commented on them after winning his fourth ring.

"So I heard somebody talking about checkbook wins and all this other stuff. Like ya, because it starts with the core group of champions and bonafide winners. And the belief that we could run it back. And now we're here," Steph said.

Steph clearly understands something that Brian Windhorst does not, and it's the ability of teams to re-sign their own players. Unlike baseball, where teams can essentially spend endless money on the market's biggest superstars, the NBA rewards teams for maintaining their home-grown talent. With the ability to exceed the cap by re-signing their own players, Golden State has accumulated a large payroll, but it's loaded with players who have been there from the beginning.

Steph recognizes that this team has been built through the core of himself, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, so while those three players are making more money than they once did, it's not the same as teams who have stacked the deck with players they did not draft. Windhorst didn't seem to grasp that, so Steph helped remind him.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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