Richard Jefferson admits Cavs’ Finals plan vs. Steph Curry was to ‘beat him up’

Richard Jefferson admits Cavs’ Finals plan vs. Steph Curry was to ‘beat him up’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It’s no secret that Warriors star Steph Curry has faced some of the most aggressive defenses teams can get away with over the course of his NBA career.

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But its rare that one of those opponents says the quiet part out loud.

NBA on ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson, who faced Golden State in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers, detailed Cleveland’s brutal game plan for Curry on Friday night’s broadcast. While discussing a hard foul on New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson during Game 2 of the 2026 Finals, Jefferson recalled his job against Curry a decade ago.

“When we played Steph Curry in the Finals, our job was to beat him up like that,” Jefferson said in the first quarter. “And it wasn’t anything dirty, but if you’re going to foul him, foul him in a physical nature.”

Curry arguably receives the league’s worst whistle, so being on the receiving end of hard fouls is nothing new for him — because the only way he gets a foul call is if he’s being beat up, like Jefferson said.

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But even then, fouls are hard to come by for the four-time NBA champion. Over the course of his 17-year NBA career, Curry has averaged 4.3 free-throw attempts per game. For comparison, Jefferson’s former teammate LeBron James has averaged 7.4 over the last 23 years.

While Jefferson and the Cavaliers “beat” Curry up on their way to a ring in 2016, the Warriors certainly got the last laugh over their four consecutive Finals matchups.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/richard-jefferson-admits-cavs-finals-122058480.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-06 12:20:00

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