Steph Curry is one of the most divisive superstars of his era. Part of that has to do with the way the Warriors stacked their roster with talent in recent years, the result of which was a relatively painless route to two straight championships during the Durant era before the wheels came off last spring.
But before all of that, Curry helped spearhead a philosophical revolution in how the game is played with his historic and unprecedented three-point shooting. He is almost universally considered the best shooter in NBA history, yet their is still a vocal contingent that argues he is little more than a product of the game’s evolution and benefits greatly from a system designed to emphasize his skills.
Detractors also point to his perceived lack of signature postseason performances, as he was never named Finals MVP in any of the Warriors’ three title runs. Perhaps that was part of the rationale behind Michael Jordan’s recent comments that Curry should not yet be considered a Hall of Fame lock.
Curry himself offered a measured response to that, but there is at least one retired legend coming to his defense. Jerry West, who was an executive for the Warriors during Curry’s ascent, said in a recent interview on the Rich Eisen show that he makes no bones about whether Curry deserves to be considered a Hall of Famer.
“I think if you saw Michael’s reaction, he smiled, and I think he knows he’s a Hall of Famer,” West said. “He has not been selected yet, but he will be … Steph Curry is a no-brainer. I think Michael knows that.”
The Warriors’ nightmarish start to the season completely cratered out this week. Their roster was already severely depleted by injuries and forced them to rely heavily on new and mostly untested acquisitions, and the result has been one ugly loss after another as the 2019-2020 campaign gets underway. But a full-fledged tragedy struck on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors were already getting blown out on their new home-court at the Chase Center when Steph Curry went down and suffered a broken hand. News came on Friday that he’ll be re-evaluated in three months after undergoing successful surgery.
That makes this season essentially a wash for the Warriors as they look retool for the future, but the good news is that all the pressure is off for them to try and make a playoff push, and they can simple refocus on developing their new talent and getting everyone else healthy.
