Like Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, it was made up of soft strokes of the smallest detail, and in the end it was beautiful.
Curry’s legacy as one of the greats of the sport has been entrenched for a long time, but he has never been one to be taken for granted.
Despite all that was piled up against him in Game 4 of the NBA Finals: a foot injury, his teammates fighting and the kind of pressure that mere mortals can’t even understand, Curry certainly produced a of the best games of his career (and there are many to choose from), setting the Boston Celtics on fire for 43 points and equaling the finals in the process.
Even after a career of several titles, several most valuable awards and several teams in the first part of the NBA, the star base continues to show why he is a transcendent figure in this sport.
“He didn’t let us down. That’s all it comes down to. I could tell in his behavior,” Curry’s Warriors teammate Draymond Green said after the fourth game win.
On Thursday, the Warriors won the 2022 NBA title with a victory over the Celtics in the sixth game of the final, securing Curry another ring and his legacy as the greatest of all time.
The title is his fourth in eight seasons, but he is arguably the most impressive of the 34-year-old and, with his first MVP of the Finals award, consolidates his legacy as one of the top 10 players in the history of the world. link between beloved company.
“What will they say now?” Curry’s Marc Spears was shown a yellow card after 80 minutes for slicing down an opponent. “(You) listen to the whole talk about you as a player and we as a team, no one outside the Bay Area thought we would be here last October when the season started. I as a player obviously these things of MVP of the Finals and all that, we knew (we were) good enough to win three championships before.
“But to have a chance to go to a quarter (championship) and achieve that goal too, God is great,” Curry said of the Bill Russell Trophy. “I’m just glad I did.”
Changing the game
Since joining the league in 2009, Curry has almost completely changed the way he plays basketball on his own. Now, teams are increasingly prioritizing their three-point shot, while future NBA players reach the draft with well-trained long-range shots.
But for Curry, the master of the trade, he showed against the Celtics – the league’s No. 2 defense – why he’s still the model for the Warriors’ three-point fluid attack and coach in no Steve Kerr have become so. famous for.
Unlike other heliocentric attacks – Luke Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, for example – Curry doesn’t have the ball in his hands, but don’t be fooled, the Dubs attack works because of Curry.
He is the Sun in the offense of the solar system of the Warriors. His teammates revolve around his offensive threat, opening up spaces even though he may not even have the ball, and yet even with all the defenses planned for him, this is his threat, Curry still finds ways to dial.
While his record of 233 games in the NBA with at least a triple ended in the fifth game, just his presence on the court is enough to land defenders.
Not content with standing on the ground, Curry can often be seen sprinting without the ball trying to move to a place where he can shoot. And this motion, and Green’s precise move, has not only been a great success for the Warriors, but it has transformed the league.
For the Warriors ’core, Curry, Green, Klay Thompson and head coach Steve Kerr, it’s his fourth title and arguably the most impressive.
“I don’t want to write this”
November 19, 2020 brought the news that Warriors fans did not want to hear.
Thompson, the second half of the prolific Splash Brothers, had broken his Achilles tendon, ending his 2020-21 season. “I don’t want to be writing this. My soul is in Brooklyn taking a nap before the game,” Thompson wrote on his Instagram.
It would be the second consecutive season that the star shooter would be missing, after the left LCA was broken in game 6 of the 2019 final.
In the two seasons he lost, the Warriors went 54-83, including losing the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Between Curry and Green’s injuries and the passage of time, it looked like he could be going through the unthinkable: the Warriors. the dynasty might be stopping.
However, like the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs in which Kerr played, the Warriors rebuilt themselves.
Through some clever transactions and cunning draft picks, the previously naked core was suddenly surrounded by a bunch of talented and skilled energetic players.
With the return of Thompson and the support of some of the youngsters, such as Jordan Poole, the team has made an unlikely return to the Final, leaving behind an All-Stars cast.
But without Curry’s offensive magnetism, it might never have happened.
Legacy
For someone who has transformed the NBA so completely, the last two months have been a clinic for Curry.
He averaged more than 27 points and about five rebounds and six assists, while constantly being the focus of the league’s strongest defenses.
And while he is arguably one of the biggest players in the league, given the uniqueness and success of his style of play, this 2021-22 season has been the icing on his future career at the Hall of Fame.
While still a long way from the championship ring league record – Bill Russell has a remarkable 11 from the legendary Boston Celtics team of the 50’s and 60’s – he has now been matched with luminaries like LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Robert Parish on four titles.
The argument over who is among the top 10 NBA players of all time has lasted for years and will continue for many more.
But such was his impact on the playoffs and the season as a whole, Curry should be placed among these elite names.
“Expanding Mount Rushmore … is the only conversation that should be talked about Stephen Wardell Curry. Sincerely Dwyane Wade,” the three-time NBA champion wrote to the Miami Heat on Instagram. San Antonio Spurs All-Star baseman Dejounte Murray also praised Curry after Thursday’s win. “We will never see anything like curry again. We appreciate its GREATNESS Why we can !!! # Top10EVER,” he wrote on Twitter.
Despite having an illustrious career before this season, with three championship titles and two league MVP awards in his name, this year’s triumph could be his crowning jewel.
Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas said Curry’s final MVP “helps” his legacy.
As Cedric Maxwell (of Boston) told me the other night, he said, “There are 32 NBA Finals (MVPs). I’m one of them, “Thomas told ESPN.
“I’m one of them, too. In the end, it does matter. children want to play the game (as he does). He has pushed the game forward. “
Curry joined a beloved company with his transportation Thursday night. Prior to the sixth game, only five players had four rings, several league MVP awards and one MVP in the final: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan.
Now, there are six players with Curry.
Jordan and James are, by consensus, the two best players in NBA history. But could Curry be number 3? Is Curry the best base in the league?
These are not crazy suggestions to make, and these are just some of the conversations that will start.