Warriors head coach Steve Kerr originally confirmed the scrapped plans for the Curry speech ahead of Tuesday's game. Kerr revealed that Curry and Thompson concluded, following their conversation, that "no words [were] necessary" and that there was "going to be enough emotion already" in the arena.

Curry took over in the final minutes, leading the Warriors past Thompson’s Mavericks on a night of nostalgia for Golden State.

Tuesday started as a ballad to their returning dynasty mate. It ended with a reminder that this is still very much Stephen Curry's ship.