Golden State Warriors Can't Be Beaten Without Prayer, Says Toronto Raptors GM
The only way to beat the undefeated Golden State Warriors is with prayer, according to one Toronto Raptors executive.
Before the Raptors beat the Warriors on Saturday, CBS Sports correspondent Jim Rome asked Raptors' general manager Masai Ujiri about the key to beating the best team in the league.
"Pray to God," came Ujiri's response, according to Rome.
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The Warriors are the reigning NBA champions after winning the coveted 2014-2015 title earlier this year. Andre Iguodala, the Warriors forward who won last season's Most Valuable Player Award during the finals, previously thanked God for the honor and said the team is "full of believers."
"(We've) got a team full of believers. We all say God has a way for you and a purpose for you," Iguodala, 31, said after receiving the MVP honor. "I want to be just like Steph (Curry) when I grow up — just a God fearing man."
Stephen Curry, the Warriors' beloved point guard who received the regular season MVP honor, frequently honors God on and off the basketball court and usually points his fingers toward the sky after making big plays. When he accepted the MVP award during the regular season last May, the point guard cited his faith as one of the keys to his success.
"Sometimes people make it seem like you have to have certain prerequisites or a crazy life story in order to be successful in this world. But the truth is you really don't," said Curry. "It doesn't matter where you come from, what you have or don't have, what you lack or what you have too much of. But all you need to have is faith in God, an undying passion for what you do and what you choose to do in this life, and a relentless drive and the will to do whatever it takes to be successful in whatever you put your mind to."
Curry went on to thank his wife, and mother, Sonya, and father, Dell Curry, who's a retired NBA player.
"Mom you are our spiritual guidance and our disciplinarian at times when pops was away. ... The way that you raised us, not taking any slack," Curry said in his speech. "We knew sports was important to us and our family but there are priorities in life.Obviously, faith is foremost; how we did in school is important. If we didn't handle that business then there were no privileges."
Earlier this year, he took time out to reflect on his Christian faith when speaking to Christian sports apparel brand, Active Faith. According to the Christian athlete, his relationship with Jesus Christ started around middle school.
"My parents had us in church every Sunday, every Wednesday. It was more of a tradition at that point; I didn't have a personal relationship with the Lord until I went to the altar call one Sunday and the youth pastor told us to make a decision for ourselves," Curry told Active Faith. "The youth pastor told us we had to make a decision for ourselves, we couldn't rely on our parents. It had to be a decision on our own, and that's when I made it."
Curry has been vocal about his faith for years, and previously wrote about it playing a part in his continued success.
"I've always believed that success for anyone is all about drive, dedication and desire, but for me, it's also been about confidence and faith," Curry previously wrote in The Cauldron. "To excel at the highest level — or any level, really — you need to believe in yourself, and hands down, one of the biggest contributors to my self-confidence has been private coaching."
