Steph Curry is the ultimate one-off
players who have won at least three NBA titles and two MVPs. The list reads like the absolute who's who in league history: Kareem. Russell. MJ. Magic. Bird. Duncan. LeBron.nfl nike jersey cheap
Even tangential fans don't need their full names. You shouldn't for the last one on that list, either: Steph.
At age 30, in his 10th season, Stephen Curry is basking in the prime of his career. If he wins a fourth title or a third MVP -- and both appear possible this season -- the list narrows even further. If he does both ... we're talking about the rarest of the rare.
"I hate to break it to you, but he's already an all-time great," two-time MVP Steve Nash said. "He's the ultimate one-off. He's the evolution of basketball. It evolved before our eyes."
Whenever someone draws boxes around accomplishments -- the arbitrary numbers of titles and MVPs -- narratives can be created. Come up with a different metric, and the list can change.
That's not the intention here. Place aside the trophy case for the moment; the point is that Curry has already arrived. He has been a first-ballot Hall of Famer for a while. He's making a run at Mount Rushmore.
Curry is immensely popular, especially among young fans, but he doesn't enjoy the respect someone of his stature should demand. There have been many examples, but to take one, there was the pushback to him being the first-ever unanimous MVP in 2016.
Gary Payton said it was disrespectful to greats such as Michael Jordan. Tracy McGrady, my esteemed colleague at ESPN, said it was evidence that the league was watered down. LeBron James endorsed Curry's victory that season but then questioned the meaning of the term "valuable." There are plenty more where that came from.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
"There's layers to his place in the Zeitgeist," Nash said. "People don't associate him to greatness because he doesn't dominate the game physically. He dances. He pays a tax for that. He pays a tax for his great teammates."
Curry's place in history has two vital pillars, one of which is undeniable and one of which is wrapped in gray. He's generally recognized as the game's greatest shooter, and his brilliance has found a way to change the shape of the floor. Some of the fundamentals of the game have changed with Curry holding the brush.
"[Wilt] Chamberlain, Kareem and the great big men like Russell changed the game from the inside. He's changed the game from the outside," said Jack McCallum, longtime Sports Illustrated writer and author of the book "Golden Days."
