Malika Andrews Talks NBA Playoffs, Draft Lottery, Stephen Curry's Legacy

It's a busy time in the NBA with the postseason coming to a conclusion, but the NBA Draft is also sneaking up.

BetSided caught up with ESPN's Malika Andrews, who was representing Sling TV, to discuss all things NBA headed towards a busy June. Whether it was her insight on-sight for the NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago, or her views on the emerging stars of the league like Jayson Tatum or Luka Doncic, Andrews navigated us through the latest happenings in the league.

The NBA Today host also spoke at length about the Golden State Warriors, who are currently the NBA title favorites at WynnBET Sportsbook (+100), and what a fourth championship would mean to their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

When discussing the Warriors' Western Conference Finals series against the Mavericks, Andrews believes Golden State ultimately prevails, despite saying that Dallas is a worthy adversary on the other sideline.

"I was in the Bay Area for Game 6 [of the Warriors Western Conference Semifinals series against the Grizzlies]," Andrews said.

"The look in Klay Thompson's eyes to be able to avenge what he's been going through over the last couple of years and be able to get back to where they were, I have a feeling that Golden State gets there."

While Thompson's redemption story is one of the hot topics of the NBA's final four teams, the biggest star left is Curry. The two-time NBA MVP is seeking his fourth ring but also his first Finals MVP award, seemingly the only accolade left for him to earn.

"There's always going to be someone that has more rings or more this or more that. Nobody is getting 11 rings in today's game," Andrews told BetSided.

"For that crowd, there's going to be those that say it is one too few, too few rings. 4 though, puts you in rare air and even more than that, it's what you mentioned, is the Finals MVP. Andre Iguodala won it, Kevin Durant won it [twice] and that sort of eliminated Steph in his previous championship runs from getting that honor even when there was an argument to be made that he could."

He was always incredibly gracious, but Steph is a competitor. I believe that it could be a stain not on Steph but when you look at the league and a player that has literally changed how the game is played and changed an entire generation of fandom, how could that player not [win Finals MVP] with the amount of rings Steph Curry has accrued."

The 3-time NBA champion has already accomplished so much, but he seemingly wants to win one more for his family, as Andrews notes.

"If I could part the legacy part aside, I asked Steph back at All-Star [weekend] about winning another title," Andrews recounted.

"Obviously on the court he is a competitor, but one of the things we talked about that people forget is that these guys are human. Steph's kids weren't really old enough, I mean his son was really a distant thought, when he was winning these championships his kids weren't around to enjoy it."

She continued:

"Riley was really little, Ryan was really little, Cannon wasn't around for the first, so for him he kind of talked about that. He doesn't want to just be the grouchy old man, like 'you guys don't remember but I was great' he wants them to see 'I have this, this is what I do' and while they may grasp it conceptually, being there for it is a whole different thing. I thought that it was cool and I understand where he is coming from."

Make sure to check out the full interview above for more insight from the ESPN host with her time around top NBA Draft prospects Chet Holmgren and her thoughts on the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers!