NBA All-Stars

3-point champ Curry: ‘A lot to accomplish, nothing to prove’

Joe Viray

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3-point champ Curry: ‘A lot to accomplish, nothing to prove’

LEAGUE OF HIS OWN. Steph Curry puts his incredible skillset in full display anew.

Photo by Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

Steph Curry, the man widely seen as the progenitor of the three-point revolution, comes front and center in the All-Star festivities

Gone are the days when the All-Star Game was ruled by highlight dunks and near-superhuman feats of athleticism. In its place are high-level displays of skill and shooting proficiency, ushered in by the unstoppable force that is the three-point revolution.

The man who is widely seen as the progenitor of that revolution – Stephen Curry – was featured front and center during All-Star festivities. The two-time MVP and three-time NBA champion started off the night by reclaiming the three-point shooting contest crown, first by putting up 31 points in the first round and instilling the fear of god within his opponents:

Followed by a clutch sharpshooting display, squeaking past first-time All-Star Mike Conley’s 27 by scoring 28:

The contest served as a warm-up for what was to come during the game itself. It showcased Curry’s ability to shoot from the logo, a skillset he helped become popular and which has been emulated not only by his peers but also by several among the younger generation of NBA players.

A “mere” set shot from the logo wasn’t enough for Curry, who decided to show off a bit by increasing the degree of difficulty on a subsequent logo shot:

Later in the first half, Curry and fellow Team LeBron guard Damian Lillard – perhaps the only genuine peer Curry has in terms of unlimited shooting range – exchanged half-court shots in what was a glorious display of shooting skil

A shot that what was once thought impossible being transformed into something tangible was an amazing sight to behold. Curry and Lillard being on the floor together made it possible.

“You couldn’t draw it up any more perfect,” Curry said of his impromptu three-point contest with Lillard. “We were showing off our skillset, which we’ve been trying to do for a long time. It was good energy going back and forth.”

While Curry is known mostly for his ball-handling skills, his ability to finish at the rim, and his shooting, he made it a point to reveal his sneaky athleticism and vertical through an inbounds play that was drawn up for him to receive an alley-oop pass. 

Unlike in typical settings, where Curry is often used as the decoy to set up his teammates for dunks, it was him that was the beneficiary in this instance:

According to Curry, it was the only sequence of the night planned by him, Lillard, and Chris Paul, both of which had their own highlight dunks.

“That was the only thing that was choreographed tonight,” Curry said. “We [Curry, Lillard, and Paul] were talking about athleticism and you could tell we had no idea what we were talking about [but] me, Dame, and CP still connected [on the dunks].”

Curry shot 6-of-8 on threes in the first half – one short of the record for most made threes in a single half of an All-Star game – before cooling off in the second half. He finished with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and 8-of-16 on threes.

While Curry winning the three-point contest and filling up the All-Star highlight reels are nothing new, there was a brand-new element that added a bit of intrigue and flavor to this particular game: Curry playing on the same team as LeBron James, his long-time on-court rival and fellow NBA megastar.

Curry and James have been through several NBA Finals battles against each other. Curry struck first blood in 2015, and James retaliated in 2016 while coming back from a 3-1 deficit. Curry would take the next two matchups, after which James took his talents to Venice Beach and Curry and the Golden State Warriors experienced a precipitous fall from dynasty status, putting a halt to their rivalry.

For one night, two of the league’s biggest box-office draws joined forces, an experience that, according to Curry, was a great one.

“It’s something we hadn’t done before,” Curry said. “It’s a different vantage point for everybody, seeing guys you compete against night in and night out. We all do it differently but we do it at a high level. LeBron’s been doing it for a long time.”

The longevity of James is a sight to behold, but the 32-year-old Curry is still going on strong himself. After early season struggles due to a long hiatus as a result of a broken hand and the ongoing pandemic, Curry eventually warmed up and has been putting on an MVP-caliber season, with averages of 29.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, with 47.8/41.1/93.4 shooting splits and 64.6% true shooting.

Such is Curry’s importance to the Warriors that without him, they are without an offensive identity. With him, they have a sun to revolve around – their offense improves by a whopping 15 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor, per NBA.com.

But the Warriors have largely struggled to generate consistency, even with Curry leading the charge. They are 19-18, 9th in the Western Conference, with 35 games left to make up ground and potentially achieve an outright berth in the playoffs.

The team’s struggles have attracted unwarranted scrutiny and criticism upon Curry’s legacy, one that is filled with accolades and achievements that most players can only dream of attaining. Questioning his status as an all-time great is absurd – and Curry, whose laid-back demeanor belies his competitive nature, is aware of such talk.

“I have a lot to accomplish,” Curry said. “I don’t have anything [left] to prove. There’s a little subtle difference there.” – Rappler.com

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