In the wake of Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry setting a franchise record for points — and passing Wilt Chamberlain in the process — forward Draymond Green treated his longtime teammate to dinner Tuesday night in Oklahoma City to celebrate the two-time league MVP’s latest achievement.
Making the meal even more special was the fact it included a bottle of 2015 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche — a French wine that can start at around $5,000 a bottle — on Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s tab.
Green, who offered to pay for the bottle himself, said he texted Lacob to make sure that was OK and Lacob was “all for it.”
“Joe is incredible by the way,” said Green, who posted photos from his dinner with Curry on social media. “That was a very expensive bottle of wine, but Joe let us get that one on the team bill, so we appreciate Joe for that. Not every day that somebody’s approving a bottle of La Tâche. So shoutout to Joe, man. We definitely appreciated that, but it was obviously for a great reason. I think I saw something where Reggie Miller said [Curry is] ‘Mr. Warrior.’ [There] is no better description than that.”
The pair’s dinner Tuesday night, in advance of Golden State’s game against the Thunder on Wednesday, gave Green a chance to reiterate to Curry just how much he’s meant to him and the Warriors organization through the years.
“To pass Wilt Chamberlain in anything is incredible,” Green said Wednesday. “I remember like it was yesterday, my rookie year, Steph coming back in town, when he was coming off ankle surgery. And the whole front office, ownership, everybody was lined up on the sideline watching his workout because he was just coming off ankle surgery and they were discussing the extension — it reminded me of a pre-draft workout …
“I remember those days. Where he’s come [from], where he is today, and all that he’s gone through to get there. And to just share that moment with him and let him know, ‘Nah, bro, you are appreciated. You are celebrated. As long as I’m around you’re going to be celebrated.’ I can’t speak for other people, but I know as long as I’m around, it will be celebrated. And everybody around him that’s going to be around when I’m around gonna celebrate him, too, because he’s earned that. That was a great moment to just to share that bottle of wine.”
The pair has won three NBA championships together and developed a strong bond in the process. Green and Curry shared a hug at the end of Monday’s first quarter against the Denver Nuggets, minutes after Curry scored 21 points to overtake Chamberlain’s mark. It was a moment that Curry remembered fondly as he reflected back on it after the game.
“He’s contributed so much to this 17,818,” Curry said Monday night. “The chemistry that we’ve developed and playing off of each other and elevating our games to the highest of highs, that was a special moment for sure to appreciate how he’s poured into me, how I’ve poured into him and that bond that we’ll always have. So we have a lot of new guys who haven’t been around for a big stretch of my career, but Draymond and Klay [Thompson] have obviously been huge factors in my individual success and us as a team. Anything that you do individually where you’re acknowledged, your first thought is, Who else contributed and made that possible with their efforts and their attitude and what they brought to the table? So that was a special moment for sure.”