Shaun Livingston on Michael Carter-Williams taunting Warriors after ending win streak in 2015: “You’re not even the guy on that team” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Golden State Warriors began the 2015-16 season with a mission. Clicking on all cylinders after winning the Larry O’Brien trophy the previous season, the Dubs won 24 straight games to establish the record for most consecutive wins to start a season.
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However, getting to win no. 25 proved to be tough, especially since they had just won a grueling 124-119 in double overtime over the Boston Celtics the night before. To make matters worse, the trip from Boston to Milwaukee took forever; it was already four in the morning by the time they arrived.
Despite facing an uphill battle, the Warriors gave their all but fell short to the Bucks, 108-95, ending their historic win streak at 24. The loss was unquestionably painful, but some Bucks players, most notably Michael Carter-Williams, only intensified the sting with antics late in the game. The Warriors took notice, particularly with a rematch looming just four days later at the Oracle Arena.
A championship atmosphere
In 2015, the Bucks were far from being the dominant Eastern Conference powerhouse that they are today. Giannis Antetokounmpo was still coming into his own and still wasn’t the two-time MVP that he is now. But even then, Milwaukee was a scrappy and determined team, never backing down from a challenge. That’s what made their win against the Warriors all the more impressive.
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“To be honest, we didn’t play that well, but we fought like hell that night, in terms of effort,” Steph Curry recalled.
Despite Steph’s 28 points and Draymond Green’s 24, the Warriors were always a step or two behind the Bucks, which pulled away late in the fourth, much to the delight of the home crowd, some of whom were wearing shirts that bore a “24-1” graphic.
“That was the first time, in terms of a team beating us, where the fans acted like it was a championship game. It’s happened since. But that was the first,” Steph added.
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While the loss stung, the Warriors knew it was bound to happen; they weren’t going to win every game in an 82-game regular season. However, what they remembered most was how MCW acted late in the game.
With the Bucks up by 13 with under a minute remaining, MCW stole the ball and punctuated the impressive victory with a thunderous slam, staring menacingly at the Warriors’ bench as he ran back on defense. This struck a chord with the Dubs, especially Shaun Livingston.
“I remember Michael Carter-Williams looking over at the bench, taunting, doing that type of stuff,” Shaun shared. “I’m like, ‘Bro, come on, man, you’re not even the guy on that team, first of all.'”
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Payback
The Warriors were going to face the Bucks six days later, so MCW’s shenanigans were fresh on their minds. Revenge was definitely on the menu as they looked to even the score.
“That made us a little bitter,” Livingston stressed. “It was, ‘Hey, wait till y’all come to Oakland.'”
Andre Iguodala, the wily veteran Golden State head coach Steve Kerr described as the “adult in the room,” also noted MCW’s extracurriculars.
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“He was always chirping, man,” Dre stated. “He was talking too much.”
“Yeah, Michael Carter-Williams, he hit a shot in like garbage time, under a minute left, looked at our bench as he was backpedalling, started getting the crowd involved,” Steph chimed in. “Nobody was too sensitive. It was more entertaining for us.”
The Warriors eventually got their revenge, defeating the Bucks, 121-112, thanks to a fierce fourth-quarter run that helped them rally from an 11-point deficit. Kerr doesn’t recall many details from the victory except for the shirts the Warriors’ fans wore.
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“A bunch of our fans had T-shirts on that had 16-18 (it was 10-18) or whatever Milwaukee’s record was after we beat them that night. That was awesome,” he disclosed.
The NBA’s regular season is a long grind, and the elite players and teams thrive on finding motivation wherever they can. For the Warriors, it came from a young guard during a seemingly insignificant game in early December.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared.