Storyline: Steph Curry is reaching heights similar to Kobe and Mike. His electrifying shooting and crowd-appeasing highlights are remodeling the way guards play basketball. Written by Taylor Odenat. Follow Taylor on Twitter @TDSSports
Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Dirk Nowitzki are all completely different players. They play different positions, possess different play-styles, and project various personalities in locker rooms. However, with all these differences they share a common characteristic: the ability to change basketball.
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Iverson was “The Answer,” rocked unparalleled cornrows, and carried himself with a street-style, “Me Against the World” persona that everyone noticed and some even adored.
Michael is arguably the most marketable person on the planet and the most noticeable face and name in the sports industry. He owns a billion dollar shoe company, Air Jordan, and has majority control of the Charlotte Hornets. His name remains in the public eye more than a decade after retirement.
Kobe is debatably the only player who can be compared to Michael Jordan in play-style so, of course, his influence is worldwide. He’s practically a legend in China.
Dirk may not be as marketable as the others–with his laid back, non-expressive attitude–but he has altered the way basketball is played by a man of his stature. Young, 7-footers don’t just plant themselves in the paint grabbing boards these days, trying to perfect left and right hooks. They watch Nowitzki shooting from beyond the arc and emulate this German native’s style.
All these players have left a mark on NBA history, including the hearts and minds of the millions who play basketball around the world. And they’ve all made strong impressions on fans everywhere. But let’s add one more name to the list: Steph Curry. After winning his first NBA Championship in 2015, Curry is swiftly on his way to having the same influence.
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Curry won the Most Valuable Player Award as a guard. Guards don’t win the award often. It was last won by Derrick Rose in 2010. Curry’s achievement says that it’s possible to be smaller, and reach greatness, without being super fast or uber-athletic.
Curry isn’t either the biggest guard and the strongest, but he still broke countless records. He set the record for most made three-pointers in a regular season in the 2012-13 season. Then, he broke his own record in the 2014-15 season. He also owns the record for most made three-point field goals in the Playoffs at 59, topping the record forged by former Indiana Pacers guard, Reggie Miller. And while he isn’t in the elite yet in career three-pointers made, sitting at No. 45 with 1,235, he’s creeping up on his father, Dell Curry, who sits at No. 42 on the list with 1,245 made threes. By the end of his career, Curry is bound to be in the top-3 of this category.
Curry is reaching heights similar to Kobe and Mike. His electrifying shooting and crowd-appeasing highlights are remodeling the way guards play basketball. And he’s excelling at guard during an age when guards are getting bigger and longer–per Michael Carter-Williams and Emmanuel Mudiay.
Around the country and the world ball players are screaming, “Curry!,” as they rise up for a shot behind the three-point line.
