Coming off his first Finals MVP award and his fourth title since 2015, Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry clearly remains one of the league’s elite players, and obviously its single-best shooter. Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area makes the case that it’s time to officially anoint the eight-time All-Star as the elite of the elites — the NBA’s current best player.
Johnson notes that Curry vanquished a series of All-NBA foes in his postseason run through the West, besting Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant, and Luka Doncic in plus-minus by an absurd margin in each case. In six Finals games, Curry posted averages of 31.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.0 APG and 2.0 SPG. He connected on 48.2% of his field goals and 43.7% of his long-range looks.
Johnson also discusses Curry’s astronomical on/off-court impact on the Warriors — Golden State’s offense rating was 27.2 points higher when he took the floor during the team’s Finals series against the Celtics, one of the league’s best defenses.
Here’s more from California’s four NBA teams:
- In a Dubs Talk podcast interview with Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, Warriors rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. discussed the various contemporary players whose diverse approach to the game he hopes to replicate. “I like to watch [Kevin Durant], I like to watch Khris Middleton, I like to watch [Jayson Tatum],” Baldwin told Johnson. “I’m watching Otto Porter Jr., Michael Porter Jr. — guys that I think have roles that I can fill some day… It’s just important to be multifaceted and learn from everybody.”
- With Thunder lottery pick Chet Holmgren now out for the 2022/23 season, Kings rookie forward Keegan Murray has seen his chances of earning Rookie of the Year honors improve significantly, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. Murray’s odds moved from 9-to-1 to 5-to-1 following Holmgren’s injury, per Anderson. Sacramento selected the 2022 consensus All-American out of Iowa with the fourth pick in this year’s draft.
- The Clippers are hoping their expensive new Inglewood arena, Intuit Dome, will help improve their standing in the Los Angeles NBA pecking order with regards to the Lakers, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I think this’ll be so cool,” Clippers team owner Steve Ballmer said of the team getting its own home arena, separate from the downtown Crypto.com Arena, which they share with the Lakers, Kings and Sparks. “And it needs to be. You said this is a Laker town. No. [It’s a] Laker-Clipper [town]… And someday I want to be able to say Clipper-Laker [town].”
It’s already a Clipper Laker town. No one can see it just yet.
Keep dreaming Karen.
Definitely, especially after all them playoff series and titles the clippers have won.. oh wait
Don’t hold your breath
Steph definitely not the best player in the league. Probably the best offensive player but Giannis is better overall
Best is an opinion. If knowing how to lead your team to win championships is the criteria (as opposed to best traditional stats), Steph IS the best player in the league.
Did you even watch the finals? Curry was solid on defense. He’s an underrated defender.
After his epic finals performance, it’s safe to say that Curry is NBA’s best player.
If Steph wasn’t the NBA’s best player during their 2015–19 run, he still isn’t. Plus, Giannis was better during his epic Finals run a year prior.
But go ahead, tell us more about how you’re xenophobic and can’t stand the best player not being an American.
Clippers have a long way to go to get above the Lakers. There are more Lakers jerseys in closets than any other team. I have only seen one person in Atlanta Georgia with a Clippers jersey. The West is going to be a dog fight for sure. I see the Clippers in the WCF if healthy.!
Curry has been the best player overall in the NBA since 2012, Lebron just ran a propaganda campaign forcing dumb people to think otherwise. Curry should have about 7 MVP’s by now, Jokic is a clown choice (but a great player dont get me wrong, Curry just 10x more valuable to GSW and their 4 rings, than ringless Joker is for ringless Denver).
You dont get to team hop AND be “the goat” it doesnt work like that. Curry IS the GOAT, period.
Curry is the GOAT?!
You obviously don’t know what you are talking about.
Michael Jordan is the real GOAT
I’m hoping you’re a homer because the fact that you think Jokic is a “clown choice” and that you don’t even MENTION Giannis makes you come off xenophobic af.
Finally this year most people are willing to admit that Giannis is the NBA’s best player, even when they wouldn’t after he dropped 50 points in a Finals closeout game and won a ring, and now we have this Curry nonsense.
Do any of the current players name one guy before them that helped pave the way for them
LA cares about championships, not new arenas
Just when people finally come around to the obviousness that Giannis is the best player in the league, better than KD, people want to give it to Steph. Giannis wins a damn ring and everyone still says KD. Now Steph, who was never better than Bron or KD, is better than GA? NBCSports BayArea has always been a clown show filled with homers and simp writers.