Warriors: Stephen Curry doesn’t make ESPN’s top three

Only a few months ago, Stephen Curry propelled the Golden State Warriors to their fourth championship behind a Finals MVP-caliber performance.

Now? The reigning champ isn’t even considered a top three (or even four) player in the league by ESPN.

In their yearly rankings, ESPN listed Curry as the fifth-best player in the NBA. Behind Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

That’s certainly something.

ESPN has ranked Stephen Curry fifth in their list of the top-100 players in the NBA, a blatant form of disrespect to the Golden State Warriors superstar.

There really isn’t much to explain here, for anyone who watches basketball at least.

Curry is the deadliest 3-point shooter the game has ever seen, with a lightning-quick handle, and incredible playmaking on and off-ball, while improving drastically as a finisher and defender.

He simply doesn’t have a weakness anymore. Curry has grown into a high-IQ player who can’t be singled out on defense the same way as before.

As we saw just a few months prior, Curry is more than capable of leading a charge to the title. He knocked off both Doncic and Jokic on his way to the NBA Finals before averaging 31.2 points on 48.2% shooting to reclaim the crown.

His 43-point explosion in a pivotal Game 4 against Boston is perhaps one of the most legendary moments of his career — yet Curry’s accomplishments have seemingly already been forgotten.

I will grant an exception for Antetokounmpo’s placement. He’s a menace of a basketball player, combining brute force with vastly underrated agility and talent around the rim. He’s also grown as a playmaker — on top of already being at the top of the NBA in terms of defense.

Everyone else? I’m not sure how you make an argument for Doncic, Embiid or Jokic being ranked ahead of Curry. They are all fantastic players but Curry is head and shoulders above them in terms of winning and individual accomplishments.