Steph Curry has already cemented himself as one of the best NBA players of all time, carving out a stellar career at the Golden State Warriors, who drafted him at No.7 in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Curry, 35, has won four NBA Championships and two MVP awards, while being an NBA record holder after becoming the first player in the league’s history with at least 10,000 points off three-pointers alone.
The ‘Splash Brother’ has dominated his opposition despite being on the smaller side compared to his NBA rivals. The Warriors star stands at 6ft2in, a far cry shorter than the likes of LeBron James, Kevin, Durant, Nikola Jokic, and even NBA new boy, Victor Wembanyama, who shapes up at 7ft3in.
However, legendary NBA small guard Isiah Thomas says everyone who is involved in professional basketball “all bow” to Curry for changing the sport with his unguardable range.
“For whatever reason in sports, people want to hate on the small guy,” Thomas told Sway’s Universe. “And in sports, normally the bigger players dominate. When you blessed with the genetic gift of size, weight, right? When you 6ft8in, 6ft9in and you know, can jump and do… That’s a genetic gift we small guys don’t have.”
Thomas added: “So Steph Curry, myself, you kind of look at Stephen and go, ‘I can do what he does.’ But that’s the beauty of it. That’s the inspiration when small guys like us can do it against the genetic freaks.
“And then people of normal size can say, ‘Well, I don’t have to have a 52-inch vertical. I don’t have to be 6ft9in. If I can work on my handle and shoot it, I can get to play.’ And that’s the beauty of the game. Steph doesn’t get enough credit… By the people outside the sport. But the people inside of the sport, Steph Curry walk in the room, we all bow.”
Curry has an incredible 42.8 percent success rate from three-point range and was likened to Thomas, who came many years before his arrival on the NBA scene. Thomas, 62, was the second overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, being selected by the Detroit Pistons, where he stayed for 13 years before retiring in 1994.
Thomas helped the Pistons win two NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990, winning Finals MVP in the latter series. He was also a 12-time All-Star and had the No.11 jersey retired by the Pistons while 19.2 averaging points and 9.3 assists for his career.
Curry and the Warriors failed in their attempt to defend their NBA crown last season, losing in the playoffs to the LA Lakers. The dominant Denver Nuggets, who played in the Western Conference, went on to claim their first-ever NBA Championship, beating the Lakers in the Conference Finals before brushing the Miami heat aside.
