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Athlon Sports
Stephen Curry Fighting Father Time
By Lance Roberson,
3 hours ago
Most NBA lists are meant to gain engagement, which is not always a bad thing. However, when making such lists, especially when discussing legends, context is key. HoopsHype recently published a top-100 list, and nothing seems out of hand, except for the top 15 players.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry's placement on the list provokes general disgust or sadness about the reality in which we live or are near.
It's best to discuss Curry's 2023-24 campaign before delving into his ranking on the HoopsHype list.
Firstly, the Warriors missed the playoffs for the third time since 2020. However, such a flaw didn't occur due to Curry's shortcomings; if anything, the franchise failed its superstar.
Moving away from the team's success, Curry had another elite shooting performance and played a miraculous 74 games. In this era, and at his age, such a high number of games warrants praise for Curry's commitment to a franchise seemingly content with celebrating the past, albeit winning a championship in 2022.
Nonetheless, Curry averaged 26 points on 40 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line. Curry earned All-NBA Third-Team honors and won the Clutch Player of the Year award.
Tyrese Haliburton, Stephen Curry, Clutchpoints
Where do such accolades align a player on the Hoops Hype list?
Curry ranks 14 out of 100.
Typically, such a placement for your average player means they made it to the big leagues in a major way. However, for Curry, falling out of the top 10 marks the end of a magical ride.
LeBron James and Tyrese Haliburton rank ahead of the Warriors superstar. James and Curry belong together, at least in competitive scenarios like Batman and the Joker or Tom and Jerry. However, for Haliburton to rank ahead of Curry leads to head-scratching.
Haliburton is the Steve Nash of the current era. He led the league in assists but can fire shots from deep when necessary. The Indiana Pacers did clinch an Eastern Conference Finals berth for the first time in 10 years. In fairness to Hoops Hype and Haliburton, the Pacers' team success as a six-seed deserves recognition.
However, the Pacers only won 47 games in the Eastern Conference, whereas the Warriors won 46 in the cruel and highly contested Western Conference.
Curry's second-best teammate regarding production for the 2023-24 season teammate was either Klay Thompson or Jonathan Kuminga, and we aren't talking about the "Game 6 Klay"either.
What Curry did to keep the Warriros competitive as Draymond Green experienced multiple meltdowns, which led him to play only 55 games, deserves more credit.
Curry's leading such a group to 46 games speaks to his greatness; even at the advanced basketball game of 36, the Warriors had a shot at a playoff berth.
Nonetheless, an arbitrary list doesn't hurt Curry's NBA legacy but alludes to the inevitable falloff from legendary performances. However, the Paris Olympics Curry would like a word about such a reality.
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