Because of his outstanding impact as an off-ball player, Curry’s gravity gets a lot of deserved attention. Getting trapped at half-court out of a high-screen action gives his teammates the opportunity to find the open man in a 3-on-4 situation. Of course, it’s no secret that he’s also a great on-ball player, but what not a lot of people realize is just how good of one he is.

In fact, he’s one of the best 1-on-1 players in the league.

When people talk about guys who can flatten it out and go get you a bucket in crunch time, Curry’s name is rarely mentioned. This nomination tends to be reserved for guys who have more of a focus on the mid-range game, the kind of clutch jumpers that defined greats like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. The numbers and the footage both support, however, that Steph belongs in that conversation.

This season, among players who average more than 1.5 isolation plays per game, Curry ranks 1st in points per possession at 1.32, eclipsing the league average for whole teams (1.09) but a margin that’s hard to come by. He also ranks 1st in effective field goal percentage at 69%, which is remarkably absurd, and he maintains the highest percentile of that group, being the only player in the league with any semblance of volume to place higher than the 95th percentile. He clocks in at the 97th.

Using those same metrics, in his two other highest-scoring seasons (last year and the 2016 season), Steph also ranked pretty well. In the 20-21 season, he outdid one of the most well-proclaimed iso guys in Kyrie Irving, although it was pretty close (Steph in the 91st, Kyrie in the 90th percentile) and was a top-four player in those situations. In 2016, he was only outdone by Heat legend Chris Bosh, who in his own right was pretty impressive. That season, Bosh was in the 95th percentile, and Steph in the 94th.

If we just look at the footage and exclude the numbers, as so many hoop-heads say we should when looking at guys who can go get you one when you need it, this still rings pretty true. His unique ability to read and use his defender’s momentum is something special that few other guys can do. Let’s look over the footage for a couple of his plays from this season and last:

On this play, Steph uses a change-of-pace dribble between the legs to get Paul George moving. As soon as George tries to cut him off, he flips the handle behind his back and takes a side-step at an angle that is remarkably harder for right-handed players to get on balance from, and drills the triple to close out the Clippers.

Here, Steph and Draymond go into a PnR against Memphis’ two best defenders, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks. Because JJJ can’t get over the screen in time, Steph is able to iso Brooks, hits him with a float dribble straight into a pull-up and swishes it… from 30 feet out. These kinds of shots are made possible #1 from his range, and #2 because of his ability to get by anyone which Brooks is forced to respect. He backs up, and Steph gets open, finishing through the contact.

In this last clip, Steph gets Suns wing Cam Johnson switched onto him and isos it out. Johnson tries to get into his body and Steph uses it to his advantage, attacking Johnson’s top foot with a quick first step and forcing him to turn his hips for a dribble or two before hitting his patented stepback and getting an open shot, which he makes despite some on-hand contact from Johnson.

Between the stats and the eye test, it’s pretty obvious to see that even when he’s got some good defenders on him, it just doesn’t matter that much. Steph is currently the league’s most efficient iso player, and he’s doing this all in a system that encourages off-ball movement and plenty of screen-actions, as is the way with Steve Kerr’s offense since he was named head coach.

The Warriors don’t need Steph to be like James Harden because that’s not how you win basketball games. Regardless, however, it would be foolish to not continue using him in iso as they have. If he flattens it out, it’s usually either a bucket or a double-team. He can get by anyone, shoot over anyone, he’s the best space creator in the league and his shot forces defenders to play so far out that he can just put a couple moves on them and force the defense to collapse.

Steph Curry’s name should be in the same category as a guy like Kevin Durant, because while KD has mastered the midrange, Steph doesn’t have a need for it. Among #1 scoring options, he probably takes the least amount of midrange shots. He’s hyper-efficient, and he can flat out get buckets in every way possible. It’s time we put some respect on that.

(Photo credit: NBA Canada)