Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry disrespected by ESPN Top 100

There is no way to describe the amount of disrespect that has been put on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors by ESPN.

ESPN‘s Top 100 list has always been controversial – but the rankings this year have reached a new low as Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was placed eighth on the list, behind names like Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard.

I truly don’t know where to start with this. I guess we will work backward through the list, acknowledging the few players who have earned the right to be placed ahead of Curry at this point in his career.

At No. 1, EPSN placed LeBron James. This is perfectly reasonable, as the King is fresh off his fourth NBA championship and poised for another year of dominance. I have no problem with this placement.

Behind James is his teammate, Anthony Davis, who played a major role in helping the Los Angeles Lakers rampage through the Western Conference. Up until the NBA Finals, Davis appeared to be the best player on the planet. Again, I have no problem with this placement.

Now, Giannis Antetokounmpo has certainly earned recognition as a top player. However, how can we argue that a player who has routinely failed to show up in the playoffs deserves a spot ahead of proven contenders like Durant, Leonard and Curry? I can’t be too mad at having the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year this high, but I think we can easily make the case that Curry belongs ahead of him.

From here, Curry can reasonably be placed over anybody. Sure, Doncic has been incredible through two seasons – but is he truly better than Curry at this stage? Are we sure we’re not jumping the gun here?

As for Durant, I mean, come on. Durant would still be without a title had it not been for Curry. Did we already forget who blocked his path to a championship in 2016? Or when the Warriors rattled off eight straight wins in his absence in 2019? The Dubs fell one shot short of forcing the NBA Finals to a Game 7 without Durant. As phenomenal as Durant has been, how can we say he is better than Curry, especially coming off an Achilles injury.

The most atrocious of all is having Lillard ranked ahead of Curry. The Dame/Steph comparisons have grown out of control and soon we will see once again why Curry is in a league of his own when it comes to guards. Curry has dominated Lillard in every single matchup and we have no reason to suspect this will change.

Curry is no stranger to being the underdog. In fact, he embraces this mentality. Expect to see Curry shock the world next season and prove a ton of people wrong.