Calling Steph Curry the game’s greatest shooter is like calling Michael Jordan its greatest dunker or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar its greatest skyhook maker. Accurate, sure, but comically insufficient.
“He’s so much more than that,” says Warriors general manager Bob Myers. “I don’t think we properly appreciate him now, as much as he gets.”
To obsess over Curry’s three-point artistry is to miss all the other skills that make him one of the greatest players of his generation—and arguably of all time. It’s his sublime ballhandling, his ability to weave in and out of traffic; his soft finishes at the rim, with either hand; his midrange marksmanship, his balletic assortment of floaters, scoops and step-throughs; his passing and playmaking and court vision; his rebounding (especially for his size); his stout screen-setting (ditto); his knack for drawing double teams, then solving them with a quick pass or shot.
Indeed, even after 13 years, five Finals, three championships, two MVP awards and perennial All-NBA accolades, it seems we still don’t know how to properly describe, rank or classify Wardell Stephen Curry II.
He’s an all-time great who doesn’t look or play like any who preceded him. He doesn’t crush rivals with power and strength or leap over them or dunk on their heads. (He rarely dunks at all.) He dominates, but he’s rarely called “dominant.” He’s surely the greatest point guard of his time, though he doesn’t have Chris Paul’s assist totals or Russell Westbrook’s triple doubles or Kyrie Irving’s magic handles.
In an era ruled by hybrids and unicorns—LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo—it’s Curry who’s the outlier, standing just 6’2″… and dominating the era anyway.