Former Denver Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo will be well-remembered by the fans of the franchise for being the stand-in point guard who played while Jamal Murray recovered from his ACL tear. At that time, Campazzo guarded the best player in the NBA including Stephen Curry . The now Real Madrid guard opened up on how he would face trash-talk from rappers and Draymond Green while guarding Curry .
“I had to defend Stephen Curry and Trae Young… there were these rappers sitting in the front row. They were saying to him, ‘Attack him, he can't defend you! Look, look, he doesn't know how to defend!’… And I was thinking, ‘Please don't attack me!… Or don't fall so you don't end up in the top 10 of the week.’ And it was the same when I was defending Curry. Draymond would come up to me and say, ‘No matter how you defend him, he's going to score 30 points on you, so ask your coach to switch you out.’”
Campazzo averaged 5.6 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals during his stint with the Nuggets. He played half a season for the Mavericks in 2022-23 before leaving the NBA and returning to the EuroLeague where he plays for his old team Real Madrid.
The Nuggets faced the Warriors in the first round of the 2022 Playoffs where Campazzo had the assignment of guarding Curry. Steph averaged xxx in that series which the Warriors won in five games before winning the title that season. That was Campazzo's last taste of basketball with the Nuggets, as they won the title the next season while Campazzo struggled in Dallas before leaving the NBA altogether.
Austin Reaves Once Said Guarding Stephen Curry Was Hell
Guarding Stephen Curry is not for the faint of heart, with Austin Reaves reflecting on his assignment on Curry during the 2023 Playoffs by c alling it hell as he was exhausted by the movement of Curry and Klay Thompson .
“It’s honestly hell… You literally can’t ever relax. I remember Games 1 and 2, chasing him and Klay around, and I couldn’t make a shot… I’m like ‘I ain’t got no legs!’”
Mikal Bridges is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA but even he has an impossible time guarding Curry, whether it's when the guard is looking to score or make the right play .
"With how much coverage he gets with double-team stuff, he just makes the right play... He's just non-stop, he's the most unique. It's easier to play on the ball with him because like as a defender as anybody else, it's easy to relax off the ball. Guarding that man, that’s like a 24-shot clock (job)."
Steph averaged 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists last season, showing off his offensive versatility in a wasted season for the Warriors as they failed to make the Playoffs.
He'll have even more responsibility this season, with Klay Thompson gone and no obvious second option on offense. We might see a defining season from Curry, or we might see age finally start catching up to the 36-year-old.
Related: 10 NBA Players Who Can Best Guard Stephen Curry Right Now
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