LeBron James has a pretty impressive track record of playoff success and, over the past four years, that on-court prosperity has coincided with a social media blackout. LeBron’s self-proclaimed “Zero Dark Thirty-23” mode is engaged once again for the 2017 run of the Cleveland Cavaliers and, perhaps coincidentally, another high-profile player is following in his footsteps.
Except he’s not.
Stephen Curry, in speaking with ESPN, indicated that he will always be taking something of a sabbatical from social media usage during the playoffs. In fact, that reportedly included the deletion of each and every one of his accounts from his personal phone and Curry shed more light.
“When you’re really trying to zone in and keep your focus, you don’t want to have any unnecessary distractions during this point of the season. We have goals to accomplish, and you want to make sure you’re giving your all.”
When prompted about any parallel between Curry’s decision and that of one of his arch rivals, he pushed back.
“I didn’t do it because he did it. I’m not reinventing the wheel,” Curry told ESPN. “It’s just a way to help me keep my focus on what’s important.”
It should be noted that Curry also told ESPN that he has “a way of sending out messages without getting into (his) accounts,” but we can basically a dark period from the reigning two-time NBA MVP until Golden State either bounces from the playoffs or claims the Larry O’Brien Trophy. While many people will jump to the easy view that Curry is simply copying from James in this instance, LeBron isn’t the first to abandon “distractions” for the playoff run and he certainly won’t be the last.
Obviously, it will be very intriguing to see if this ends up “working” for Curry, especially with regard to a potential NBA Finals rubber match against the Cavs. Until then, we can all argue about whether Steph Curry wants to emulate LeBron James and that will help to pass the time.
