Stephen Curry just can’t stop talking about cupcakes
I had a donut this morning. These last few days of NBA basketball have really gotten me going on desserts. It started with the Oklahoma City Thunder fans rallying around the idea that Kevin Durant is a cupcake per Russell Westbrook’s vocabulary and instagram post. Then it got taken a step further with Golden State Warriors players embracing the cupcake appropriation and apparel after their game on Saturday. Things were quiet for a day, then The Denver Nuggets decided to tie the NBA record for made threes in a game, and Stephen Curry was feeling down.
Stephen Curry: "We just got served a humble slice of cupcake."
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 14, 2017
There’s a lot going on in these nine words. There’s shade upon disrespect upon dickishness. Let’s unpack it. But first let’s unpack the word “unpack” because I hate it.
- “Unpack” is stupid.
- “Unpack” is dumb.
On we go.
The first thing is that this is funny and cute. This cupcake thing is being embraced by Golden State, and I guess that’s good or something.
Getting a little jab at Westbrook for his futile anger and indirect name-calling is all in good fun, I suppose. It’s good to see that the word doesn’t hurt him. After all, bringing things up without prompting is the best way to show it’s not on your mind whatsoever.
And actually he doesn’t care. But what he doesn’t care about having just lost to a team with a losing record. One would think that if he were really feeling humbled, he’d give a nod to how well Jokic, and Hernangomez and the shorthanded Nuggets played. Nah. Instead he recognized there was the opportunity to say something humbling, dismissed the chance, and used that moment to poke Russell Westbrook. Poking Westbrook generally seems like a bad idea. Maybe not so much as it relates to scoreboards, but a sizable portion Oklahoma City could be powered by the adrenaline and hate currently coursing through Russell’s body. His exoskeleton is going to fracture at some point and he’ll explode in light like a Star Fox boss. We might die.
Once I got past the “heh, he said ‘cupcake.'” aspect of this quote, I found myself annoyed. That’s where I’m usually found. I don’t think Curry necessarily intended to disregard the Nuggets, but he, um, did. In attempting to show that the cupcake comment isn’t bothering him, he instead showed that having lost a game badly didn’t bother him. At least in that moment, his team’s defense getting torch took a back seat to something that seems tertiary.
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That’s probably reading too much into it. I don’t really know how to read. This is just how I’m taking it. They are supervillains, I’m told. Whatever. I’m going to have another donut.