seventhNBA franchise in
history towinconsecutive
titles. “I’vedreamedabout
a lotof things inmy life,”
Currysayswithasmile,
“butIneverdreamedabout
anything thisbig. It’skindof
surreal.”
★
SURREAL
ISAFITTING
word forCurry touse,
because that isanaccurate
way todescribehis talent,
his impact,hisallureand
hisattitude.On thecourt,
he isaone-mancircus
—equalpartsmagician,
juggler, tightropewalkerand
acrobat.Hehas taken two
basketball fundamentals
—shootinganddribbling—
andelevated them toa level
previouslyseenonly invideo
games.Hehasmade the
30-footshotasentertain-
ingandascrowd-pleasing
as thedunk.Hisability to
handleaball likeayo-yohas
befuddledmanyexcellent
players,whooften tripover
theirown feetwhile trying
toguardhim.At times,he is
sodazzling thateven team-
matesaredistracted.
“Heputsonashow,”
Warriors forwardDraymondGreensays. “Hecando
amazing thingswith thebasketballduringagame.
Butasa teammate, youcannever fall in lovewith
justwatchinghim,because thenwe’renotconcen-
tratingonwhatweneed tobedoingasa team.”
Curry’sencore tohisMVPseasonhasbeenbril-
liant.Hehas led the league inscoring formostof the
season, increasinghisaverage toaround30points
agame.ByMarch1,hehadbecome the firstplayer
sincebothLeBronJamesandDwyaneWadeduring
the2008-09season tohave threegames inone
season inwhichhescored50ormorepoints, and
hewas thereason theWarriorswere inposition to
challenge the1995-96ChicagoBulls (72-10) for the
bestregular-seasonrecord inNBAhistory. “He just
electrifiescrowdswhereverhegoes,”says77-year-
oldNBA legendJerryWest,whosesilhouette isused
as theNBA logoandwhocurrentlyhasaconsulting
rolewith theWarriors. “Tohavehimonyourside is
likehaving theHopeDiamond.”
But it isCurry’smasteryof the3-pointshot that
hasmadehimunique inNBAhistory.Noonecould
have imaginedsuchaplayer in1979—nineyears
beforehewasborn inAkron,Ohio—when theNBA
established therule thatawards threepoints for
shotsbeyond22 feet from thebasket in thecorners
of thecourtand frombeyondanarcof23 feet,9
incheswhen facing thebasket.Theshotwasat-
temptedsparinglyat first, for thesimplereason that
longershotsaremoredifficult tomake.
Curryhasushered inanewera.Lastseason,he
madearecord286baskets from3-pointrange.That
ismore thananyNBA teammadeduringaseason
in the firstnineyears theshotexisted.Thisseason,
he’sbeenevenbetter.OnFeb.27,hemade12shots
from3-pointrange (tyinganNBArecord) ina
Warriorsvictoryover theOklahomaCityThunder,
givinghim288with24gamesstill left in theseason.
Thatwasalsohis129thconsecutivegamemakingat
leastone3-pointerand that, too, isanNBArecord.
DallasMavericksheadcoachRickCarlislecom-
paresCurry’s impacton theNBA to the influenceof
BillGatesandSteveJobs. “Theychangedourevery-
day life,”Carlislesays. “StephCurry ischanging the
wayourgamewillbeplayed in the future.”
EvenasCurry isbeinghailedasa transformative
player, thereare inevitablecomparisonswithhis
predecessors. “It’sa joy forme tobeable towatch
Stephat thispoint inmy life,”saysWest. “He is the
bestshooterI’veeverseen. I love [formerIndiana
Pacersstar]ReggieMiller,butReggieMiller isnot in
hisclass.”
Curry’sathleticability is largelyaproductof
hisexceptionalworkethic,buthisgeneshavealso
playedapart.His father,Dell,hada16-yearNBA
career, andhismother,Sonya,playedvolleyball
atVirginiaTech.Dell,whowasoneof thebest
shootersofhisera, retired in2002whenStephwas
14, soStephandhisbrother,Seth,whoplays for
theSacramentoKings, learned firsthand thework
required toplay in the league.
“Ialwayswanted tobebetter thanmydad, and
heencouragedme,”Stephsays. “He’dalwayssay, ‘I
couldshoot,butIcouldn’tdribble likeyoucan.All
thatstuffyoudoon the floor, thatcreativity, theball
handlingandhowyouplay isbetter thanme.’ I just
wanted tobeamoreall-aroundplayer.”
56
APRIL2016
AMERICANWAY
PHOTOS
NATHANIELS. BUTLER/NBAEVIAGETTY IMAGES (2);CHRISTIANPETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES
VS.
CURRY JORDAN
AsofMarch 1, 2016, no team inNBAhistoryhadwon
more regular-seasongames than the 1995-96Chicago
Bulls, ledby the legendaryMichael Jordan.ThatBulls
teamfinished the traditional 82-game schedulewith72
winsandonly 10 losses.Not surprisingly, that teamwent
15-3 in theplayoffsandwon thefirstof threeconsecu-
tivechampionships.The2015-16GoldenStateWarriors
squad isbeingcompared to thoseBulls, buthowdo
the teams (and their superstars) reallymatchup?Steph
Curry’s stats throughFebruary2016giveno reason to
thinkhewon’tovertakeJordan’snumbers from 1995-96.
53-5
TheWarriorshad thebest58-
game record inNBAhistory.
30.7
56gamesplayed
.515
56gamesplayed
.468
56gamesplayed
.908
56gamesplayed
52-6
TheBullswon their first 5
games and started41-3.
30.4
82gamesplayed
.495
82gamesplayed
.427
82gamesplayed
.834
82gamesplayed
EACH TEAM’S RECORD THROUGH 58 GAMES
EACH PLAYER’S POINTS PER GAME
EACH PLAYER’S FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE
EACH PLAYER’S 3-POINT PERCENTAGE
EACH PLAYER’S FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE
