There were plenty of incredible shots this year. Buzzer beaters galore, and an oddly high amount of full court heaves. There were circus shots and even some weird ones, all managing to get to the bottom of the net. However, there was one shot far better than the rest. Not only was it a last second buzzer beater from nearly half court. Not only was it in OT against a strong OKC team. Not only was this shot well defended. What was really special about it was that this 40 footer by Curry for the win was a CHOSEN JUMPSHOT. He had time left on the clock to at least get a few feet closer to the basket. This deep, deep launch was a calculated, assessed risk, but he was already 11 threes deep that game. He knew he was as likely to hit this JUMPSHOT as well as any 3.
Yet this three wasn’t a risk. It was an inevitability. Almost all threes at the buzzer even past half court are simply heaves. Prayers. Shots that go down only in miracle situations. Curry is a miracle worker. He made this bomb as simple as any three he’s ever taken. You could see it in his form. He recognized Andre Roberson was giving him some room (who can blame Roberson? He’s a good defender and gave Curry room to shoot from FORTY FEET!). After deciding he had a enough room for the jumper, he pulled the trigger. I may have been sitting on the edge of my seat, white knuckled, but as the ball sailed through the air, only giving fans a second or two to tense themselves, I knew. I knew the game had been won. I knew that Curry had declared himself king of the NBA. I knew that we were witnessing something unprecedented. I knew that we were watching a shooter become a legend. I knew we were watching, not to appreciate his game, but to see what could possibly come next. We were watching because we ask ourselves, “Does it get any better than this?” We were watching to see exactly what legends are capable of in their prime. And in terms of Steph Curry, you really can only guess.
Curry didn’t just win the game. He won the league. In just seconds, he had ascended the planet into NBA lore and mythology. Something to tell the kids you got to witness. You’ll get to tell them how Curry walked himself back into the middle of the court all by his lonesome and danced on the hopes and dreams of every naysayer watching. He embraced this moment. He had watched himself go from a headline to a legend. This shot will go down as Curry’s transcendence into the history books. Starting on February 27th against OKC until the day Curry retires, the nation will be simple bystanders of the wrath of Stephen Curry.
