As Golden State Warriors superstar reaches the twilight of his career, the organization is making attempts to maximize the roster around him in order to capitalize on their remaining time with one of the best players in NBA history.
While Curry has made an undeniable impact on the game of basketball, fans and analysts alike continue to underrate him as an all-time, historically great player, and, in HoopsHype's recent ranking of the NBA's 79 greatest players, this trend has yet again continued.
Although Curry's success has been diminished over the past couple of seasons by certain team-building failures by the Warriors organization, his impact as a historical player cannot be overstated, and such insult should be cause for frustration from fans of Golden State.
Stephen Curry's low ranking shows a disturbing trend across the NBA
While HoopsHype's list takes on many controversial opinions, and Curry's place on the list is not even among the most divisive, it does fall victim to the increasingly common trend of understating Curry's greatness.
On the list, Curry is ranked as the 13th greatest player in NBA history: one spot below Kevin Durant and one spot above Oscar Robertson.
According to the HoopsHype Staff, "Curry changed the way the game is played..." and is "the greatest shooter ever."
Moreover, they go on to say that, while "team success may elude him the rest of the way," his own continued personal success would mean that "his claim for best point guard ever will become stronger."
Curry, through the course of four NBA championships, has won one Finals MVP, two league MVPS and one Olympic gold medal while being selected to eleven All-Star teams and shattering the all-time record for 3-pointers made.
Still considered a top-ten player at 37-years-old, Curry's greatness is undeniable, and HoopsHype's choice to rank Durant over Curry is a questionable decision.
While Durant's scoring numbers exceed Curry's, and Durant is probably one of the greatest pure scorers of all time, Curry won two championships without Durant on the roster, cementing his legacy as the real heart of Golden State's dynasty.
While the list judges other players such as Bill Russell (fifth) and Kobe Bryant (eighth) according to their legendary impact on their team's success, Curry almost never receives the same treatment: largely as a result of the perception surrounding his defense and overall play-style.
Yet, make no mistake. When all is said and done, Curry will continue to cement his legacy as perhaps the greatest point guard of all time, and, as fans and analysts begin to look back on his impact, the superstar's longevity and greatness will come to be appreciated more fully.