By: Michael Chang
After a remarkable performance, on June 16, 2022, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Championship in Boston, Massachusetts. Curry earned his first NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, filling the only hole in his legendary résumé.
Preceding Curry’s unbelievable performances in the NBA Finals this year, he already won three NBA Championships and two regular-season MVPs. He has also been selected for eight NBA All-Star Games, eight All-NBA teams, and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. After winning his first NBA Finals MVP and becoming the player who has made the most career three-pointers in NBA history, he has rightfully climbed into the top-ten lists of most basketball fans.
Following the championship-deciding game last Thursday, Curry’s teammate Andre Iguodala stated, “You’ve never seen a guy his size dominate the league like this and…put the weight of everything on his shoulders throughout a Finals series.” In the history of the NBA, the best players were always extremely tall and physically gifted. Nevertheless, Curry, one of the greatest players in NBA history, stands at six feet and two inches — relatively short for an NBA player — leaving an inspirational legacy for generations to follow.
Furthermore, Iguodala shed light on Curry’s revolutionary impact on the sport of basketball with this quote: “When he’s gone, we’re really going to miss him and forget how much of an impact [he has] not just on the Warriors or the NBA but on the entire globe. You know, like he made the world move.” Iguodala analogized Curry’s legacy to a force that makes the world move because the magnitude of his impact is equally massive as an unexpected planetary movement.
Curry is known for his extraordinary ability to shoot the basketball. Before he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2009, only about twenty percent of the shots taken in NBA games were three-pointers. After thirteen years of Curry’s magnificent shooting, almost forty percent of the shots taken in NBA games are three-pointers.
The last time an NBA team won a game without making a single three-pointer was over six years ago. More importantly, Curry’s influence extends beyond professional basketball. This increased volume of three-point shots attempted can be seen at the local YMCAs and even on school blacktops during recess.
Throughout Curry’s career, he has drastically revolutionized the way basketball is played, making basketball extremely enjoyable to play and watch for everyone.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/16/nba-finals-game-6/
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/curryst01.html