Not only did Stephen Curry become one of the most acclaimed basketball players of all time during his 15 years with the Golden State Warriors, but the two-time MVP is also credited with changing the game for always.
The season before Curry was drafted in 2009, NBA teams averaged 18.1 three-pointers per game. Largely due to Curry’s daring and remarkable shooting exploits, the three-point average has doubled to nearly 35 per game.
Speaking on his new podcast “Mind the Game” with JJ Redick, LeBron James gave the ultimate praise to his longtime rival by placing Curry alongside Allen Iverson as the two most influential players of his time in watch basketball.
“Steph and Allen Iverson are the two most influential guys in our game since I’ve been watching and covering. Allen Iverson and Steph, they were so relatable. The kids felt like they could be them. They were guys who were not always counted. They were small.”
– LeBron James
James also thanked Curry for completely changing the notion of holding big leads early in the fourth quarter. After previous generations where teams emptied their benches in a 17-point game with nine minutes remaining, the advent of the Curry-led three-point era saw big leads erased faster than ever.
James’ praise for Curry comes shortly after the Warriors attempted to pair the two superstars together at the trade deadline. Golden State expressed interest in the four-time MVP, but was flatly denied by the Lakers and James’ management.
Bob Myers, former Warrior general manager shared his wish to see the legendary duo perform together last week, declaring that Curry and James are “perfect complements for each other” before admitting that’s unlikely to happen.
Curry and James are widely recognized as the two faces of the NBA over the past 15 years, having appeared in four consecutive NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018.
