When one has reached all the peaks imaginable, one is on top of a mountain, alone, admiring the horizon. There are no more heights to climb, no other path, nothing. There are many who stay there, enjoying the view, not wondering if there are more mountain ranges out there ready for you to discover and climb. Others spend their entire careers chasing every peak on the face of the Earth, with varying degrees of success. But all this remains in the background if you look at it from a certain point of view, since the process of ascent is just as important as the route of descent.
When talking about NBA stars who have transcended the fringes of their era, one of the most fundamental aspects is working on how we’ll remember them when they’re just a collection of numbers, stats and awards on a list. How will they stay in the collective imagination until the end of time?
This is not something that can be achieved overnight, not even what is done in one’s brilliance stage is enough. It’s in the sunset path of these figures where legacies and narratives take hold and become established, when the natural has already left the stars, when only the memory of what once resonates in the depths of the fan’s mind.
It is the descent of that last mountain that defines the player, how he descends, how intense or normal that path can be.
Stephen Curry is right on this point.
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When nobody gave a damn anymore Golden State Warriors the California franchise showed the strength of its culture, led by a Steph who reminded everyone why he is the best shooter in history. The fourth ring in eight years, the first after three seasons of desert wandering. However, the start of his title defense campaign did not start in the way many fans of the Bahia team would have liked, with a more than worrying level and casting doubt on the project.
The Warriors’ youth are still not ready to take the expected step forward, Thompson and Green haven’t been at their best, and Poole is still more erratic than Kerr needs to be.
At the other end of the spectrum is Curry. A Stephen who started at MVP level as usual, leaving records more typical of the peak of his career and which, in short, reflect the type of player he is: a tireless competitor.
The Golden State figure used to start campaigns in fantastic fashion. It happened in 2020 and 2021 but in this 2022 things are a bit different. In these two cases Curry had “something” to prove, a reason to hit the table and make it clear who he was. Months after winning the ring and emerging as Finals MVP, he could have demanded less or started in a more progressive way. But with the 34-year-old there is no middle ground. and there is none because there is no room for relaxation for him, not with his demanding physical conditioning. An education that is as military as it is frontline and that allows him to make the most of his performance and extend his already illustrious career.
Stephen Curry’s continued excellence has materialized in this start to the 2022-2023 season in which his on-court numbers They are the best of his entire career. Exceeding even the 2015-2016, the one he was MVP unanimously. And it’s that through those first 16 games of the stretch the point guard has shot 44.3% from three-point range, trailing 43.1% from the aforementioned campaign and 42.1% from 2016-2017.
The best start to Stephen Curry’s 3-pointer
| pos. | Time | %3PT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022-2023 | 44.3% | 77-174 |
| two | 2015-2016 | 43.1% | 78-181 |
| 3 | 2016-2017 | 42.1% | 67-159 |
| 4 | 2021-2022 | 41.9% | 85-203 |
| 5 | 2020-2021 | 37.9% | 67-177 |
* First 16 matches, at least 150x
This does it true shooting percentage (true shooting percentage), a tally that combines triples, free throws and two-pointers, is the highest of his entire career. with an excellent 69.7% success in TS% Steph leads the NBA in that regard, placing himself ahead of other specialists like Kevin Huerter (66.7%) or stars like Kevin Durant (65.3%). All this with a relatively low percentage of offensive usage (29.7%), following the line seen in the previous run where this record was practically identical.
But as always, Curry’s offensive contribution isn’t just limited to the triple, which has something to do with his physical design, but also with his own maturation as a player. Year after year he improves his body in such a way that it is more prone to incursions at the rim, showing an almost infinite repertoire of finishes. The Warriors star has missed just 13 of his 55 attempts in the restricted area, shooting an incredible 76.4%. To put that into context, he was more successful than other specialists like Anthony Davis (75%), Nikola Jokic (74.6%), Paul George (70.2%) or Devin Booker (62.1% ). Opponents in full fitness and with more weapons to hit and soak up the contact than Golden State’s #30.
While others Stephen Curry’s age are beginning to look to the past with nostalgia and the future like a grim reaper at their heels, The 34-year-old player stands firm, not yet knowing what, how and when his specific end will be. The point guard’s career has been ongoing proof that learning curves don’t have to follow a unique pattern with elite athletes. It took time for him to explode, he made it clear that his was no pass, he changed the game and now he is not only in enviable form but has shown signs that he can maintain it. Without further ado, his defensive contribution gets better and better as body and mind are in the same spot, with the addition of vast experience behind him: He allows 45.5% of his opponents’ attempts, 1.2 steals and 2.2 turnovers.
The pages that shape the legacies of those players who changed the NBA and the game forever are written at times like these. His leadership goes beyond the field, as does his impact. But to be able to reach into his thirties at a level that is practically identical, or even higher, with which he has delighted the world in the past is of immense value.
Faced with brute force, Stephen Curry suggests movement and lightness. Faced with the constant need to put up numbers for the record books, Stephen Curry exhibits his applied intelligence. If the twilight of his career has already begun, no one would tell.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
