It seems like containing Steph Curry is the closest thing to impossible in the NBA. Curry is the greatest shooter of all time. But it is also his incredible skill and handle of the basketball that allows him to create space and evade defenders to get his shot off. Curry routinely makes the impossible look routine.
Even coming into the NBA, Curry had a reputation for himself. While playing at Davidson College, Curry became one of the most famous college players at the time, especially after Davidson’s incredible run in March Madness in 2008, where they almost made the Final Four despite being the 10th seed.
Curry became the face of collegiate basketball and had a massive amount of attention on him. The following season, Davidson traveled to Maryland to take on Loyola Maryland. What was initially going to be a low-stakes affair ended a famous game that sparked widespread debates over Loyola’s defense.
In footage that was recently uncovered by YouTuber Hoopsvision68, Loyola players were doubling on Steph Curry for the entire game, even before he crossed half court. This was done in an attempt to contain Steph and keep him quiet, as they had seen just how dangerous he was (5:09 mark).
To be fair, Loyola’s strategy worked. Curry had 0 points and only attempted 3 shots the entire night.
But while focusing entirely on Curry, Loyola neglected all the other Davidson players on the court. Curry thought that this would happen when he first saw the double teams and told his teammates to play 4 vs. 3 without him (2nd slide below).
“I’ll just stand in the corner with two guys on me, and you guys play 4 on 3.”
Loyola ended up losing to Davidson by 30 points. Curry had 0 points per game, but the amount of defensive attention he drew allowed the rest of his team to take advantage of their opponents’ man disadvantage.
Loyola’s strategy ended up becoming widely debated, as they were able to stop Curry, but it had no impact on the game, as they still lost by a massive margin. If the objective was to just stop Curry, regardless of how the game ended, then they did their job. But if their ambition was not to win, then why were they even playing?
