Ask any Golden State Warriors fan or member within the organization, and they'll be quick to vent frustration over the way Stephen Curry has been officiated throughout his career.
Curry has learned to play though that and still deliver incredible individual and team success, with San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama now in the midst of learning the same lesson during his first playoff run.
Victor Wembanyama learning playoff lesson Stephen Curry knew long ago
The refereeing through the first three games of the Western Conference Finals has been a huge talking point. Wembanyama led his team to a stunning Game 1 victory in Oklahoma City with a huge 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks, but has since endured tough, physical defense from the Thunder that's often bordered or extended past the line of what's legal.
Wembanyama may already be the best and most unstoppable player in the game. The only way to reduce his impact may be to be overly physical and put the fate in the hands of the referees who can notoriously swallow their whistles deep into the postseason.
In a similar manner to Wembanyama, Curry's one-of-one shooting ability has made him one of the most unstoppable offensive forces of the last dozen years, forcing defenses into grabbing the 2x MVP and trying to do whatever they can just to prevent him from getting shots up.
Posting on Threads after the Thunder bounced-back to take a 2-1 series lead with a Game 3 victory, long-time Curry teammate Draymond Green explained the parallels between the two.
“OKC is teaching a valuable lesson. One that teams started doing against us many years ago. They can only call but so many jersey grabs when Steph runs. So people just started grabbing him. He learned to play through it and became one of the greatest ever on the biggest stages," Green said. "Wemby has to learn how to play through it, because teams are going to keep grabbing and holding him. Not going to change.”
Draymond Green is the perfect player to talk defense on Wemby
If there's someone who should be listened to when it comes to talking defense and physicality on Wembanyama, it's Green who has now gone up against the French phenom in one-on-one matchups on multiple occasions despite giving up nearly a full foot in height.
While the two games in San Antonio last November will forever be remembered for Curry's combined 95-point outburst, the battle between Wembanyama and Green was also a notable storyline.
Wembanyama did have 57 points across the two meetings, but Green still drew plenty of plaudits for how he guarded the former number overall pick, and may have helped pave the way for some of the Thunder's defensive tactics in this series.
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