“He’s a top-10 player who couldn’t win one game on a 73-win team” - Rob Parker says Steph Curry wouldn’t be held in such a high regard if it wasn't for Kevin Durant
Steph Curry is officially a four-time NBA champion. After a fantastic year, the Golden State Warriors won their fourth championship in the last eight years, which is incredibly impressive.
Curry put on a fantastic show in the 2022 NBA Finals, averaging 31.2 points per game against the Boston Celtics. He was very efficient from the 3-point land, converting 43.7% of his long-range shots.
The All-Star point guard currently has four championship rings and numerous other accolades. He is one of the few players who have revolutionized the game of basketball and deserves a lot of credit for it.
Chris Broussard and Rob Parker discussed Curry and his most recent championship. Parker believes that the point guard would not be held in such a high regard if it wasn't for Kevin Durant. Parker said:
"He's a Top 10 player who couldn't win one game on a 73-win team. Lost three straight games for the first time the whole season, and lost two of the three games at home, including Game 7. Without the two wins by Durant, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Broussard commented that Steph Curry proved he could win without Durant, and that it's not his fault that the two of them played together. This is why coming up with different "what if" scenarios doesn't make sense.
Broussard also pointed out that Magic Johnson is considered one of the greatest players of all-time. However, it's rarely mentioned that he was drafted by the team that had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, another all-time great.
Unfortunately, Curry's legacy will always be affected by the 2016 Finals and the historic failure.
As amazing as Steph Curry is, he couldn't carry his Warriors to a 2016 NBA championship. While this usually wouldn't be a problem, the 2016 Finals were just different.
The Warriors had a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, yet they ended up losing the series. They lost three straight games for the first time that season, and two of them were in Oakland.
Steph Curry led the team to a 73-9 record during the regular season, the best record in NBA history. However, when the team needed him the most, he underperformed.
Steph Curry's 2016 NBA Finals performance
Steph Curry played fantastic basketball, both with and without Kevin Durant. However, his worst performance in the NBA Finals was in 2016.
Curry averaged only 22.6 points per game in the series, shooting 40.3% overall. While he had decent performances in Games 5 and Game 6, he disappeared in Game 7, and the Cavaliers won it all.
6 years ago today, LeBron scored 18 straight Cavs points with the season on the line.
He finished with one of the most ridiculous NBA Finals statlines ever:
41 PTS, 8 REB, 11 AST, 4 STL, 3 BLK
(Game 6, 2016 Finals) https://t.co/tRlTlfEJLF
The point guard scored only 17 points on 6-for-19 shooting in the final game of the series. He was also 4-for-14 from the 3-point line.
While this series is definitely a stain on Curry's legacy, winning four championships is still very impressive. If he wins another one, most fans will completely forget about the 2016 failure.