Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Lebron James.
These are the names familiar to all basketball fans, and many who do not even follow the sport. These legends transcended the game of basketball and impacted lives around the world with unbelievable talent and dedicated work ethic. The influence of these athletes is largely felt by the time in which they played, such as Jordan being a hero to many fans of the 70’s and 80’s, Bryant to those who grew up watching him in the 90’s and 2000’s and James who entered the league a force in 2003 and still continues to cement his legacy.
Jersey sales are the most obvious way to determine the influence of an athlete and the breadth of his popularity, but a subtler way that players with this kind of pedigree influence the youth is by astounding them so much with their skill and talent night-in and night-out that fans attempt to emulate their favorite players. Every fan who loves basketball can recall the big games of their favorite players when they truly could not believe what they were witnessing, whether it was Kobe dropping 81 points, one of Michael’s many clutch game-winners or Lebron’s wizard-like skills at creating magical passes that make you hit the replay button over and over. This kind of fascination with these generational talents is important because it is great for the game of basketball.
Kids across the country who have their favorite players to look up to, will watch their games or see their highlights on SportsCenter and go out in their driveway working desperately to mimic the skills of the greatness they are witnessing. Every kid embodies a style of their favorite player, and I can speak from experience as Dwyane Wade’s signature pump fake became part of my game. I saw the friends I played with adopt Lebron’s aggressive driving-attack style, and the Kobe-like way of forcing shots and rarely passing the ball (I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Lakers fan). When college and NBA players are interviewed about who they consider their influences, most athletes playing in the 90’s like Kobe (modeling Jordan’s fadeaway and competitive demeanor) say Jordan, the athletes in the 2000’s (such as Dwyane Wade who borrowed Kobe’s fadeaway for the better part of a decade) will mention Jordan and Kobe and younger players recently entering the league like Andrew Wiggins recall pretending to be Lebron in the driveway.
Enter Steph Curry.
His path to the conversation of greatness is slightly unorthodox. Even being the son of great NBA sharp-shooter Dell Curry did not help him to get heavily recruited out of high school and he ended up playing basketball at Davidson University for three years, where he abused the Southern Conference of basketball and propelled his small-school team into the tournament continuously. In one game against Gonzaga, he had 30 points in a half totaling 40 points for the game on 8-10 shooting from 3-point range. Yet, scouts were still not sure about Steph Curry who was a mere 6’3 which is small for an NBA shooting guard, and he did not show the assist numbers or ball-handling skills that showed he would be able to play the point guard position either.
Here are some famous words about Steph Curry from an NBA scout who was not too high on him coming out of college, “Not a true Point Guard. Out of control at times. Poor shot-selection. Stuck between 1 and 2 (the point and shooting guard positions). Questions about ability to defend. Limited upside. Backup/Fringe starter. Average athleticism, size, and wingspan.”
Not a terribly endearing evaluation is it? While that scout was clearly mistaken about what he saw in Curry, it cannot be overlooked the work he has had to put in to get to where he is today. The Warriors took a chance on him with the seventh pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, and finished his first season second in Rookie of the Year voting to Tyreke Evans while averaging 17.5 points and 5.9 assists per game. Unfortunately, Steph suffered greatly from frequent ankle sprains which led to him needing surgery to repair damaged ligaments in May of 2011. During the 2011-2012 campaign, he only appeared in 26 games due to various injuries and ultimately needed surgery again in April. The next season he dedicated himself to working harder to make sure his body was prepared for the 82-game grind he was about to endure. He did many different ankle stretches to help to strengthen his ligaments and prevent more sprains and he even switched to custom-made shoes.
Curry had and electric season with Klay Thompson in which they earned the moniker “Splash Brothers” and Curry set the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season with 272, but it was the 2014-2015 season when Steph was 26 that he truly ascended to the level of elite. He won the MVP for the season behind averages of 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and two steals per game while sitting out 17 fourth quarters due to the large margin of victory his team had over opponents. He broke his own record for 3-pointers in a season with 286 made attempts. He won his first NBA Championship over Lebron James-led Cavaliers and Steph Curry had finally arrived at his peak.
Or so we thought.
At the very start of the season Curry came out on fire, becoming the first person since Michael Jordan to score 118 points in the first three games of the season as he led his team to win 24 straight games to start. He added a signature win over the Thunder to his Hall of Fame repertoire with his game winning 3-point shot from 37 feet out, the shot which also happened to tie the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game with 12. By the end of the season the Warriors stood with the best record in NBA history of 73-9, one win better than Michael Jordan’s 95-96 Chicago Bulls. Not only that, but Steph Curry also beat his own record for 3-pointers in a season again. By 116 made 3-pointers. For a total of 402. You couldn’t make this stuff up in Hollywood if you tried. He averaged a whopping 30.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field, 45% from three and 91% from the free throw line. Just when you thought Steph Curry could not get better, he turns it up a notch becoming the first unanimous MVP in the NBA while increasing his points per game average and draining a hundred more threes than the previous season in which he broke the record. There were many analysts calling for the MVP to also win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award and it was difficult to argue against.
These numbers and achievements of the last few seasons of his career are astounding, and it is a testament to the hard work that Steph has put in to maximize his potential. In both of his MVP seasons he topped the NBA jersey sales and his popularity is soaring thanks to his achievements and jaw-dropping theatrics. Ask any person who has taken their kid to a basketball camp or who has helped out at one and they will tell you that most kids are wearing Steph Curry Jerseys.
When I was growing up, everyone had a Lebron James or Kobe Bryant jersey (or if you were the lonely Wade fan you had his) and the rest of the jerseys you had were to add flavor to the collection. Steph has become that iconic player to the youth of today, and while the jersey sales for the last few years will help to reflect Steph’s meteoric rise in popularity and influence, the best part has yet to come.
Thinking about how we played as kids trying to emulate our favorite star’s style and all of this talk about Steph Curry has me thinking, what will the style of basketball look like 10 years from now? If so many players like Lebron, Wade, Paul George and countless others modeled their games after Kobe and Jordan, mimicking their fadeaways and crossovers, will the future NBA stars admit to trying to emulate Steph’s style? If this is the case, I believe that soon we will begin to see the aspects of Steph’s game, such as surreal ball-handling and silky-smooth shooting touch permeating the college and NBA landscapes.
With all of these kids in the driveway practicing the latest Steph Curry highlights, they are dedicating themselves to a game they love and also developing a strong work ethic. I think we will see more shooting guards and bigger forwards that have smooth handles and better perimeter strokes begin to rear their heads in the next ten years or so. The next great generational talent will appear with a mix of Jordan’s competitive nature, Kobe’s contested shot ability, Lebron’s passing savy and Steph’s handles and perimeter ability.
And then the fun begins all over again.
