Stephen Curry is often unanimously called the greatest 3PT shooter that the NBA has ever seen. Stephen Curry has multiple championships and is widely recognized as the person who made the Golden State Warriors relevant in the modern era. He has faced off against stars like Kevin Durant and LeBron James in the playoffs and has managed to prevail. Stephen Curry has become one of the most iconic players of our time, and we are lucky to see him play.
One of Stephen Curry’s most famous achievements was his unanimous MVP season in 2015-16. During the regular season, Stephen Curry was clearly the best player in the world that season. Averaging 30.1 PPG on 45.4% from 3PT range is an insane achievement: he is the only player to have lead the league in scoring while averaging above 50/40/90 for his shooting splits. That season and achievement is a reminder of the fact that Stephen Curry not only challenged what a small guard could do on the court but also traditional notions of how the game is played. He remains the only unanimous MVP in NBA history.
Steve Kerr on Steph Curry: "This is the best I've ever seen him from a confidence and a strength standpoint. And that's saying something."
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) February 10, 2021
This season, Stephen Curry is averaging near-identical numbers to the season that he won his unanimous MVP. Last season, it seems as if many people forgot about the Warriors and Stephen Curry. Stephen Curry got injured near the start of the year during the 2019-20 season and had to watch the Golden State Warriors become a lottery team without him. This season, it seems as if Stephen Curry is taking things into his own hands, and reminding the world of who he is.
At his peak, Stephen Curry is an absolute cheat code: there is no stopping him unless he’s on fire. Without Klay Thompson in the lineup this season, we see teams throw all kinds of strange defenses all designed to prevent his impact. It doesn’t matter in the end: there is no way you can fully stop Curry from imposing his will on the game. This season has made us all remember about the long-range threes, the smooth handle, and the ability to embarrass defenders that Stephen Curry possesses. Stephen Curry is back everybody, and it is time we reminded ourselves that he’s one of the best players in the world.
Games with 10+ threes in NBA history:
17 — Steph Curry (incl. tonight)
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5 — Klay Thompson pic.twitter.com/bn3j2b4nm4
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 12, 2021
Stephen Curry is a player whose greatness can’t quite be replicated by anyone else. We see other guards bomb from long range: Damian Lillard and Trae Young are great examples of players who have similar playstyles. But no-one can quite replicate his ability to shoot the ball and move off the ball: that is something truly unique to him. Stephen Curry’s influence on the offense stretches even to possessions where he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, as his ability to keep moving keeps defenders on him to prevent open threes. As you can see from StatMuse’s Tweet, Stephen Curry is the only player who has made 10+ 3PT shots in a game 17 times, and the next person up is Klay Thompson with 5 times. It just shows how special Stephen Curry can be when he’s on fire.
Stephen Curry’s team is 8th in the Western Conference, which means that he could be out of the running for an MVP award unless they improve, and reach a high seed in the Western Conference. However, the fact remains: this is the best version of Stephen Curry that we’ve seen since the unanimous MVP season, and we are lucky to witness it.
Credit for Idea: Hoop Central
