Finals MVP Curry far more than a great shooter

Greatest shooter ever. That’s what everyone has been calling Golden State’s Stephen Curry for years now, for obvious reasons. Nobody in the history of basketball has made more 3-pointers or made the art of throwing a ball through a hoop look easier than Curry does.

He has earned that distinction.

And it still seems like he has been undersold. Thing is, Wardell Stephen Curry II is not just the greatest shooter ever. It’s time to finally call him what he is — one of the greatest players ever. Go ahead, put him in the Greatest Of All Time conversation. It’s a debate that will never end anyway, and he has earned the right to be there for one simple reason.

He has changed the game. The 3-pointer is vital now, and Curry made it that way.

“I think he’s pretty much established what he can do,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said after the NBA Finals ended Thursday night with Golden State as champions and Curry as Finals MVP. “But to see him earn that, he’s one of the greatest ever and we all followed in his lead and gosh, that was awesome. What a series.”

Yes, what a series Curry had.

And what a player, too.

Curry’s spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame was locked up long before Thursday night, when he scored 34 points and the Warriors won their fourth title in eight years by topping the Boston Celtics 103-90. What this one meant, though, was clear. Curry was weeping tears of joy before the game ended, unable to hold back the emotions anymore.

“I’m happy for everybody, but I’m thrilled for Steph,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said as the champagne was spraying about in the champions’ locker room in Boston after Golden State’s title-clinching win. “To me, this is his crowning achievement in what’s already been an incredible career.”