(Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com / Ryan Brown)
How do you define an NBA superstar? Obviously, it means being the best player on the court, more often than not. It means having the numbers and the consistency to support.
All of that, and probably more, have to translate into wins as well as accolades such as All-Star selections. One might even argue that All-Star votes are a pre-requisite for the discussion. You have to be so good that everyone in the world recognizes it, although charisma can certainly help in the popularity department.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors seems poised to enter that pantheon.
“The best players on the floor act like it. They don’t run and hide and it’s not about making the game-winning shot, it’s about making plays,” head coach Mark Jackson said, “The basketball’s gonna be in his hands the majority of the time and I trust him to make the right decisions. He’s that good. I wouldn’t ask him to do that if I didn’t believe in his ability to take over ball games. He’s been special this year.”
Prior to Friday’s game against Houston, Curry had collected this run of performances:
Even though Curry’s “Kryptonite” seems to be defenders with the same body type and one-on-one skillset such as Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets (two straight losing performances), Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies (Curry seemed to have exorcised that demon in a recent blowout of the Grizzlies), or Toney Douglas (one of the reasons general manager Bob Myers acquired the Warriors’ backup point guard), Curry is still getting to the free throw line on a consistent basis, which is also a trademark of so-called “superstars”.
“I was able to get to the line more. He was aggressive, so I tried to use that against him,” Curry said of his performance against Beverley, “I just gotta be patient with him, not let (his pressure) bother you, and just stick to the offense, because that’s his main goal, to try to get you out of the offense. So if we can just handle that pressure, we’ll be better off next time we play them..”
Despite going just 5-for-12 from the field, Curry eventually scored 22 points against Beverley in the loss Friday, going 9-for-11 from the charity stripe to go along with 9 assists.
In fact, on two occasions late against the Rockets, Curry missed three-point tries that would have cut the deficit to the Rockets to two or fewer points. He was actually that close to turning the tide.
As part of the whole package, a superstar must make fantastic plays. Curry is already known as the best shooter on the planet, but he has other skills too.
“The same left-handed off-balance swing pass that makes you cringe wins the ball game for us, but it was a great read, the way he took the defense with him, hit Draymond (Green) on point,” Jackson said of another key play in the win against Dallas, “To Draymond’s credit, he was locked and loaded and made a big shot for us.”
Becoming an NBA superstar sort of just happens in the process of doing so, and while it’s not really something tangible that you can write on a piece of paper as a goal, Curry is approaching that type of status and he seems to be aware of it.
“I don’t think in those terms,” Curry told me after his game-winning buzzer-beater against the Mavericks last Wednesday, “Obviously if you define what that label is, that has a part of it: showing up in big moments in the game.”
Being vocal as a leader is also a quality you see a lot in superstars.
“Yeah, he’s doing a good job of it,” Thompson said, “It’s his fifth year here, so he’s growing into our leader.”
“That’s an ongoing process. When I got here, I asked him to do it,” said Jackson, “He’s done a great job of doing just that. This is his basketball team, there’s no secret about it. And he is the leader.”
True to his character, Curry preferred to re-frame the vocal leadership in terms of the team.
“It’s something we’ve been preaching, just keeping everybody accountable. No egos on this team,” he said, expounding Jackson’s established culture, everyone on the team has a voice, be it a rookie or veteran.
“So if (Nemanja) Nedovic comes up and says I missed a player, I’m not gonna take it personal,” Curry explained, “I’m not gonna ‘big-time’ him because that’s what makes teams better.”
“Coach has done a great job of defining our roles on our team and allowing us the confidence to go out there and make him look good. He’s challenged me all year to be that guy. It’s nice to have those opportunities and to see what happens,” added Curry, “Just be aggressive and make those plays in the last five or six minutes in close games.”
Yet, what still awaits is the mitigation of turnovers and that turning into more consistent winning. And from winning, the accolades and labels will follow.
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