Stephen Curry
Teams
Golden State Warriors - 2009-present
Playoffs
Appearances - 7 (2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019)
Conference Finals - 5 (2015,2016,2017,2018,2019)
NBA Finals - 5 (2015,2016,2017,2018,2019)
Championships - 3 (2015,2017,2018)
Awards and Honors
MVP - 2 (2015,2016)
Finals MVP - 0 (2015,2017)
All-NBA First Team - 4 (2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2019,2021)
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (2014,2017,2018,2019,2021)
All-NBA Third Team - 1 (2018)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Free Throw Percentage - #1
Three-Pointers Made - #2
Three-Point Percentage - #7
Points Per Game - #21
Assists Per Game - #40
Steals Per Game - #50
Total Assists - #70
Total Points - #74
Total Steals - #80
League Leads
Free Throw Percentage (#1-2011,2015,2016,2018, #2-2013,2019, #5-2021)
Three-Pointers Made (#1-2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2021, #2-2019)
Three Point Percentage (#2-2016, #3-2011,2012,2013,2015, #4-2019)
Total Steals (#1-2015,2016, #2-2010, #5-2017)
Total Points (#1-2021, #2-2015,2016)
Points Per Game (#1-2016,2021, #5-2019)
Steals Per Game (#1-2016, #3-2010, #4-2015)
Total Assists (#3-2014, #4-2015)
Assists Per Game (#5-2014)
After leading Davidson on a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight as a sophomore, then leading the nation in scoring with 28.6 per game as a junior, Stephen Curry was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the #7 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
He had a strong start to his career, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists as a rookie, finishing as the runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. In his second season he raised his scoring up to 18.6 per game and led the league in free throw percentage, hitting .934 from the line, breaking Rick Barry's single-season team record.
He had ankle surgery right after that season ended, but his issues persisted, causing him to miss 40 games the next year and requiring a second surgery at the end of that season. He signed a new 4-year contract before the next season, which seemed risky at the time, but it turned out to be a great move for the Warriors.
That year, Curry averaged 22.9 points and 6.9 assists per game, set a new record for 3-pointers made in a season with 272, and led the Warriors to the playoffs, where they reached the second round before falling to the Spurs in 6 games. He led the league in three pointers again the next season, but fell just short of breaking his own record, and the Warriors fell in the first round of the playoffs that year.
In 2014-15, Golden State got a new coach, Steve Kerr, who emphasized faster-paced play and more opportunities for Curry to shoot, and the result was amazing. The Warriors won 67 games and Curry was named the MVP after putting up 23.8 points and 7.7 assists per game while breaking his three-pointer record with 286 made and leading the league in free throw percentage for the second time.
In the playoffs, Curry was able to lead the Warriors all the way to the NBA Finals, breaking the record for most threes made in a single postseason in Game 3 of the Conference Finals. He struggled in the first two games of the NBA Finals, but rebounded in the next 4 games, leading the Warriors to a championship in Game 6. Andre Iguodala was named the Finals MVP because of his defense on LeBron James, but Curry's averages of 26 points and 6.3 assists per game in the Finals should have been enough to get him the award.
The next season, Curry became the only player in history to win the MVP award unanimously after leading the Warriors to a record 73 wins and leading the league in scoring with 30.1 per game, steals with 2.1 per game, free throw shooting at .908, and setting a new record for three-pointers made again with 402, becoming the first player ever to reach 300 or 400. He also became the seventh member of the 50-40-90 club, shooting a career-high of .504 from the field and .454 from three in addition to his league-leading free throw percentage. He was able to lead the Warriors back to the NBA Finals, but LeBron James and the Cavaliers were able to overcome a 3-1 deficit to knock them off and stop them from finishing their historic season on a high note.
Kevin Durant joined the Warriors the next year, and Curry happily took on a slightly smaller role despite being the 2-time defending MVP, dropping his scoring to only 25.3 per game, but the result was a 3rd straight trip to the NBA Finals, where they knocked off the Cavaliers in 5 games. Kevin Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game in the Finals and was named the MVP, but Curry may have been better, averaging 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.4 assists.
The next year he missed quite a bit of time due to injury, 11 games early in the season with an ankle injury and then 22 games with an MCL injury that kept him out through the first round of the playoffs, but he returned in full health in the second round, and helped lead the Warriors to their 4th straight Finals, where they again beat the Cavaliers, this time in a sweep to earn Curry his 3rd championship in 4 years, this time with 27.5 points per game in the Finals.
Curry averaged 27.3 points per game the next season, the second-highest of his career at the time, and once again led Golden State all the way to the NBA Finals, making it 5 years in a row. He averaged over 30 points per game in the Finals for the first time in his career, but the Warriors fell to Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in 6 games after losing Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to injuries.
Curry was expected to take on a huge load the next year with Durant gone to Brooklyn and Klay Thompson out with injury, but just 4 games into the season he broke his hand, which practically ended his season. He returned in March for one game before the season was shut down for COVID, and the Warriors record was bad enough that they weren't invited to participate in the bubble that finished off the season.
Back at full health last year, Curry led the league in scoring for the second time, finishing with a career high 32.0 points per game and leading the league in 3-pointers made for the 6th time. Golden State narrowly missed the playoffs, but Curry still finished #3 in the MVP voting.
As the reigning league scoring leader, Curry is obviously still at the top of his game and has a lot of potential to continue moving up the list of all-time greats. He is currently the best free throw shooter in the history of the league, and is #2 in 3-pointers made, a record he will likely take from Ray Allen this coming season. He has led the league in scoring twice, steals once, and won 2 MVPs, and he is easily one of the greatest players of all time.
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