Curry Brings His Unmatched Entertainment to Atlanta
Nick Wright is a sports talk personality whose more-than-occassional partiality towards LeBron James at the expense of the Warriors has caused Golden State fans to roll their eyes over the years.
But something Wright once said still rings true, especially after All-Star Sunday in Atlanta – for Warriors’ fans, watching Wardell Stephen Curry go nuclear and have a childlike joy on the court is akin to a religious experience.
Curry began Sunday by winning the 3-point contest in a uniquely Curry way. In his first round, the two-time MVP got so hot that by his last rack of basketballs, the net was moving so little that it was reminiscent of the quiet midrange of guard Shaun Livingston in his Golden State heyday.
After an impressive final round performance by late addition to the contest Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley, Curry started slowly but ended in rhythm, hitting the decisive final moneyball to give him a one-point edge over Conley. The seven-time All-Star also fittingly hit both of his attempts from the “Mountain Dew Zone” in the final round, which was located six feet further from the arc and worth three points per successful attempt.
With an emphatic punch of the air and a dedication of the trophy for the contest to 2016 winner Klay Thompson, it was off to the All-Star Game itself, where Curry provided even more theatrics.
Curry hit multiple shots from where Bob Fitzgerald would call the Atlanta suburbs, did a full 180 while a corner-three still flew through the air and even threw down a dunk off of a sideline out of bounds alley-oop from guard Chris Paul.
His Team LeBron would take the victory over Team Durant on a shot by guard Damian Lillard from nearly half court, reminiscent of Curry in the Warrior guard’s first game on the same team as James.
Five years removed from the only unanimous MVP season in NBA history and one of the greatest individual campaigns of all time, Curry is still operating at an elite level, with players like Lillard following suit in terms of stretching out the game even further.
While short of 50-40-90 in the field goal percentage department, Curry’s 29.7 points, 6.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game on 41.1% shooting from distance has provided an electricity to a team seemingly still searching for a consistent identity.
Curry recorded a career-high 62 points on Jan. 3, making ridiculous shots while taking down the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry is still under contract through 2022 and all signs point to his staying with Golden State for the rest of his career, but he is turning 33 years old in less than a week, and Father Time remains the only opponent the 2016-17 Warriors could not defeat.
What’s clear, however, is that from sitting on his dad’s lap at All-Star weekends of the past to enhancing them with his pyrotechnics as a player, Curry can still entertain at a high level, fans or no fans.
And with the possibility of the religious experience of seeing the guard get incandescently hot in front of spectators at the Chase Center approaching, it’s as good a time as any to savor Curry while fans still can and for as long as possible.