There's no denying that Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is one of the greatest players to ever suit up in the NBA. According to Paul Pierce, his impact is so great that it even outshines the legacies of LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Speaking on Undisputed, Pierce made his case for the Warriors great:
"[Steph Curry’s] influence on the game has been greater than [LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant]… I watched the Celtics game last night… Their first 10 shots were three pointers.”
Do you agree with Paul Pierce? 🤔
(via @undisputed)pic.twitter.com/m65vXy3Xv8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 21, 2024
Said Pierce, “[Steph Curry’s] influence on the game has been greater than [LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant]… I watched the Celtics game last night… Their first 10 shots were three pointers.”
The case for Stephen Curry
Aside from being one of the top-15 (at worst) players to ever play in the NBA, the biggest factor in Curry's impact on the game of basketball has been the move to the 3-point shot. The Warriors dynasty absolutely changed the way the game was played. In 2015, the year of the dynasty's first NBA championship, NBA teams averaged 22.4 3-point attempts per game. That same season, the Warriors averaged 27 attempts a night.
Less than 10 years later, NBA teams average 35 3-point attempts per game.
A related impact that Curry had was making not only the 3-point shot ‘cool' but making the deep 3-pointer a legitimate weapon. Every time NBA fans see a highlight of a 3-pointer from the logo, they can thank the Warriors guard for popularizing the shot. Guards such as Damian Lillard and Trae Young followed Curry's lead and now regularly attempt – and make – a shot that would have gotten them pulled off the floor by their coach 15 years ago.
The case against Stephen Curry
There's not much that Curry can be knocked for. Even if one isn't a fan of the way that the Warriors revolutionized the game, there's no denying that it ACTUALLY happened. So really, the case against Steph is more of a case FOR LeBron James or Michael Jordan.
Both players are among the very few that stand above the Warriors great in the argument for ‘The Greatest NBA Player of All-Time' but how much did they revolutionize and therefore impact the game?
Jordan certainly won at a clip that hadn't been seen in some time, and his prowess was unmatched at his peak, but the only real way that he impacted the game in a lasting manner is in terms of brand and marketing. Jordan was great, but in a more conventional way on the court. Off the court, however, the Jordan brand became a billion-dollar enterprise – one that continues to this very day.
James came into the league with a combination of size, strength, speed, and basketball IQ that possibly had never been seen before. But because his gifts were so inherent to himself, he didn't really impact the way that the game was actually played – unless you want to argue that All-Stars leaving the Eastern Conference to avoid him for 15 years counts. Which it might.
Pierce was simply pointing out that Curry and the Warriors changed the fundamental way that the game is played in a manner that is still rippling throughout the league. And he's right.
Follow Us
Subscribe