"His career up until that point was a bit of a mess" - NBA insider believes Steph Curry's 54-point explosion at MSG is one of the most important games in NBA history
An NBA insider believes Steph Curry exploding for 54 points at the Madison Square Garden is one of the most important games in NBA history. Curry announced himself to the world when he torched the New York Knicks that night. He won his first championship two years later.
In an interview with Awful Announcing, Sean Deveney discussed his upcoming book about the 12 games that helped shape the NBA. Deveney wanted to write about the most influential games in league history. He did not chose the most popular games, but the ones that had the biggest impact. He said:
"I wanted to pick influential games, games that sort of set the league in a certain way down the line. That had an impact on where the league wound up going. It was tough to do that, to find those kinds of games rather than what you'd see on NBA TV Hardwood Classics."
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When asked what the most recent game featured in his book was, Deveney revealed that it was Steph Curry's 54-point performance at MSG. He explained that Curry became a superstar after that game, which set the league's course for the next decade. He said:
"His career up until that point was a bit of a mess. He showed a lot of talent, but the Warriors were a mess. There was the perceived beef with Monta Ellis. They had a change in ownership. They made the Andrew Bogut trade.
Deveney continued:
"He had ankle injuries. He didn't look like a guy who would be durable enough to play in the NBA for a long time. He goes against the Knicks, the team he thought that was going to draft him in 2009, and he was just unbelievable. That's when the world said, 'Steph Curry, we have to start paying attention to this guy.' Everything took off from there."
Steph Curry at Madison Square Garden
Steph Curry has had three memorable moments at Madison Square Garden. Curry debuted at the world's most famous arena on Dec. 9, 2008. He was still with the Davidson Wildcats, participating in the Jimmy V Classic against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Curry struggled in the first half, missing 12 of his first 13 shots from beyond the arc. However, he scored 13 of Davidson's final 15 points to help beat the Mountaineers 68-65.
As mentioned above, Curry exploded for 54 points against the New York Knicks in 2013. He became the fourth visiting player to score 50 points or more at MSG. The first three were Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
But Curry's most memorable moment at the Garden was on Dec. 14, 2021. With Ray Allen and Reggie Miller in attendance, the two-time MVP became the NBA's official three-point king. He broke Allen's record for most three-pointers made.