Just another day at the office for Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry. After scoring only 13 points through the first three quarters of a game this week (as of this posting) against the Boston Celtics, Curry turned up the heat and scored 20 in the fourth, sending the game to OT.
Curry hit the 3-pointer to tie the game late in regulation time, then lead the Dubs to a 132-126 victory. That after the Warriors were down by 17 late in the third. Like we said, just another day (or night) at the office for Steph.
Of course the night’s work made up the bulk of the night’s post-game discussion with our boys on TNT’s Inside the NBA. Shaq – long one of Curry’s biggest fans and avid supporters – said it’s time to start talking about GOAT (Greatest of All Time) status for Curry… placing him squarely among the best of the best in the game, today and across NBA history.
For us, the biggest eye-opening line of the TNT broadcast came early on, when Shaq started talking about Curry. Shaq: “I’m wondering if it’s time to start putting (Steph Curry) as the best player of all time”
To which Kenny Smith asked the obvious question: “you’d put him over you?” O’Neal’s simple reply: “Yes.” Check the video below for the full conversation.
In a surprising (to us, anyway) assessment, Shaq said Curry is – quoting here – “way better” than he was during his playing time. That’s quite the honor, and a little hard to figure out exactly, since the two play / played such totally different styles of hoops.
So.. your thoughts? Is Curry in the GOAT conversation? Does he belong up there with guys like Jordan, LeBron, Kareem and Magic? Again, his game is very different from many of the past GOATs. He’s got an amazing skillset and talent.. Probably something that’ll never be duplicated. At least not anytime soon.
Curry does have the jewelry to get into the conversation. Four NBA Championships, two of them without a “significant second” star alongside him. No doubt he’ll be setting the 3-point record so far up into the stratosphere that it might never be broken. Shooting and ball-handling? Greatness.
No doubt Curry will have another amazing season. He almost always does. If that plays out to post-season tournament play is still very much up in the air. While the season is still in its (relatively) early stages, the Warriors are way down the list in the West. They’ve got a lot of work to do, and they’ll be doing it without fiery star Draymond Green, at least for a while longer.