The coaches said it all summer, and so did the players.
Practically everyone on the Warriors payroll talked of how losing the NBA Finals in agonizing fashion will hurt and echo and also light a fire for next season.
Well, next season is five weeks away.
A full three months after becoming the first NBA team to blow a 3-1 lead in The Finals and losing to the Cavaliers, point guard and MVP Stephen Curry is on the same wavelength.
"I still haven't gotten over Game 7," Curry told USA Today on Tuesday. "That's something that will stay with me pretty much forever, for good and bad reasons. Obviously you hated the feeling, but it's also a motivator to come back even stronger and try not to have that feeling again.
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Golden State Warriors
"I'm at that point now where I can try to fuel any kind of terrible nightmares or thoughts about Game 7 into motivation for how I'm going to prepare myself for this year."
A highly motivated Steph Curry has proved to be the best possible Steph Curry. He and his teammates were motivated last summer by whispers and slights, attempts to delegitimize their 2015 championship. Their response: an NBA-record 74 wins.
But the epilogue was utterly sour, going down like uncut vinegar. Which is why Curry has plenty of company. The Warriors are anxious to prove they absorbed a painful lesson and that they will be better for it.
"Through adversity is where you learn," Andre Iguodala told CSNBayArea.com. "You learn how to manage your emotions better in certain situations. You learn how to execute better in situations. Experience is the best thing for anybody, in any profession.
"Losing hurt. But it definitely should help us when we get back at it."
The Warriors are five days away from getting back at it. Curry's multitude of aches and pains have healed without surgery. Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson won gold medals with the U.S. Olympic team. There will be new faces of the rookie and veteran variety.
But so much of what the Warriors do and who they are begins with Curry. He has both bitter and fond memories of last season.
"We were deemed the latest and greatest, the untouchable team," Curry told USA Today. "We didn't have that mentality. We had that confidence that we could win every game, but it wasn't like we could be invincible and just show up and win.
"(Losing) just reminds you that to win a championship, it takes a lot of good bounces. It takes just a lot of mental and physical focus and endurance. But it's not guaranteed, so that was all it reminded me (of). It made me appreciate the year before, and hopefully made me appreciate the next journey."
