A Little History Of People Hating On Steph Curry And Why It Should Continue

Listen, Steph Curry is one of my favorite players. I mean, how can you not like him? Have you seen that video of him hitting like a hundred consecutive threes in practice???

Good God.

However, like some other people, I had my doubts that Steph could be THE man. With a decimated roster after Klay went down for the season, and Curry’s last real minutes coming in the 2019 finals against the Raptors (he was limited to 5 games last year), I thought just MAYBE Steph had slowed. 

Others, however, were flat out calling him overrated. Saying he was downright washed.

This doubt is nothing new. Curry has been called overrated since his Davidson days:

LOL that article is from 2009! Think about that. He’s been called overrated all the way back to when he was known as STEPHEN CURRY. Jesus. 

Lest we think, I don’t know … TWO MVPs and FIVE FINALS APPEARANCES might have silenced the haters, might I offer up Rob Parker and Chris Broussard?

“Steph Curry ain’t THAT GUY and people don’t have any fear of him. These players knew that Steph needed Kevin Durant in order to flex his muscles. The last time I heard Steph was the best player in the NBA they were choking down a 3-1 lead in the Finals. He can do all that shimmying and shaking but when it matters most? Last year when Klay wasn’t on the court and Durant wasn’t on the court? He had a three ball to snatch the hearts away from Toronto and force a game six and he did what he normally does in those situations... HE MISSED IT. He can make the circus shots when the Washington Generals are out there but he can’t make it when it matters most. Opposing teams should do whatever they can to get him a doctor and get him out there so they can rub it in his face, drub him, and run him over.”

The Steph hate is so inexplicable that the Undefeated had an entire think piece on why we have Curry Hate in the first place.

A think piece. On why people want to shit talk the greatest shooter we’ve seen maybe ever. 

For those who watch Curry regularly i.e. Warriors fans… they even had to make a primer on WHY people were hating, because it seemed so inexplicable to those who know him best.

To quote this article:

The more pertinent alleged anti-Steph discourse seems to date to Dec. 31, when former NBA player/current NBA pundit Channing Frye guested on the Dubs Talk podcast. Frye, who beat Curry in the Finals as a member of the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers, said the following:

“This year, there’s a lot of questions. Not of, can he play? But can he adjust his game without those all-stars to make everyone else better? I’m excited to see it. I think he can do it. I think the culture can do it and Steve Kerr can put them in the right situations."

I’m a big Channing Frye fan, loved the guts he showed in the 2016 playoff run for the Cavs … but come on big guy. You had a front row seat watching Chef Curry lead the Warriors in scoring in the series, including 38 in Game 4. 

But it was open season on Curry before the season, and then about three games in, Steph seemed to have gotten just a LITTLE bit tired of hearing the shit talk.

He took the lid off, and holy hell did he start cooking.

I think Russillo is wrong here. I think the “masses” that find any opportunity to question Steph’s greatness did need a reminder. I mean, without The Last Dance, there would be a large subset of 20 somethings who still would feel Jordan wasn’t that great just because of his time as a Wizard. I think the NBA is better when Steph is being unnecessarily downplayed because just like LeBron, just like all other high caliber players, they hear it, process it, use it as fuel, and then give us another level of greatness. 

So instead of apologizing for ever thinking Steph wasn’t that dude, I’d like to say “Steph, you’re still overrated.” Need to feed that monster so we can see more 60+ point games. 

Make sure to listen/watch the rest of the THIS LEAGUE podcast where we cover how the NBA is handling COVID like a YMCA rec basketball league, the ongoing Kyrie Irving saga, and hit listener personal DMs. There’s also a great interview with the King of Scoops Jay Glazer, who explains the differences between NFL and NBA scoops (and who would win in the octagon, Woj or Schefter).