Stephen Curry has been ejected three times in his NBA career, and each time the incident was mouthpiece related.
The latest came Wednesday night. With 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tight game with the Grizzlies, Klay Thompson missed a floater, Donte DiVincenzo tipped the rebound out and kept it alive, Thomspon grabbed it and passed it to Poole out top to reset the offense, with Curry calling for the ball a few feet away from him. Instead, Poole jacked up a three like the shot clock was going to expire. The shot missed and Curry, out of frustration, threw his mouthpiece in the stands. That got him an automatic ejection.
Steph was just ejected from the game after throwing his mouth piece ... pic.twitter.com/b1rl7cEMXq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“He knows he can’t make that mistake,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said postgame, via the Associated Press.
Poole had fun with Curry postgame, throwing his mouthpiece in the hallway.
JP threw his mouthpiece when he saw Steph 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZSInkuY0P7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“I did see that,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s like one of those ‘too soon’ jokes. I was still hot. I was still hot.”
After the game, some fans tried to argue that, by NBA rules, Curry did not have to be ejected. The NBA rulebook specifically states that any “player who throws or kicks the ball directly into the stands with force” will be ejected, as will a player who throws “the ball or any object at an official.” The argument goes Curry didn’t throw his mouthpiece at an official. However, the rulebook also says a technical can be “assessed to any player on the court or anyone seated on the bench for conduct which, in the opinion of an official, is detrimental to the game,” and the league has said consistently in recent years that throwing a mouthpiece or anything into the crowd is detrimental to the game, penalized with a technical and automatic ejection. Maybe there should be more leeway with the enforcement of said rule, but Curry knew better.
The Warriors went on to get the win over their rivals from Memphis, the old guard held the new guard off again. But the next time these teams meet, the Warriors will need Curry on the court until the end of the game.
