Albeit Stephen Curry has not performed at peak level during the various NBA Finals he has been a part of, I would still consider him a top 20 player of all time. He is one of the few players to ever win back to back MVPs, and the only to win unanimously.
He has been doubted lots of times, but he never talks back. After all, actions do speak louder than words.
He's gotten smoke from MJ and Charles Barkley, random people from Twitter, and fellow NBA players. He was considered by some "extremely limited", but he proved everyone wrong and transformed the game.
If you scoff at that last bit, think about it. Before Steph entered the league, there were maybe five people shooting over five hundred three point attempts a year. In Steph's fifth year in the NBA, he was one of 10 people to take more than 490 threes (2013-14). In the 2016-17 season, that number was up to 12. Than 14 the next season. Last year, in the 2018-19 season, there were 19 players who took over 480 threes.
Basically, since Steph entered the league, the three point numbers have changed drastically, and with the help of James Harden, the three point shot is now essential for the game today.
Since I considered Steph to be a top 20 players of all time, I researched what experts thought of him.
Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer and writer of The Book of Basketball, recently started a podcast called The Book of Basketball 2.0 (it's really good check it out). He had a whole episode dedicated to Steph, in which he ranked him 24th all time.
Andy Bailey, of Bleacher Report, ranked Steph 10th all time, four spots above Kobe Bryant, who sits at 14. He explains his reasoning in an article titled Why I have Stephen Curry over Kobe Bryant on My All-Time NBA Rankings. His main point is that in Steph's ten year career, he has better statistics than Kobe in his ten year peak.
If Steph had won just one of the three Finals MVP he could've, I think that most people would have him top 20, maybe even top 10 as Bailey suggested. If you go look up his career stats, you will be amazed that he would be considered not a Hall of Famer or not a top 25 player of all time.
What Steph Curry lacks in physical dominance or hops, he makes up for in heart, attitude and determination. To think of him any less than one of the greatest players of all time is simply a big mistake.
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