It is no longer really correct to say that Stephen Curry is not respected by his colleagues or the media or even by random idiots on Twitter. It used to be for sure. It seems long for many people to accept his all-time status unreservedly. But there’s still some residual ridiculousness hanging around. The latest example comes from former NBA player Mike James.
James, if you don’t remember, recorded 49 NBA career games with the Suns, Pelicans and Nets in the 2017-18 and 2020-21 seasons, although he plays in Europe these days. On a recent episode of the Players Choice podcast, James named his top five players in the league: Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Luka Doncic. You will notice that Curry is missing.
That’s not the problem. Reasonable minds can disagree as it is about the top five players in what is currently a huge and highly talented league. It was James’ reason for leaving Curry out, it’s just so tired and wrong.
“Steph, the way he plays and how he gets things done, it’s a bit one-dimensional sometimes,” James said. “He’s not often the main ball handler, and for a point guard, that bothers me quite a bit.”
“I think those other five can do whatever they want in any team in the world right now,” James added. “I just don’t know for Steph. It’s a little dark for Steph… If you stopped him in Minnesota, he’d still kill, but I don’t know if it would be the same.”
Here we go again. Steph is only Steph because of the Warriors system. It’s so ridiculous that it hardly warrants a comment, but it’s a quiet weekend in early August and I don’t have much else to write about. Even more ridiculous is the one-dimensional label James is trying to put on Curry. The fact that he’s not the primary ball handler, as James points out, is exactly what makes him NOT one-dimensional.
There has never been a more deadly goalscorer in the history of basketball in terms of on- and off-ball skills. Never. Not even close. If you want to say that Luka Doncic is better than Curry, fine, but don’t substantiate it with the one-dimensional. Luka ONLY knows how to play with the ball in his hands. Have him run around the screens and shoot threes from the catch and see how effective he is.
Curry is a goalscorer on three levels. He is slightly out on the edge, in the short and long midrange and clear from 3. He can score from the dribble, from the catch, in transition, and yes, isolated, which will charm basketball players to the end. time — 71 percent of Curry’s buckets in this latest NBA Finals were unassisted.
Curry is a world-class ball handler, a magical passer – when he keeps his free-running instinct in check – a great screener and a plus defender. Yes, I said it. He is a plus defender; although if you want the “Curry to be a product of the Warriors system and the players around it”, at least it’s about the defensive side.
Trying to deny or question or qualify anything that Curry does insultingly is such a bad look. And I love that Curry notices. At his annual Curry camp, he was asked how some of his campers would stack up against him in a 1-on-1 matchup.
“Oh, it’s all bad for them,” Curry said. “All bad for them, even as one-dimensional as I am.” There was a moment of silence and then Curry couldn’t contain his laughter. “I’m sorry, I’m petty. I’m so petty! Keep it up, I like it a lot.”
Again, I love this. It’s playful, yes, but it illustrates the never-ending quest for motivation of a man who has absolutely nothing left to prove. Guys like Curry, who were knocked out at any point in their lives, no matter how high they eventually rise, never lose the chip on their shoulder. That’s how they stay at the top for so long.