Stephen Curry: Career retrospective

Steph Curry was born into a basketball family. His dad, Dell Curry, enjoyed a 16-year NBA career and won the 1994 Sixth Man of the Year award with the Charlotte Hornets. His younger brother, Seth Curry, has been in the league since 2013 and is a great player in his own right.

The Currys moved around a lot because of Dell’s NBA career. But Steph calls Charlotte, North Carolina home. Steph balled at Charlotte Christian School and was the team’s leader during a successful run in its basketball program’s history. Although he wasn’t heavily recruited because of his size and small frame, he committed to Davidson College to play basketball.

Curry entered Davidson College as a scrawny point guard with big dreams. He left as a budding superstar. The freshman phenom broke the NCAA’s record for three-pointers made by a freshman and averaged 21.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He led the Davidson Wildcats to a first-round exit against the Maryland Terrapins in March Madness.

With Curry at the point, the 2008 Wildcats shocked the world and made it to the Elite Eight, where they lost to the eventual champion Kansas Jayhawks. The sophomore sensation was unstoppable in March Madness that year. He entered the 2009 NBA Draft after his junior year.

Curry is the best player in the program’s history. All told, he averaged 25.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 104 games for the Wildcats. The campus legend had his jersey number retired during an epic ceremony in 2022.

After an illustrious college career, Curry was considered a lottery draft pick and one of the top point guards in the draft class. In search of a franchise player to bring their team to prominence, the Golden State Warriors selected Curry with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. The Curry era had officially begun in Golden State.

Curry introduced himself to the NBA by averaging 17.5 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. This was good enough for the 2009 All-Rookie Team. Curry was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year, losing the award to Sacramento Kings forward Tyreke Evans.

After enjoying seeing his stats jump in his sophomore season in the NBA, Curry hit a roadblock in his development during his third year in the league. Steph was sidelined for 40 games because of nagging foot and ankle injuries. Some media pundits labeled Curry too small and scrawny to succeed in the pros (6-foot-2, 190 pounds), a criticism that started back in his high school days. He proved them wrong then and he’d go on to prove them wrong now.

On February 27, 2013, Curry scored 54 points (18-of-28 shooting, 11-13 behind the three-point arc) in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. Curry’s great night on the floor went viral and put him on the map. To this day, it’s still one of the best individual basketball performances in Madison Square Garden. I guess Michael Jordan was right when he said you need to play great in New York if you want to be recognized as a star in the NBA.

That same year, Curry led the Warriors to their first playoff appearance in six years, finishing the year with a 47-35 record. Curry set the single-season three-point record with 272 three-point swishes made. In the playoffs, Curry continued his flashy playmaking ability and guided the Warriors past the Denver Nuggets in six games in the first round. While they were handily defeated by the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in the second round, the future was bright for the Warriors.

Players have come and gone during the Curry era in Golden State. One of Curry’s teammates from the beginning is shooting guard Klay Thompson. Known for their exceptional three-point shooting ability, they were nicknamed The Splash Brothers early in their tenure together. Drafted just two years apart, The Splash Brothers elevated the Warriors franchise to new heights and oversaw the most successful era in the Warriors' storied history. 

They’re the greatest backcourt of all time.

Curry put up 24 points, 8.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game over the 2013-14 season, leading the Warriors to a 51-31 record and the sixth seed in a competitive Western Conference. The Warriors suffered a heartbreaking first-round playoff exit against the Los Angeles Clippers. They took the series to seven games. Warriors head coach Mark Jackson was fired in the offseason.

The Warriors hired Steve Kerr as their franchise’s next head coach. Let’s just say the coaching hire worked out for everybody involved. The Warriors jumped to 67-15, best in the West. Curry had a breakout season and ran away with MVP honors. The Warriors, who were nicknamed the Dubs for their winning ways, breezed past the competition in the Western Conference Playoffs and beat LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals in six games. Warriors forward Andre Iguodala won NBA Finals MVP for his lockdown defense against LeBron, not Curry.

For much of NBA history, the model for success was to draft a center and build your team around him. The Warriors had a different blueprint.

They used a small ball lineup to win games. They weren't the tallest, but they were so fast and crafty at scoring that they could drain shots in bunches. Other teams have either copied their formula to success or avoided it in favor of an old-school style to the game. They were the first small-ball team to win the NBA championship. Because of this, they gave small ball credibility.

Curry won back-to-back MVPs in 2015 and 2016. Chef Curry was cooking, putting up 26.9 points, 7.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game over this two-year span. Steph grew into the premier point guard in basketball. He could shoot, score at will, run the pick and roll better than anyone else, defend the perimeter and get his teammates involved with his flashy passes.

The Warriors were the best team in the NBA for the 2015-2016 season. They amassed a record-breaking 73-9 record, one win ahead of the 72-10 1996 Chicago Bulls. Their starting five consisted of Curry, Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. Their bench was rounded out with former star Andre Iguodala, Maurice Speights and Shaun Livingston. Statistically the best team in basketball, they marched to the 2016 NBA Finals for a rematch with LeBron’s Cavaliers. After securing a 3-1 lead in the series, LeBron came back and beat them in Game 7 to win the Cavs their first NBA championship. Blowing a 3-1 lead became a meme-worthy moment in NBA history. It was the most devastating loss of the Warriors dynasty.

The Warriors needed an answer to LeBron. This became apparent after the 2016 finals. In the offseason, the Dubs signed small forward Kevin Durant. Over the next two years, the Warriors' "Death Lineup" dominated. They won back-to-back championships (2017, 2018) and were the toast of the NBA. They lost six playoff games during this two-year span, an incredible accomplishment.

The Dubs looked destined to pull off a three-peat until the basketball gods changed their fate. As you can expect, the Warriors were dominant in the regular season, finishing with a 57-25 record. They’d versus the Kawhi Leonard-led Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. On basketball’s biggest stage, Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles injury and Klay Thompson tore his ACL. With two of their best players sidelined, the Warriors watched in horror as the Raptors clawed away at their three-peat chances, winning the series in six games.

The 2019-20 NBA season was the low point of the Warriors Dynasty. Durant and Thompson were still sidelined from their injuries, and Curry played in just five games because of a hand injury sustained early in the season. The Warriors plummeted to a 15-50 record as the team was stifled by injury.

Curry was back in the MVP conversation the following season. He put the team on his back and tried carrying them to the playoffs. While they went 39-33 on the year and failed to make the playoffs, Curry was getting buckets. He scored 62 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, and went on a remarkable run in April when he scored 30 points or more in 11 straight games. He won the NBA scoring title by averaging 32 points per game.

Contrary to popular belief, the Dubs weren’t washed up yet. Thanks to a revamped roster and the return of Klay Thompson to the lineup, the Warriors looked poised for another run.

The Warriors' new lineup featured Curry, Thompson, Jordan “The Baby Splash Brother” Poole, Andrew Wiggins, and longtime Warriors player Draymond Green as the starting five. They went 53-29 and won the Western Conference title as the third seed in the playoffs.

Chef Curry and the Death Lineup 2.0 put on a show against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. They defeated them in six games. The Baby-Faced Assassin led the way with 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5 assists per game–winning his first NBA Finals MVP in the process. The well-deserved honor was one of the last awards Curry needed to complete his legacy as one of the greatest NBA players of all time.

Curry was given a nod into the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, a roster assembled to honor the league’s anniversary. Other point guards who made the cut are Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Isaiah Thomas and Chris Paul, one of Curry’s biggest rivals during his career. This honor put Curry in the discussion among the top point guards to grace the hardwood floor.

Chef Curry changed the game of basketball forever. He put the three-pointer on the map. As Curry was shooting his way to stardom, the rest of the NBA had to catch up. Before Curry, it was seen as an occasional way for a player to score. Now, it’s a must-have. The Steph Curry Effect has affected high school and college basketball players as they shoot more and more threes. He also helped usher in the small ball era, and the Warriors were the first team to use 3-and-D players as a role in the NBA. His influence on basketball is something few players can match.

Off the court, Steph signed an endorsement deal with Under Armour which includes his own shoe line. Besides Under Armour, Curry has numerous endorsements. A devout Christian, Curry has donated to multiple charitable causes during his playing career. He is married to Ayesha Curry. They have three kids together.

Steph Curry is the greatest three-point shooter of all time. It’s not even close. He takes some of the most ridiculous shots you’ll ever see and finds nothing but net every time. He won two NBA three-point contests (2015, 2021). He is a member of the 50-40-90 Club. Oh yeah, he’s also the league’s all-time leader in three-pointers scored and holds four of the five best three-point scoring seasons in NBA history. 

Curry's insane shooting range and off-ball movement were what set him apart from fellow three-point greats. 

Curry is not only the best point guard in the league (and has been for some time), but he's also one of the greatest point guards of all time. The only unanimous MVP in NBA history, Curry’s resume definitely has the muscle to stand alongside the likes of Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and Chris Paul–to name a few. 

We don’t know what’s next for Curry, but we assume it’s going to have something to do with winning.