Warriors stars have high praise for Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce ahead of ‘The Match’
Earlier this week, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce fired opening salvos at a pair of Golden State Warriors stars they’ll face in Thursday’s “The Match.”
Kelce and Mahomes will take part in the 12-hole golf event against Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and airs on TNT.
On Wednesday, Curry shot back at Mahomes with this Instagram video.
During a conference call Tuesday, I asked Curry about the trash-talking that takes place during “The Match.”
“That’s what this whole format is about,” Curry said. “Like you’re playing 12 holes, got all the different perspectives from the commentating booth and all the TNT guys, Draymond (Green), our kind of conversations trash-talking back and forth so probably the golf might be secondary to the trash-talking, to the actual conversations that’s going on, which I think should be fun for everybody.
“But ... once you get into the the actual match, you hit some good shots, you have your moment, you hit the bad ones you kind of had to you know eat it a little bit, so it’s gonna be fun all the back and forth that goes on. Hopefully we’ll be able to lock in like Klay said on just being able to hit some good shots and win and still enjoy the atmosphere out there.”
Curry previously took part in “The Match” in 2020 with Charles Barkley, Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson.
Praise for Chiefs stars
Sure, there will be some smack-talk, but Curry and Thompson have a lot of respect for Mahomes and Kelce.
“They have great chemistry,” Curry said in the conference call. “They’re great leaders in the sense of how they talk about themselves, their team, their vision for winning at the highest level. There’s an entertainment value watching them on the field as well, just because the creativity of what they do.
“Following the journey from when they first started, together in each other of their respective careers, to now knowing that journey is not always easy, and there’s some disappointments and failures along the way. But then you figure out success and then having to try to get back to that level after your first one (title). So just an appreciation for greatness in the sense of knowing what it takes to do that. I don’t know anything about what it takes in football, but just in terms of that competitive spirit that you can see. It’s clear and it’s authentic.”
Thompson sees a comparison to what he and Curry do on the court and what the Chiefs stars accomplish on a football field.
“I respect Pat and Travis’ synergy together,” Thompson said. “I mean, when you think Kansas City Chiefs you think those two, you think one of the best duos in sports, and above all, they’re just fun to watch. I mean, both players pretty much revolutionized their positions. You know, Pat being able to throw on the move and Travis being able to beat corners, linebackers, pretty much unguardable.
“So it’s kind of like I relate it to Steph and I being able to win at the highest level with a three-point shot being the biggest weapon in our arsenal. And it’s kind of like what their offense kind of resembles too, is just something we’ve never seen before. So huge respect on our part for what they do.”
