Steph Curry says he's ready for NBA Finals redemption, got 'carried away' with playoff beard
The Warriors take on the Cavaliers in Game 1 Wednesday.
— -- Steph Curry is gearing up for a shot at redemption as the Golden State Warriors prepare to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second year in a row at the NBA Finals.
"We had a pretty -- good idea that it was gonna be Cleveland. And for us to get back on top -- I would say it'll be a good feelin' to redeem ourselves from last year," Curry told ABC News' T.J. Holmes in an interview that aired on "Good Morning America."
Last year, the Cavaliers battled back from a 3 - 1 series deficit to defeat the Warriors on their home court at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. But this year, Curry said, "Knowin' that it's gonna be against Cleveland, it's gonna be tough."
The Warriors point guard has faced off against LeBron James countless times.
"I mean, I know him well ... all the way back from my college days," Curry said. "You run into each other from time to time ... and you have the battles on the court."
The two will meet on that same court where things came to a close last year, for Game 1 of the NBA Finals at 9 p.m. ET tonight on ABC.
"When it's all said and done, when all of our careers are over with, I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of looking back like we had some good times playing the game that we loved."
Despite being named the NBA's first-ever unanimous MVP in 2016, Curry has dealt with other labels his entire career, including being called "soft."
"People just automatically think that, 'Man, this guy ain't from the hood. ... He's supposed to be soft and this, that.' And of course, Steph is light-skinned, so they want to make him out to be soft," Curry's teammate Draymond Green said recently in his podcast "Uninterrupted's Dray Day."
But for Curry, he said that his game is really all that matters.
"I don't know what's in people's minds, how they label me, how they perceive me. .... I know what I'm about, how I view myself, and my life and my style of play on the basketball court," Curry said. Adding that it doesn't matter "whether you think I'm soft or I'm tough or I look like I'm 16 or whatever."
Although he did joke that his "baby face" hasn't helped his case. "So the backstory is as baby face back in college, I always wanted to grow a beard just to say that I could, but I could never get it to connect on this side right here," he said showing off his facial hair.
"Six months ago it started to connect and I got a little carried away with it and made up my own reason for a playoff beard. So this is like four months of hard work and perseverance."
Curry said there's "not a chance" he'd shave that beard before the NBA Finals are over.
Watch the rest of the interview on "Good Morning America" at 7 a.m. ET on Friday.
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