There’s no argument that Stephen Curry is one of the greatest players in modern NBA history. But while his greatness cannot be denied, the exact nature of his impact is still debated between his supporters and critics. Speaking in a segment on the ‘Double Coverage’ podcast, former Lakers big man Lamar Odom gave his own perspective, explaining why Steph’s career is unmatched in NBA history.
“The Steph Curry curse. His greatness hurt the game, but it’s not his fault,” said Odom. “I know if I get a kid right now, 10 years old, 8 years old, 9 years old, from wherever, and I give him a basketball when we go to the park, he’s probably going to shoot the ball from the furthest part of the court. And that’s due to Steph Curry’s greatness. He was amazing, he is amazing still. I hope kids are just not learning from him how to shoot. I hope they watch how he moves without the basketball. I hope they learn that part of the game.”
The three-pointer was more of a gimmick than the main focus of the offense. Since Curry’s ascension, however, perimeter shooting has become one of the most important aspects of the game (especially for younger athletes). For the NBA, it’s made it to the point where every team’s offense revolves around the three-ball, trivializing the game and limiting the differentiating factors we see between each team.
“The NBA is kind of hard for me to watch,” Odom added. “Like, the random game. Everybody’s playing the same way. I’m tired of seeing dribble hand-off to a pick-and-roll format. But that’s the way the game is.”
Odom doesn’t hold his impact against him. After all, how can you blame someone for doing what they do best? The problem is, as a two-time champion and four-time MVP, Curry broke the very system. He was so good and effective at what he did that teams and players began to emulate his play style on the court, seeing more value in threes as opposed to playing from the inside out.
It took years to see the full transformation of the game, and it led to what we saw last season, when the Celtics broke the single-season three-pointer record with 1,457 threes. It’s hard to say where things will go from here, but there’s no going back now. Steph’s greatness and historic shooting didn’t just get him two MVPs and four titles. It changed the entire sport for everyone and gave teams a blueprint for maximizing their offense.
