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Lynn Worthy: As LeBron forms another super team, let's appreciate Steph Curry's consistency

Lynn Worthy, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on

Published in Basketball

ST. LOUIS — Perhaps I’m simply cursed by contrarianism. These weeks leading up to the declaration of LeBron James’ latest super team and the ongoing waves of non-stop reaction to LeBron’s latest super team have made me think a lot about a different NBA superstar. His name is Stephen Curry.

Curry, the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, has spent nearly two decades becoming far more than a highlight reel of jaw-dropping jump shots and shoulder shimmying. He’s become more than a Magic Eraser for the NBA’s record books.

Curry has become an old-school style icon in the tradition of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. They all built storied careers that became forever intertwined with the history of one franchise. And yes, I’m disregarding Jordan’s Washington Wizards tenure — as we all should.

It’s crazy to think that while LeBron will join his fourth franchise next season in what’s been inarguably one of the most impactful careers in basketball history, Curry has remained in one place and been the central figure in multiple iterations of an NBA powerhouse.

Multiple coaches have taken their turn at the helm, including Don Nelson, Keith Smart, Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr. Luke Walton and Mike Brown even made cameos as interim head coaches for stints during Kerr’s tenure.

The All-Stars and all-star caliber players who’ve come in and out included Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala, David Lee, Jimmy Butler and Al Horford. Let’s not forget that Durant joined an already established Curry-led juggernaut to win championships in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Curry has remained the constant with the Warriors. He’s adjusted to different teammates. His usage figures tell you that he slightly took steps back to accommodate Durant. He predated the arrival of Thompson and Green. He became an attraction for other stars. He did it all without changing teams.

Does that make him the anti-LeBron? No, but Curry’s story is very different than LeBron’s. Curry’s story should be appreciated. Whether you want to call it an underdog story or not, Curry came a long way.

Curry torched the Southern Conference in just three seasons at Davidson College, leaving as that conference’s all-time leading scorer and record holder for 3-pointers. He set an NCAA record for 3-pointers made in a season in 2008. He led Davidson on a run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2008. He earned consensus All-America honors in 2009.

Curry, the skinny son of a former NBA player, did it all while looking almost as frail as Steve Rogers in the Marvel movie before the super soldier serum turned Rogers into Captain America.

The seventh pick in his own draft class, Curry didn’t enter the NBA as anybody’s “chosen one.” He didn’t immediately take professional basketball by storm. Heck, Curry finished as the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting to Tyreke Evans.

 

It’s easy to forget that for a period of time it looked as though papier-mache ankles might prevent Curry from gaining any real traction in the early stages of a promising career. He played just 26 games as a third-year player in 2011-12, leading up to the second of two major ankle surgeries.

At that point, Curry hadn’t yet averaged 20 points per game. He hadn’t made an All-Star team. He hadn’t established himself as a historical figure that prompted a shift in the way people think about the game of basketball.

Since then, Curry collected four NBA championships, two MVP awards, two scoring titles, 12 All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA selections and led his team to the single best regular season of all-time when the Warriors set a record with 73 wins during the 2015-16 season.

OK, but is it too much to deem Curry a historical figure and a catalyst for a widespread change in the approach to basketball? Not in my opinion, but you don’t have to simply take my opinion. It turns out that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame shares that opinion.

Friday, the Hall of Fame opened a new exhibit titled “Stephen Curry: Beyond the Arc.” The new Curry exhibit marks the first time in the Hall of Fame’s history that it has recognized an active player with a dedicated “feature experience.”

“Being part of the Basketball Hall of Fame in this way is hard to put into words,” Curry said in a release from the Naismith Hall of Fame. “When I think about my journey, I think about the people who believed in me, the work that happened when nobody was watching and the moments that shaped me on and off the court.

“To have that story told while I’m still playing is something I don’t take lightly. My hope is that fans walk through this experience and feel the joy, the purpose and the gratitude that basketball has given me, and maybe see a little bit of their own journey in it too.”

Curry’s story isn’t over. He has played 17 years in the NBA. The year he entered the league, the NBA Finals featured the Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers against the Boston Celtics of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Curry has already spanned basketball generations.

More importantly, Curry has constantly built on what he had and built where he was. It’s incredible to think that one day we’ll look back and realize he just might have been a super team of his own.

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