Stephen Curry is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, but one can’t deny he greatly benefited from Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016. Following the Warriors’ loss to the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Play-In Tournament, Curry’s resume when Durant wasn’t his teammate, doesn’t look like that of someone who is viewed as a top 10 player of all time.
2009-10 NBA Season: Missed the playoffs
2010-11 NBA Season: Missed the playoffs
2011-12 NBA Season: Missed the playoffs
2012-13 NBA Season: Warriors lost in the Conference Semifinals (2-4 against Spurs)
2013-14 NBA Season: Warriors lost in the First Round (3-4 against Clippers)
2014-15 NBA Season: Warriors won the NBA title
2015-16 NBA Season: Warriors lost in the NBA Finals (3-4 against Cavaliers)
2019-20 NBA Season: Missed the playoffs
2020-21 NBA Season: Missed the playoffs
2021-22 NBA Season: Warriors won the NBA title
2022-23 NBA Season: Warriors lost in the Conference Semifinals (2-4 against Lakers)
2023-24 NBA Season: Missed the playoffs
Winning two titles is very impressive, of course, but Curry’s critics would also point to him benefiting from injuries in both those title runs. In 2015, Kevin Love missed the NBA Finals entirely for the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Kyrie Irving only played one game in that series.
Then, in 2022, the Warriors faced a Denver Nuggets side in the first round that was without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Just a year later, when the two of them were healthy, the Nuggets went on to win the championship.
You can point to such things for many championships so I won’t knock Curry for that. Also, he was injured for much of the 2011-12 and 2019-20 seasons, so blaming him for the Warriors missing the playoffs in those campaigns would be unfair.
Even when you consider all of that, though, I think it is fair to say Curry would not have been viewed as a top 10 player of all time if this was his resume. It’s good with two championships, but not top 10 all-time good.
Some might argue Curry could have won without Durant in those three seasons when they were teammates, but I doubt it. I don’t see LeBron James and the Cavaliers losing to the Warriors in the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals if Durant wasn’t there.
With two championships, a Finals MVP, and two MVPs to his name, Curry might have been looked at as maybe a top 20 player of all time. He still would have had a great legacy as the greatest shooter ever and as someone who changed the game, but wouldn’t have been held in the same regard he is today.
On the flip side, the same, of course, can be said about Durant and it is said a lot too. While Curry at least has won championships when they weren’t teammates, Durant still hasn’t managed to do it. Time is slowly but surely running out for the 35-year-old as well.
At this point, it is hard to see Durant winning another championship. He has formed a superteam on the Phoenix Suns with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but they don’t exactly look like serious title contenders. If Durant does indeed fail to win a title outside of Golden State, you better believe it will forever be a huge knock against him.
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