Stephen Curry Is More Than the “Greatest Shooter Ever"
For years, Stephen Curry has been lauded as the greatest shooter to ever play the game of basketball by broadcasters, NBA legends, coaches, commentators and fans alike. While this seems like a huge compliment, it’s starting to feel like an insult.
Sure, Steph has already made 2,696 three-pointers in 742 games, which is a pace that is obliterating his big-named predecessors (it took the likes of Ray Allen and Reggie Miller at least 1,200 games to pass the 2,500 three-point mark), but saying that Steph Curry is the greatest shooter ever is like stating the obvious. It’s like saying that the sky is blue or that grass is green. Steph being the greatest shooter ever is a fact, and it’s not an earth-shattering statement like many legends and analysts make it out to be. His shooting greatness has gotten to the point where if you don’t think that he is the greatest and most prolific shooter to ever play, then you simply don’t know basketball.
The obviousness and laziness of labeling Curry as only the greatest “shooter” ever is troubling because there’s just so much more to his game and career that gets left out. In fact, here’s a list that just scratches the surface of what has been left out of Curry’s narrative:
Analysts have left out the fact that he’s been one of the league’s best finishers at the rim over the past 8 seasons, as he has consistently ranked among the top 10 in points per drive.
They’ve left out the fact that he’s had a top-10 PER ranking in 5 of the last 8 seasons.
They’ve left out the fact that a whopping 35.4% of his made three-pointers in his career have been unassisted (which is at least 20% more than both Ray Allen and Reggie Miller), meaning that not only does he knock down threes at a high efficiency, but he creates his looks as well.
Analysts constantly harp on the fact that Steph has no Finals MVPs, but leave out the fact that he’s averaged an efficient 27, 6 and 6 through 5 Finals appearances.
They’ve left out the fact that, this year, Golden State has had the worst offense in the past 5 seasons when Steph is not on the court.
They’ve left out the fact that NBA viewership increased by 34% this year, a year after Steph returned from injury.
They harp on the fact that Golden State blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 finals, but leave out the fact that Steph Curry led the Warriors to the greatest regular-season record of all time, going 73-9 WITHOUT Kevin Durant.
They leave out the fact that Golden State, before blowing the 3-1 lead in the 2016 finals, overcame a 3-1 lead of their own against the Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder. A series in which Curry averaged 28 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals a game.
They leave out the fact that Steph Curry has beaten Lebron James, Michael Jordan’s successor, three times in the Finals.
They leave out the fact that Steph Curry is the only unanimous MVP in NBA history.
Now, after having listed all that, I’m not suggesting that everyone has forgotten about the historically-great things Curry has accomplished over his career. I am saying, however, that Curry deserves more free-flowing respect among his peers and current analysts. Steph shouldn’t have to suffer through injury and “carry” an undermanned team to the playoffs to garner the respect he deserves, which is what the media and the Twitter-world has wanted this year. Do they not realize that that is precisely what he did year in and year out before his greatness was so undeniable that Kevin Durant couldn’t help himself from “breaking the league” to join forces with Curry?
If you ask me, Stephen Curry’s career is like the sun—we’re all used to its glory, and if and when we do lose it, it will be detrimental to the game of basketball. This is something that many don’t realize at the moment, but as his career continues, the wins pile up and the records keep being broken, the media, cynical legends and analysts will begin to accept the fact that Steph Curry is more than the greatest shooter ever. He always has been.