Warriors fans have been waiting for Curry to have his biggest moment on the biggest stage and he’ll have a chance tonight.
With 13 seconds remaining in game 5 of a tied series, Steph Curry looked to put his team ahead by one with a drive to the rim. Houston’s help defense forced him into an ugly miss on a shot that he’s proven himself capable of making and just like that, the hopes of a Warriors win seemed to vanish.
The Rockets rebounded the miss and sealed the victory through free throws and an untimely Warriors turnover. Curry had his chance but couldn’t convert in the clutch, a trend that Golden State fans hope will end soon. With his team facing elimination, it’s time for Curry to step up and save the Warriors season with a game that will define his career.
Clutchness is one of the biggest factors in defining a player’s legacy. The best example of this can be found in Robert Horry, a role player who earned the title, “Big Shot Bob” due to his affinity to hit clutch shots in tight moments, especially in the playoffs.
Horry won seven championships as a member of the Rockets, Lakers, and Spurs. He never averaged more than 12 points in his career but due to his many playoff game winners, he’s remembered as a greater player than his stats suggest. That’s what a few big shots can do to the memory of a player.
Sure, Curry has had some big moments in the playoffs. In game 3 of the 2015 opening round, he hit a corner three that only he could make to cap off a 20-point comeback, leading the dubs to a win in overtime.
When he returned from an injury in the 2016 playoffs, he set a record for scoring in an overtime period when he dropped 17 points on the Trailblazers. Curry scored 40 overall and proclaimed that he was back to every fan in the building.
Still these moments haven’t come on the biggest stages. Curry hasn’t had these sort of moments in the finals or the conference finals. Yes, he did shake the notion that Matthew Dellavedova was “The Curry Stopper” in the 2015 finals when he drilled two arena-shaking threes over him in the fourth quarter of game 5, but any moment that involves scoring on Dellavedova doesn’t merit as much respect as hitting a shot over a notable player would.
In the the last two rounds of the playoffs, Curry’s teammates have actually taken much of the spotlight. This is evident in Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant’s finals MVP trophies. KD hit a three over Lebron to snatch away a win on the road in the finals last year. Klay Thompson hit a playoff record 11 threes in game 6 of an elimination game in OKC, leading the team to a win with 41 points and setting of a chain of events that eventually lead to Durant signing with Golden State that summer (yes that was because of Klay). Even Draymond Green had his moment when he tried (32 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 threes) to carry the team to a win in game 7 of the 2016 finals, the biggest game they ever played.
While Curry hasn’t necessarily underperformed in the later rounds of the playoffs, his failures are more memorable than his accomplishments. Everyone remembers Curry’s awful 2016 finals, a series that he finished with more turnovers than assists and everyone remembers when Lebron effortlessly blocked his layup attempt and talked trash to him afterwards (a moment that perfectly encapsulates that series).
That series collapse left a huge stain on Curry’s legacy that will be hard to cover up. Over the last three finals he’s put up games with just 11 and 14 points as well as only 17 in game seven of 2016. In the waning moments of the same game he also threw a dumbfounding around-the-back pass to Klay Thompson that sailed out of bounds and was locked up on defense by a recently concussed Kevin Love.
So Curry has had his fair share of unsightly moments on the big stage but that’s not to say that he hasn’t played well overall. Outside of 2016, Curry has lead the Warriors to their championships with some gaudy numbers (26/6/5 averages in 2015 and 27/9.5/8/2 steals in 2017). It’s likely that Curry could have two finals MVP trophies if he had just hit some more substantial shots that would sway the voters in his favor, but Iguodala and Durant won their awards because their impacts on the series were more profound.
Many stars have had their legacy defining moments come when their backs were against the wall. Kyrie Irving hit a huge three after Lebron’s legendary chasedown block on Iguodala at the end of the 2016 finals. Ray Allen saved the Miami Heat’s season in 2013 with a corner three that sent game six to overtime. Michael Jordan, in his last game as a Chicago Bull, avoided a game seven of the 1998 finals when he (probably pushed off and) hit a jumper with five seconds left to win his final championship.
Playoff intensity allows the biggest stars to shine and it’s time for Curry to do just that. He’ll have every opportunity to add a legendary moment to his career highlight reel in game six and a potential game seven.