2. Curry Absolutely Explodes in the Playoffs (Apr. 20, 2013 – May 16, 2013)
For the casual basketball fan that somehow hadn’t yet heard of Stephen Curry despite his 54-point performance at Madison Square Garden, there is no doubt that “Curry” became a household name during the playoffs.
Curry’s stats will show that he averaged 23.4 points, 8.1 assists, and shot 39.6 percent from beyond the arc in 12 playoff games, but numbers do not give his performance proper recognition.
With David Lee out with an injury, Curry took it upon himself and carried the Warriors to an upset over the Nuggets in the quarterfinals. After a heartbreaking loss in Game 1, Curry scored 30 points in Game 2 to lead the resilient Warriors to victory.
But what fans probably remember most was his shooting display in the third quarter of Game 4, which is shown in the video above. A la Madison Square Garden, Curry simply could not miss, scoring 22 points in the quarter, and had Oracle Arena in a frenzy. He carried over his wizardry to the second round, racking 44 points up on the Spurs in Game 1 of the semifinals.
It’s hard to believe that Curry is just 25 years old (even though he still looks like he’s 13), and this was his first playoff experience. Hopefully he didn’t set the bar too high for himself, because there will be plenty more playoff games in his future, and it will definitely be a blast to watch him light up the scoreboard.