Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry has been the best guard of the decade

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 14: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on against the Los Angeles Lakers during a pre-season game on October 14, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 14: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on against the Los Angeles Lakers during a pre-season game on October 14, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)

Few players have had a greater impact on the league than Stephen Curry has with the Golden State Warriors.

There should be no doubt about it. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has been the best NBA guard of the decade.

Curry broke out as a star in the 2012-13 season. Though he was snubbed from the actual All-Star game, Curry broke the league’s single-season 3-point record with a total of 272. Since then, Curry has shattered this record four times.

It has been an incredible rise to the top for Steph. One year after his first All-Star berth he was holding an MVP trophy. Following a championship in 2015, Curry only took things further by leading the Dubs to 73 wins and capturing the league’s first-ever unanimous MVP award.

His efficiency changed the game. It didn’t take long for opposing teams to begin building their own copy cat version of the Warriors but few would find success as none of them had a player as talented as Curry.

Through the decade, Steph has gone toe-to-toe with the best guards in the league. He has routinely gotten the best of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Damian Lillard. The only guard who has matched Curry is Kyrie Irving, but Curry still holds a strong advantage over Irving.

The two-time MVP has won three championships, reached six All-Star games and been named to six All-NBA teams. Because of Curry, the Warriors stood at the top of the league for half of the decade.

Overall, Curry posted averages of 26.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals through the latter half of the 2010s. His accuracy from the floor makes his numbers even more impressive, boasting a 48/43/91 shooting clip during this stretch.

It’s hard to argue that any other guard has had a more successful decade than Curry. In fact, the only other players who can really be put ahead of Steph are LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Outside of them, Curry has been the best player in the 2010s.