GREATEST WARRIOR
STEPH CURRY IS SIMPLY DOMINATING
Curry after passing Wilt Chamberlain for most points in Warriors franchise history
As of April 20, 2021, Stephen Curry could miss 500 consecutive 3-pointers and still have a higher 3-point shooting percentage than Ray Allen.
Let that sink in.
Allen retired in 2014 universally considered the game’s best shooter of all time. Back around the time we all laughed at then-Warriors coach Mark Jackson for calling Curry and Klay ompson “the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game.”
Fast forward seven years later, and the ink on these pages will barely be dry by the time Curry passes Allen on the all-time deepmakes list.
But this isn’t a story about how Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history. at’s been obvious for a while. is is about Curry, at 33 years old, putting together a scoring stretch that le even the best wordsmiths in the game speechless. And a challenge issued to NBA fans everywhere.
Get Streaky With It
First, it bears repeating that the 2020-21 Golden State Warriors are not the same squad that took the league by storm over a 5-year period last decade. e ravages of time and minutes played have turned the once mighty Warriors into a marginal playoff team in the Western Conference.
Kevin Durant le, ompson remains out with injury, Draymond Green got old legs quickly and No. 2 overall pick James Weisman was promising, but clearly not ready for primetime. As talented as Andrew Wiggins is, he’s really just an empty points machine. All that was le was Curry and his jumpshot.
And what a show it was.
On March 29 of this year, the Warriors had lost nine of their past 12 games. A shot at the postseason was slipping. en Curry went scorched Earth on the league.
First he dropped 32 points on the Bulls. en 36 on the
Heat. e Bucks got worked for 41 points. e Nuggets caught 53. Boston witnessed 47. e 76ers surrendered a friendly 49.
In all, Curry dropped 30-plus points in 11 consecutive games. e Wizards magically held him to 18 points the next game. Not since Kobe Bryant in 2012 had someone notched 30-or-more points in 10 straight contests.
“It was a great run,” Curry said aer the Washington game. “It was something that hadn’t been done before. It was going to end at some point. It was a special ride, for sure. And I never really get too hyped up on individual streaks or accolades like that. ere were some historical names that I was able to tot pass. And doing something at this age was pretty special.”
When it was over, Curry had made 78 3-pointers at a 50 percent clip, and he averaged 40 points per game to position himself to notch another scoring title.
Golden State won seven of those games. Each loss was by less than 10 points. Curry did all this with a tailbone contusion. Meaning - and pardon the language - he busted his ass busting his ass to put the team on his back.
“Peaking at the right time,” Curry said of the stretch. “Usually, the trend of our seasons, or my seasons, getting better as each game goes, so I’m glad this season’s no different.”
Curry didn’t do this just because he could. He’s always been capable. He did it because he had to in order for Golden State to have a chance. e list of players in the league capable of winning with these dudes is short.
“I don’t know what else to say,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr during the streak. “It’s the same thing aer every game - utter amazement at this guy’s skill level, heart, mind and focus. Just amazing to watch. Nobody’s ever shot the ball like this in the history of the game. And even by Steph’s own loy standards, this is above and beyond.”
Dr. Dre spelled it out for the world that he was done with the disrespect in that 1999 banger. Fellow West Coast artist Curry has to feel the same. His resume stacks up with anyone: ree-time champion, two-time MVP, scoring champ, steals champ. He turned the NBA into a 3-point centric league and rendered the traditional center all but useless.
Yet he still may be the most disrespected superstar in the game.
Whether it’s dismissive comments about his size, alleged finesse style or quips about his privileged upbringing, Curry’s detractors are loud and everywhere.
NBA Twitter is full of takes such as “Stephen Curry needed another MVP and 3 All-Stars to win a ring,” an actual tweet Kevin Durant liked while Curry was in his 30-point streak.
Never mind, of course, that Jordan had Pippen and Rodman. Magic had Kareem. Bird teamed with McHale and Parish. Kobe had Shaq. LeBron joined with D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis to acquire his jewelry.
And it was Durant who joined Curry in search of a ring. Curry had nothing in stature to gain by bringing in Durant. He had a ring and two MVP awards. Still, he welcomed Durant into the Golden State family. We’ve never heard a bad thing about Curry as a teammate or leader.
“People love playing with Steph,” Andy Liu, who hosts a Warriorscentric podcast ‘Warriors World Radio,’ told e Undefeated. “And he maximizes everyone around him. People won’t ever understand that until he retires.
“It will take time for Steph.”
It shouldn’t. It’s on us as lovers of this beautiful game to not let this unequivocally false narrative linger. We have eyes. We see how great Curry is. We can read. e stats speak for themselves. So does the film. e league is deep with talent, so his MVP days are behind him and winning another championship won’t happen without a roster shakeup. But that doesn’t matter. Curry will be an All-NBA guy for another five-plus years. His name will be littered across all scoring lists. He is not just a Hall of Famer - he’s an all-time great. And aer we got to witness his greatness for so long, we owe it to him to protect that legacy.