{"id":31473,"date":"2020-06-26T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=31473"},"modified":"2020-06-29T16:37:55","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T20:37:55","slug":"top-30-nba-players-stephen-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/06\/26\/top-30-nba-players-stephen-curry\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Word on Pro Basketball\u2019s Top 30 NBA Players: Stephen Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although ranking the top 30 NBA players in today\u2019s game is an incredibly difficult task, The Last Word on Pro Basketball staff has taken it on. Coming in at number 5 in the countdown is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/golden-state-warriors\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Golden State Warriors<\/a> point guard <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Top 30 NBA Players<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Number 5 \u2013 Stephen Curry<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Stephen Curry was born in Akron, Ohio while his father <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryde01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dell Curry<\/a><\/strong> was a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/cleveland-cavaliers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina with his brother <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryse01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seth Curry<\/a><\/strong>. Curry also spent some of his childhood in Toronto, Ontario.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stephen Curry OTH Trailer 2 including Seth Curry\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HjSPPEWtCKA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Stephen Curry was drafted seventh in the 2009 NBA draft by the Warriors. He had a good rookie season averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.9 steals in the 2009-10 NBA season. He finished as a runner-up in the Rookie of the Year Race to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/evansty01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tyreke Evans<\/strong><\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/sacramento-kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sacramento Kings<\/a>. Curry was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in January, February, and April of 2010.<\/p>\n<p>As a rookie, Curry had an amazing eight 30-plus point games in his rookie season, which was the most for a rookie since <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/anthoca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Carmelo Anthony<\/strong><\/a>. Curry was the main piece of the Warriors dynasty run that included <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompkl01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Klay Thompson<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greendr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Draymond Green<\/a><\/strong>. With Thompsons\u2019 shooting ability, Curry and Thompson would become the Splash Brothers.<\/p>\n<p>Curry would lead the Warriors to the NBA playoffs in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, they upset the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/denver-nuggets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denver Nuggets<\/a> in the first round. However, they would lose to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/san-antonio-spurs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a> in the Western Conference Semifinals. In 2014, the Warriors would make the playoffs again but would lose a close seven-game series against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-clippers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stephen Curry vs Chris Paul Full Duel Highlights 2014 Playoffs West R1G6 - Warriors vs Clippers\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KwJIZHbwmYk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This was the last playoff series loss the Warriors have experienced in the Western Conference. In the five subsequent years, the Warriors would make the NBA Finals. This includes four against James and the Cavaliers and one against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/toronto-raptors\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Toronto Raptors<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kawhi Leonard<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Strengths<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>To make it in the top five, Stephen Curry like many players have several strengths that make him special. The biggest strength Curry has is his shooting ability. Stephen A. Smith talks about Curry\u2019s shooting ability on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UPXD7ucY--8\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBA on ESPN<\/a> last year in only 650 games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSteph Curry is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball. Just recently he surpassed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/terryja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jason Terry<\/strong><\/a> to be number three on an all-time list in career three-pointers,&#8221; Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>Curry is extremely efficient at the free-throw line. For all but three years in his NBA career, he has averaged more than 90 percent at the free-throw line. Even in the years when he did not average above 90 percent at the free-throw line, he still managed an average above 80 percent in those years.<\/p>\n<p>He is also historically accurate in the NBA playoffs. Curry missed a free-throw\u00a0against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/portland-trail-blazers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> in the 2019 NBA Playoffs which was Curry\u2019s first missed free-throw since Game Six of the 2015 NBA Finals in either the fourth quarter or in overtime.<\/p>\n<p>Curry&#8217;s field goal percentage is typically at 46 to 49 percent. Furthermore, except for the season where he played five games, his three-point percentage is typically above 40 percent. He can also pass and rebound the ball. He averaged 6.6 assists and 5.2 rebounds, the latter of which is impressive for a point guard. Curry has also shown a cunning ability to steal the ball. In the 2015-16 NBA season, for example, he led the league with 2.1 steals per game.<\/p>\n<p>Curry is a special and one-of-a-kind player. There may never be a player like Curry again.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When it comes to the top players in the game, there are very few weaknesses. Some of these weaknesses may not be considered one for even an NBA All-Star player. However, Stephen Curry is an NBA superstar, so he will be critiqued accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>He is an above-average player at defense. He is not elite at that position. Curry though does not need to be. His teammates Green and Thompson are elite defenders according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsnbrews.com\/news\/2017\/10\/17\/stephen-curry-is-actually-a-very-good-defender\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hoops N Brews<\/a>. He also lacks athleticism according to Ralph Orense of <a href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/warriors-news-stephen-curry-similar-vertical-leap-thunder-russell-westbrook-draft-combine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ClutchPoints<\/a>. This is probably Curry\u2019s biggest flaw in his NBA game. However, he more than makes up for it with his shooting ability.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, although Curry has been in the NBA Finals five times and won three NBA Championships, he has never won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/iguodan01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Andre Iguodala<\/strong><\/a> won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2015 while Durant won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2017 and 2018. With everything Curry has accomplished with the Warriors, one would expect him to win at least one NBA MVP Finals trophy.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Stephen Curry Career Accolades<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Stephen Curry has a trophy case full of career accolades in the NBA. His accolades in the NBA started in his rookie season, where he was part of the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2010. He also won the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 2011. Curry would build on those accomplishments making six straight NBA All-Star Game appearances from 2014-19. He also won an NBA Three-Point Contest in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Curry has made the All-NBA First Team three times and the All-NBA Second Team two times. He was also part of the All-NBA Third Team in 2018. Curry won two consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player awards in 2015 and 2016. This included a historical 2015-16 NBA season, where he was the NBA scoring champion and steals leader. He also made the 50-40-90 club in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>This meant that Curry had at least a 50 percent field goal percentage, 40 percent three-point field goal percentage, and a 90 percent free throw percentage by the end of the regular season. He is one of only eight players in the NBA to accomplish that feat.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, with all of these accolades in the 2015-16 NBA season, he accomplished something even more special. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/warriors\/news\/curry-mvp-20160510\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBA.com<\/a>, Curry became the first unanimous Most Valuable Player Award in NBA history. He was also only the 11<sup>th<\/sup> NBA player to win two consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Small for NBA, two-time <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/KiaMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#KiaMVP<\/a> Stephen Curry becomes dream player (via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Powell2daPeople?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Powell2daPeople<\/a>): <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nJ9HyCjtYg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/nJ9HyCjtYg<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FNpi3F4poE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/FNpi3F4poE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/730427605342691328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 11, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, Curry made the NBA Finals five times. He led the Warriors to three NBA Championships in 2015, 2017, and 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, he is currently the all-time Warriors leader in three-point field goals made. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/leaders\/hof_prob.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">basketball reference<\/a>, Curry currently has a 99.87 percent chance of making the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. This is the second-highest odds from the 2009 NBA draft, behind Harden of the Rockets.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Last Word on Pro Basketball Ballots<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We believe in full transparency in the top 30 NBA player rankings, so we are going to disclose the ballots of our player rankings and where each contributor had each player ranked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/tylermarling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Marling<\/a> \u2013 Site Manager \u2013 5th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/chasegage\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chase Gage<\/a> \u2013 Managing Editor \u2013 5th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/david-knight\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Knight<\/a> \u2013 Marketing Manager \u2013 5th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/zachkircher\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach Kircher<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 4th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/matthewwaldman\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew Waldman<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/davidjackson2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Ward<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 5th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/avinashchauhan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Avinash Chauhan<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 4th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/adamzigner\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Zigner<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/albertdadson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Albert Dadson<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/thomasguest\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Guest<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/raheemb\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raheem Bashir<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 2nd<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/natelavine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nathan Levine<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 5th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/billhuan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Huan<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"cr4vahxiRHFuCdPAWKjN9Q\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/970185978\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'cr4vahxiRHFuCdPAWKjN9Q',sig:'T2LFdNiSaGsitgFdKUXRQbM12s8ImzqFxj27GA7MVmc=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'970185978',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although ranking the top 30 NBA players in today\u2019s game is an incredibly difficult task, The Last Word on Pro Basketball staff has taken it on. Coming in at number 5 in the countdown is Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. Top 30 NBA Players Number 5 \u2013 Stephen Curry Stephen Curry was born [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3104,"featured_media":31628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1608,62],"tags":[629,2188,409,182,69,70,3692,585,48,3689],"class_list":["post-31473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-warriors","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-andre-iguodala","tag-dell-curry","tag-draymond-green","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-kevin-durant","tag-klay-thompson","tag-last-word-on-pro-basketballs-top-30-nba-players","tag-seth-curry","tag-stephen-curry","tag-top-30-nba-players"],"modified_by":"Chase Gage","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}