The decision to leave Stephen Curry off of the NBA All-Star roster last season was met with heavy criticism by several analysts around the league, and of course by the Golden State Warriors fans. Although Curry emerged as a star in the Warriors team during the 2012-2013 season, his production and his level of play weren’t enough to send him to Houston, where the 2013 NBA All-Star game took place. But will he be an All-Star next season?
First of all, to answer to that question we will have to take a look at the Golden State Warriors team. The Warriors kept the core of their team intact and they also added the energetic forward Andre Iguodala. After a surprising season in 2012-2013, the Warriors are looking to continue their upwards course and chase the top seeds in the West. Of course, Stephen Curry will have a huge role in this run.
Last season, Curry appeared in 78 regular season games, starting in all of them and he averaged 22.9 points and 6.9 assists, both career-highs. He also shot an astonishing 45.3 percent from three-point territory and 45.1 percent in general from the field. He clearly emerged as the leader of Golden State and also, he set the tone for even greater things to come.
His shooting ability, especially from long range is what made the difference. Stephen Curry set a franchise record for most threes hit in a single game in a game against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, finding the target on 11 out of his 13 attempts. The sharpshooting point guard managed to break the NBA record for most three-pointers hit in a single season. He finished the 2012-2013 campaign with 272 threes made, three more than the previous record-holder Ray Allen.
But Curry’s abilities don’t stop there. At 6’3” he has a good size for the point guard position, he is quick, and an excellent ball-handler and he also has good court vision. As he had a bunch of teammates that he can rely on to score, his assist numbers went up last season. This number can be raised even more next season, as Iguodala will provide an extra option on offense. Curry will have even more options when he plays the pick and roll next season and that can help him improve his scoring and his shooting percentage even more.
Last season, he got to participate in the first playoff games of his career, another fact that will help him grow as a player and earn more experience in difficult situations.
With that said, if Stephen Curry retains his lethal shooting stroke next season, there is little doubt about his selection as an All-Star. Of course he might still find himself getting voted behind the megastars of the West, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. But still, he well-deserves the spot.
About The Author:
Ron Leyba is the lead editor of www.FantasyBasketballMoneyLeagues.com, and LastWordOnSports NBA Analyst. For more of his articles, follow his updates at Google+.
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