Steph Curry Shuts Down 'Checkbook' Narrative

Brian Windhorst's comments didn't escape Steph

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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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