NBA 75 Series: #12 Stephen Curry by DJ Hamilton

 

   A man who I had at #13 originally on my NBA 75 Greatest Players of All Time list https://www.djssportsshow.com/post/nba-75-greatest-players-of-all-time , but after winning another championship to put his total to four, and is the greatest shooter to ever touch a basketball period! The one and only, Stephen Curry! Curry was born March 14th, 1988, in Akron, Ohio, to his mother, Sonya, and father, Dell, who played in the NBA for 16 years, and was one of its best shooters ever. Curry was born in the same town as one LeBron James, who would become his rival in the NBA.

Curry had it different from most NBA greats by having a father who played in the NBA, which quickly introduced him to the game of basketball with Dell taking Curry to his practices and games to be around the professionals and be able to witness how they prepare for games, their practice habits, and so forth, which would give him an advantage against others growing up as he looked to make a name for himself.

Curry would shoot with the pros in warmups while his dad was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. His family would then relocate to Toronto , Ontario in Canada, where he would finish his career as a member of the Toronto Raptors where he would play with the acrobatic, highflying Vince Carter. During their time in Canada, Curry would play for the Queensway Christian College boys basketball team, where he would lead them to an undefeated season. 

Curry would also play for Toronto 5-0 against other future NBA players and fellow Canadians Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk. He would lead the team to a 33-4 record en route to a provincial championship. After his father’s retirement from the league in 2002, the Curry’s would move back to Charlotte where Curry would attend Charlotte Christian School where he would be named All-State and All-Conference.

Curry would also lead his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. Despite Curry’s incredible basketball I.Q. and skill, he was an after-thought to major schools because of his slender frame at 6’1, 160 pounds by the time he finished high school. Luckily enough, there was a small school named Davidson, where he would go on to play for the Wildcats under head coach Bob McKillop.

McKillop gave Curry high praise at an alumni event when he stated, "Wait 'til you see Steph Curry. He is something special.” In his first game he would score 15 points but commit a plethora of turnovers with 13. He would improve however with a 32 point, four rebound, and nine rebound performance against  Michigan the next game.

Curry would finish that season eclipsing the school freshman record with a 21.5 points per game average, which led the Southern Conference that year. He also had team success by leading the WIldcats to a 25-9 record, and broke the freshman season record for threes (113) formerly set by Keydren Clark. 

He helped lead Davidson to the NCAA tournament as a No.13 seed where they played Maryland in the first round and Curry would put on a show by scoring 30 points, but the team would end up losing 82-70. At the conclusion of his freshman year at Davidson, Curry would garner a host of awards from being named the Southern Conference Player of the Year, SoCon Tournament MVP, All-Freshman team, and more.

As a sophomore in 2007-08, Curry grew to his NBA height at 6’3 and averaged a staggering 25.5 per game as a sophomore, which would lead the Southern Conference for the second consecutive season while also adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game. He helped lead the Wildcats to a 26-6 record, and an undefeated record in the conference by going 20-0. Davison would make the NCAA Tournament once again due to Curry’s dazzling play.

He would go on a magical run that spring of 2008 by matching up with No.7 Gonzaga, who were up by 11 early in the second half. But, Curry would go absolutely ballistic, scoring a staggering 30 points in the half, ending with 40 overall, to lead Davidson to their first ever win in the tournament since 1969. 

They would then move on to the second round to matchup against the No.2 Georgetown Hoyas where Curry would struggle to score a mere five points in the first half of the game with his team trailing by as many as 17 points. His second half  was another iconic performance, scoring 25 points to help lead his team to a comeback victory to a 74-70 victory over the favored Hoyas. 

Curry would go on to put on another magnificent performance against Wisconsin where he would score 33 points and a 73-56 victory to help Davidson advance to the Elite Eight. Curry would become one of four players (Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Chambers, & Glenn Robinson)  to score 30+ points in his first four career NCAA tournament games. He set the record of three-pointers in a single-season with his 159th against the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, where Curry would score 25, but the team would end up losing in a nail biter, 59-57 to the eventual champions in the Jayhawks.

He would be named to the All-America Second Team and be named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament with averages of 25.9 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

Curry could have entered the 2008 NBA Draft after a fantastic tournament run, but he decided to return for his junior year to improve his skills as a point guard. He set career-highs in points (44) against Oklahoma in a 82-78 loss, and assists (13), along with 30 points in a 97-70 win over Winthrop. The Wildcats would fail to qualify for March Madness despite a great run the year prior.

He would finish with 2,488 career points at Davidson, and averaged 28.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.5 steals. He led the NCAA in scoring, and was named a consensus first team All-American. Curry would opt out his senior season to enter his name in the 2009 NBA Draft. He would go on to be selected seventh overall by the Golden State Warriors behind guys such as Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, and Jonny Flynn.

Curry would have a solid rookie season of 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and a shade under two steals a game with 1.9 in 80 games. He would score 30+ eight times and be named to the All-Rookie First Team. Injuries would halt Curry’s ascension early in his career due to nagging ankle injuries. His breakout game to superstardom probably was that night on February 27th, 2013, at Madison Square Garden where he would put on a show against the New York Knicks by torching them for 54 points, which was his career-high at that point, and show his elite shooting repotoire on national television. 

Ultimately, Curry would become the second greatest point guard ever and the man who “ruined the game” some would say but instead he absolutely revolutionized it with his ridiculous shooting ability from all over the court. Curry is by far and away the greatest shooter in NBA history when you consider the way he does it, the volume, efficiency, and the fact that it has won him multiple MVPs and championships. The way he shoots he makes it look “Stephortless,” as the great Shaq would say. He’s a four-time NBA champion, a Finals MVP (2022), two-time league. MVP (2015, 2016) with 2016 being unanimous and the only unanimous MVP in league history! He was the engine behind that 73-9 Warriors team and helped turn the franchise into a winner alongside his Splash Brother Klay Thompson and swiss army knife Draymond Green.

    He also is a eight-time all-star, eight-time All-NBA, has led the league in scoring twice , steals leader (2016), and made the prestigious 50-40-90 club in his unanimous MVP season. He has made Mike Breen's “Bang!” call synonymous around the world and has inspired kids to shoot threes and that you don’t have to be the biggest or most athletic to be successful in the league. He has broken every three point record imaginable, most in a season with a whopping 402 in 2016, he owns four of the top five threes made in a season in NBA history! It leaves you speechless what this man has done and can do on a basketball court.

    He unselfishly welcomed KD with open arms and helped spear them into a dynasty powerhouse, winning back-to-back Finals in 2017 & 2018. He is the NBA’s all-time three-point king with 3,117, which he will continue to push to unimaginable heights barring injuries. He brings joy to the game as the baby-faced assassin and has made the game fun to watch again. He is the ultimate competitor and with another chip to his resume, and now a Finals MVP after defeating the Boston Celtics in six games that saw Curry put up 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting an efficient 48& from the field and 43% from beyond the arc.

    After so much talk over Curry not having an supposed “iconic” performances or a Finals MVP, he put that to bed in this year's Finals that included a mesmerizing 43 point Game 4 performance at the TD Garden against the best defense last season in the Celtics, led by their star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as well as the Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart. 

Is Curry now top 10 all time with a Finals MVP and now two rings without Durant? And how high can he climb before his career is over? Can he win another ring or two, perhaps even more? We’ll have to wait and see, but one thing for sure, is to never count out the greatest shooter who has ever roamed the planet. 

He is the “Baby Faced Assassin!”

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