Golden State Warriors: Is Stephen Curry underrated?
The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry has become underrated after many refuse to accept and acknowledge his greatness.
On paper, this question seems ridiculous. How could a two-time MVP who has led his team to two championships in three years be underrated? Yet, believe it or not, we’re at the point where we have to ask that question.
We just watched Stephen Curry average 26.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals. For the entire postseason, he averaged 28.1 points, 6.7 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. For the third season in a row, he led the Golden State Warriors to the top seed and the Finals.
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Prior to the 2016-17 season, Curry had been the undisputed leader of the Warriors for at least five years. With Kevin Durant’s arrival, that status was challenged for the first time in a while. Curry’s early sacrifices impacted his numbers and public perception of him and his abilities.
Curry didn’t average a triple-double for the year. He didn’t hit the iconic shot in Game 3. He didn’t control every aspect of his championship contending team.
Despite that, he’s still a top three player in the league. We saw what he did when Durant went down with an injury that had him miss a quarter of the season and part of the postseason. His dominance when the games meant the most proved that he’s in a class occupied by only two other players.
Curry is better than Russell Westbrook. He’s better than James Harden. He’s better than Kawhi Leonard.
Curry is also better than Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He might even be better than Durant. To be honest, the only player I’m completely comfortable saying is better than Curry is LeBron James.
This run that no. 30 on is historic and unprecedented. The fear that he instills in defenses is unparalleled. He just gets it done.
Curry’s talent is second-to-none. The impact that he has wins championships and makes everyone better. Still, he gets disrespected.
Durant took to Twitter and indirectly diminished Curry. MVP voters didn’t give him the credit he deserved. Fans and analysts overlook him. Dahntay Jones echoed the sentiment that many of Curry’s peers feel when he said that the two-time MVP wasn’t a top-3 player in the league.
Curry has become underrated because he doesn’t get the credit or respect that he’s earned. He’s the best point guard in the league. He’s an elite player in the best era of basketball.
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For whatever reason, Curry just won win everyone over. Perhaps his style of play and his impact is too complex for many to fully understand. Now, I get how that sounds pretentious, but here me out: watching Curry force two players to pick him up 35 feet away from the rim isn’t as eye-catching as Westbrook barrelling to the rim at full speed. Secondary assists aren’t commonly used.
There’s nothing he can do to convince them of his greatness and that’s fine. He’ll just continue to beat their favorite player and all of the guys that are supposedly better than him.