steph curry:The greatest show in basketball

November 12th, 2024, the first time Klay Thompson would return to where he cemented his legacy as one of the greatest shooters on the planet and won 4 championships. Thompson’s run in Golden State was truly spectacular, but without help from his splash sibling, things might look a little different. Wardell Stephen Curry II revolutionized the game of basketball in a way that will never be repeated; Steph’s shooting ability has altered the way we look at floor spacing, certain positions, shot selection and plenty more. Now that Thompson is on the Dallas Mavericks, it makes for an exciting watch with him, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving all on the floor together.

The return home for Klay was mostly successful as he drained 6 threes, one more than his former teammate Stephen Curry and the game remained close the entire way. In the 4th quarter the Mavericks led the Warriors 103-102 with 7:12 remaining and just like that ex girlfriend or boyfriend that you never got over, Klay Thompson hit a clutch 4th quarter 3 to extend the Mavericks lead to 5 with 5:17 to go. As the Mavericks began to think they had the game in their hands with a 114-108 lead and only 3:15 left to play, Steph Curry quickly reminded everyone watching why he was the first unanimous NBA MVP in league history. To begin the avalanche of basketball excellence orchestrated by the best shooter in the world, Steph Curry stopped on a dime, or maybe even a penny, for a mid range pull-up to cut the Mavericks’ lead to 4. Now 114-110, the Warriors regain possession and Curry makes Doncic pay for inexcusably going under the ball screen against the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA, Luka is not known for his defense but my goodness, give Steph a little respect. After the Curry three that cut the lead to one at 114-113 Mavericks, and Luka was able to find an open Daniel Gafford in the paint only to get obliterated (blocked) by Draymond Green at the rim. To highlight how good of a defender Draymond is, Gafford is 6’10” 265 and Green is 6’6” 230 and he left Gafford in a fetal position after his superb block. Curry snatches the rebound and pushes the pace down the court to get matched up with Doncic once again, and I know what you’re thinking, time for Luka to get Steph back from the previous possession- WRONG- Steph simply fakes like he’s going to use the screen and makes a shifty dribble move blowing right past Doncic for an easy two. Way to make up for last time Luka! The next drive Luka backs down his defender for a tough fadeaway 2 and misses which gives the ball back to Steph Curry, I mean the Warriors. Steph calls for a screen to once again expose Luka on the defensive end, this time Luka chose to not even bother with defending Steph and grants 7 footer Derek Lively the pleasure of guarding Steph Curry. Watching this play out, I can’t help but imagine Lively switching onto the boiling hot Steph Curry with soiled britches and a gulp that could be heard in west Africa. Shockingly enough, Steph Curry was able to find his spot and rise up for a 3 pointer that went in so effortlessly, I think Lively started to question his sanity. Now 118-114, Steph Curry has completely ripped the heart out of the Dallas Mavericks and the Warriors would go on to win this one 120-117. As we thought Klay Thompson was going to make the Warriors feel like imbeciles for letting him leave, Steph Curry quickly reminded us all that this dynasty accomplishes absolutely nothing without the baby-faced assassin.

Steph Curry scored 12 straight unanswered points on the Dallas Mavericks, safe to say the Mavericks’ (Luka’s) defense could use a little fine tuning. I have been watching basketball for 20+ years and I can not stress to you how much of an understatement, “Steph Curry is must watch TV”, is. It is mind- blowing watching how much control he has over the other team and how helpless the opponent looks. We all saw this in the 2024 Olympic Finals vs France when he left his body and propelled USA Basketball to a 5th straight Gold medal. There was a time when I could not stand Steph Curry, but it was only because he was so damn good and he was beating Lebron James in the Finals, who just happens to be the best basketball player to ever tough the face of the earth, and my favorite. Now that I am grown and can reflect on my thoughts and actions I realized that I was young, dumb and idiotic, because to not appreciate Steph Curry is to not appreciate basketball, and that is utterly wrong. So keep squandering the hope for opponents Steph, it’s truly unbelievable to witness.