Steph Curry had his best scoring season in 2020-21 when Klay Thompson was injured. That year, Chef Curry was cooking on offense, averaging a career-high 32.0 PPG while also making a personal-best 5.3 three-pointers per game.
Nikola Jokic won 2021 NBA MVP honors that year, while Giannis Antetokounmpo took home the Finals MVP award. But Curry got more than just a trophy that season; he earned the best compliment of his career from two-time NBA champion and TNT analyst Kenny Smith .
"His arsenal is just too deep to stop," said The Jet during an episode of Inside the NBA. "He is the Michael Jordan of this era without dunking the basketball. He shoots threes, Jordan dunks - the only difference."
Is Curry today's Mike?
Standing 6'6" tall, Jordan captured the imagination of basketball fans with his breath-taking dunks while winning consecutive Dunk Contests in 1987-88. Meanwhile, the 6'3" Curry changed how the game is played with his impeccable three-point shooting. Steph also won the NBA three-point game twice, in 2015 and 2021.
More than excelling in their specialties, both also built dynasties. MJ's Bulls won six NBA championships during an eight-year period from 1991 to 1998. On the other hand, when Smith made his comment, Steph's Warriors captured three NBA titles from 2015 to 2021. Curry has since added a fourth ring in 2022, when he also won his first Finals MVP award.
Mike had five more Finals MVP awards than Steph. He has more MVPs, All-Star game appearances, All-NBA selections, and scoring titles. Jordan also had the DPOY and 9 All-Defensive first-team selections that Steph doesn't have. But Kenny wasn't making a GOAT case for Steph; he was merely saying that he was MJ's equivalent in this era. Given the accolades, you can see where the Jet is going with his statement.
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LeBron also praised Steph
Aside from accolades, his influence on the game made Michael Jordan larger than life. MJ not only made the game global but also made every child want to be 'Like Mike.' Steph has the same effect. Being just 6'3", he is perhaps the most relatable superstar in the history of the game. Even LeBron once said that Steph and Allen Iverson are the most influential players since Jordan .
"When it comes to influence since I've been watching the game, the most influence on the game, and obviously we know what Mike did for the game, Steph and Allen Iverson are the two biggest, influential guys in our game," said LeBron on his podcast. "You have Steph, who's shooting over the Empire State Building. Those two are the two most influential; when you say how they changed the game and the kids, those are two guys that you just wanted to watch every single night."
At 36 years old, Curry's career is far from over. He is coming off an NBA campaign where he played 74 regular season games and averaged 26.4 PPG in 34.2 minutes per contest. Recently, Chef Curry delivered a masterpiece at the Paris Olympics to win his first Olympic gold medal. Again, Mike has more with two golds. But again, that isn't Kenny's point.
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