We knew it would be a talking point all season long. The NBA announced they would crack down on foul baiting from some of the league’s top scorers — and controversy was sure to follow. But, have the new rules impacted Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors at all?
The league chose to adjust their rules after years of seeing James Harden, Luka Doncic and Trae Young push the referees to the brink. They bent the rules as much as possible, often initiating the contact they were benefitting from.
The NBA has adjusted its rules and some of the league’s top scorers have felt the impact. What about Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors?
In order to fix this and bring joy back to the game of basketball, the NBA announced they would no longer reward players for abruptly stopping or changing directions in order to launch themselves into opponents. The goal is to give defenders who are simply closing out on shooters a bit more of an advantage.
Curry is certainly no stranger to drawing fouls on the 3-point line. He is the ultimate 3-point threat and opponents have been forced to stick to him like glue. The result? It was pretty easy for a shifty player like Curry to bait defenders into bumping him on his attempts.
We saw this on the first night of NBA preseason when Curry pumped Nassir Little into the air before leaning ever so slightly into him for what normally would have been three free throws for the former MVP. Instead, the game played on.
Fans seem to be happy with the rule changes, as is Draymond Green, who recently said he loves the NBA has gotten rid of “bull**** foul-baiting calls.”
But, with his own teammate being one of the main offenders, has the rule change slowed Curry down at all? What about Harden, Doncic and Young?
Free Throw attempts per game: 2021 (2020)
- Stephen Curry: 5.7 (6.3)
- Trae Young: 4.3 (8.7)
- James Harden: 5.7 (7.3)
- Luka Doncic: 4.4 (7.1)
Right off the bat, we can see how drastically Young, Harden and Doncic have been affected. These three are having a difficult time getting to the line and it has hurt their overall game. Yet, Curry’s production has not really been altered.
Points per game: 2021 (2020)
- Stephen Curry: 28.7 (32.0)
- Trae Young: 22.3 (25.3)
- James Harden: 18.7 (24.6)
- Luka Doncic: 22.4 (27.7)
Young and Harden, particularly, have been hit the hardest. So much so, that it seems they have received a few pitty calls even for their frustration. These two are relentlessly pursuing contact and at some point, the referees have to blow the whistle.
I’ll give Doncic a bit of an excuse. While yes, he has been hunting for fouls since joining the league, his decrease in production is likely more a consequence of being coached by a reprehensible person in Jason Kidd. Who, on top of being a generally awful person, is not great at coaching basketball teams, either.
Stephen Curry remains unphased
Then, there is Curry, who has hardly felt phased at all by the new rules.
Despite being one of the names highlighted by the NBA when announcing the new rule changes — Stephen Curry has never really benefitted too much from the officials. Since his first All-Star season, Curry has taken fewer than five free throws per game.
Last season, Curry hit a career-high for free throw attempts at 6.3 Of course, he also attempted the most field goals of his career with 21.7 attempts per game. This led to him leading the league in scoring with a career-high 32.0 points per game.
Now, Curry has taken fewer free throws so far this year than last year. But, at an average of 5.7 attempts, he is still getting to the line at the third-best rate of his NBA career. And, he is tied with Ja Morant as the league’s top scorer at 28.7 nightly points.
I’d say Curry has managed to avoid being impacted by the new rules for two reasons. Firstly, he doesn’t need to draw contact on the 3-point line in order to punish opponents. Secondly, Curry has been much more active in the paint than in years prior.
From 2014 to 2019, Curry drove to the hoop 7.8 times per game. Over the last two seasons, he has increased this to 9.7 drives a night. This has helped him get to the line at roughly the same rate as he always has due to his ability to get into the paint and draw contact.
So, while other NBA stars are having a bit of trouble when it comes to adjusting to the new rules — Curry seems to be just fine.