From day one, Stephen Curry has been overlooked.
Let’s hit that time machine and travel back to high-school Curry. During his time at Charlotte Christian School, Steph failed to obtain interest from major colleges. In fact according to 24/7 Sports, he finished his high-school career as the No. 245 player overall and No. 51 point guard in the country.
If there were bigger universities interested in the undersized point guard, it was too late. College recruiting wasn’t the circus it is now back in the day. Curry had already committed and signed with Davidson University.
Immediately, Curry made all of those colleges regret their decision to pass on his talents. Using the eye test as a measuring tool is one thing, but numbers never lie and were astonishing to say the least, finishing his freshman year at Davidson averaging 21.5 points per game.
By his sophomore year, Curry had already embellished his name as one of the best players in the country. For the first time since 1969, Davidson would not only reach the Sweet Sixteen, but the Elite Eight. Davidson lost 59-57 to eventual NCAA Champion Kansas in 2008. Curry improved his scoring average to 25.9 points per contest while swiping 2.0 steals a game as well.
Moreover, Curry would play one more year for the Wildcats and somehow got even better. He raised his scoring to 28.6 points/game, averaged 2.5 steals/game and showcased his decision-making abilities, averaging over five assists per night. If Steph put together this exact same resume on let’s say Duke, North Carolina or Kansas, he would easily be a top-three draft pick.
Instead, rather than focusing on the upside potential, will to win and pure shooting ability, experts decided to focus more on the negatives (at that time) in Curry’s game.
“He’s too small.” “He played too many small schools.” You know the rest.
Consequently, Curry was drafted seventh overall by the Golden State Warriors. In hindsight, there’s a lot of teams (basically all of them) kicking themselves.
When Steph Curry was drafted in 2009, he thought he was going to New York and didn’t really have Golden State on the radar. At all 🤨
It’s safe to say that things are working out well 😎 pic.twitter.com/j23iwyt5Z8
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 2, 2022
And.. the rest is history. Fast-forward to 34-year-old Curry, and as many of us know has changed the game forever. He is already the three-point king with at the very least a few years left to play at an elite level. Then you add in eight All-Star appearances, two regular-season MVPs and three NBA Championships.
His greatness has been solidified for years, but something is still missing. He still doesn’t get the proper respect he deserves when it comes to all-time greats. This video just makes my skin crawl.
Who is she? They say anything to discredit Steph. pic.twitter.com/y1Duh4lVdj
— dubs. (@StephenCurey) May 30, 2022
This is a narrative created out of thin air. Yes, Andre Iguodala won the Finals MVP in 2015 when the Warriors defeated a LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers team. Somehow the narrative came up that Iggy did a solid job “slowing down LeBron.”
It’s more ridiculous to look back at that assessment today more than ever.
Here are LeBron, Iggy and Steph’s 2015 Finals splits compiled via Statmuse some stats from the 2015 NBA Finals.
- LeBron: 35.8 PPG/13.3 RPG/8.8 APG
- Iguodala: 16.3 PPG/5.8 RPG/4.0 APG
- Curry: 26 PPG/6.3 RPG/5.2 APG
Typically, expectations are higher for Curry, so for him this was a disappointing stat line for the Finals. But if we’re measuring pure stats, Iguodala didn’t deserve Finals MVP.
Let’s face it, even losing the series in six games, James deserved it over him. If we’re using the eye test, it wasn’t Iggy because, simply put, James dominated this series. The MVP should have been Steph’s from the get go, but the naysayers and doubters in the media injudiciously found a way to overlook him yet again.
The debate about Curry’s greatness reminds me a lot of Tom Brady. Media tries to credit Bill Belichick’s system in New England for Brady’s success. It seems like Curry is down the same path. There’s no debate– head coach Steve Kerr has a great system that brings the best out of the Warriors, but we can’t sit here and honestly say Curry isn’t the momentous part of the franchise’s success. He has indeed been the best player on this team since he stepped foot on the court.
That’s why the Warriors traded Monta Ellis, why Kevin Durant has a Finals ring, and why the Warriors are playing for a fourth NBA title in the past seven years.
Assuming you watched Game 1 Thursday night, the Warriors essentially had full control through the first three quarters. Golden State went into the fourth quarter with a 92-80 lead. Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter of Game 1 and would finish with 34, but the Warriors surrendered 40 in the 4th to a Celtics team that couldn’t miss and found a way to frustrate Golden State defensively to secure the victory.
As we all know the series isn’t over, but not a story-book start for Curry and the Warriors.
After the conclusion of Game 1, here we are with the blame Curry tidbits once again.
Can somebody please explain what happened to Steph Curry after he gave Golden State a 3-point lead with a little runner with 6:05 left??? HE DIDN'T SCORE ANOTHER POINT. Shades of the 2016 and 2019 Finals. Shrank. Disappeared. Huh???
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 3, 2022
As if Curry was the one who allowed Boston to score 40 points in the 4th quarter. Sometimes it’s okay to just give credit to the other team instead of point fingers and blame individuals for a team loss. But that’s whether here nor there.
In contrast, if the Warriors win the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Curry will win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. He will then have four championships as well. When it comes to discussing the greatest players ever like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, etc., there will be no excuse not to include Curry’s name in the conversation.
If they lose the Finals, it will only give more fuel to the fire that Curry can’t perform like many of the greatest players before him “could”.
