NBA: Stephen Curry And Kobe Bryant Are Similar, But Very Much Different

There are some glaring similarities between Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant, but they are two very different NBA Superstars

Kobe Bryant will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2015-16 NBA season and is obviously a legend with the years he spent playing with two future Hall of Famers in Shaquille O’Neal and Pau Gasol. After Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat, and before Pau Gasol was acquired in 2008, Bryant dominated the mid-2000’s with his hot barrage of scoring performances. It was something viewers hadn’t seen since Michael Jordan.

With countless 40, 50, 60, and even an 81-point game, Bryant became must-see TV. Almost 10 years later, reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry, from the 2014-15 season, is doing the exact same thing that Bryant once did. The only difference is Bryant did it on fringe playoff teams, and Curry is doing it on a championship team with at least four other franchise players (Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala).

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Both Bryant and Curry excel and exceed expectations that make it evident that they aren’t that different in many ways, and do share glaring similarities. As one star rises, another one falls. It’s taken a while, but Bryant’s successor has been discovered.

Expectations

The two are once in a lifetime players and are similar in overachieving expectations. Back in 1996, Bryant had hoped to be drafted by his hometown Philadelphia 76ers, but they decided on selecting Allen Iverson No. 1 overall instead. Bryant then slipped down the board to No. 13 and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets, before immediately being shipped to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Bryant was a tour de force in high school, and gained adulation for it. When his senior year approached he was highly touted, gaining recognition from Duke, North Carolina, Michigan and hometown Villanova. Instead of going the route most future NBA players do, Bryant became the sixth anomaly to become a prep-to-pro NBA player, courtesy of seeing how Kevin Garnett transitioned.

There were questions and worries about drafting a kid from high school but Jerry West took that risk in acquiring Bryant, and he’s (technically) exceeded expectations, based on his draft position. It also doesn’t hurt that he started his career with seasoned veterans and All-Stars in Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel and Shaquille O’Neal, along with respected players such as Byron Scott and Rick Fox.

Curry exceeding expectations was a little more difficult and akin to a neophyte attempting to solve a rubix cube. He came into the NBA after spending three years at Davidson, and didn’t really gain much attention until his sophomore year in which he led the Wildcats to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Once he decided to forgo his senior year, he became the topic of much criticism with pundits focusing on what he couldn’t and isn’t, such as his size, shot, decision making, and potential.

Like Bryant, Curry was passed on and dropped to the No. 7 pick. He was most notably passed on by the Minnesota Timberwolves who had back-to-back picks, and decided to select Ricky Rubio (No. 5) and Jonny Flynn (No. 6, no longer in NBA) prior to the Warriors drafting Steph. In his rookie year, Curry played understudy to Bay Area favorite, Monta Ellis. Next to Ellis, Curry was a catch-and-shoot type of guy. The duo had potential, but according to Ellis, it wasn’t a good fit and couldn’t work. Along with Ellis’ public displeasure, Curry has to overcome the constant losing and inconsistency of consistency within the franchise. Couple all of that with nagging injuries such as his ankle, and it looking like it would become problematic for the remainder of his career, greatness wasn’t expected of Curry.

Long story short, he’s an NBA MVP and on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Scoring

Some of Bryant’s most memorable games and seasons came when his team wasn’t so good. He became must-see TV with his ability to score an exciting 50 or more points in the way he could. Scoring wise, Bryant became adept at taking it to the rim and either finishing with a poster, acrobatic layup or a visit to the free-throw line. If he wasn’t trekking to the hoop, the it was an isolation play for him in the post, or a straight-up one-on-one player with him taking a mid-range or three-point shot.

For comparison sake, checkout Bryant’s shot chart from the 2005-06 season in which he averaged 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals with a PER of 28.0 and usage percentage of 38.7. It also doesn’t hurt that Bryant’s torrid year exactly 10 seasons ago was something NBA fans hadn’t seen since Michael Jordan in the late 1980s. The Black Mamba’s 35.4 average is the highest single-season average since Jordan’s 37.1 back in ’86-87, and his 2,832 total points is the most in a singular campaign since Jordan’s 2,868 in ’87-88.

Exactly 10 seasons later, Curry is having a similar season in 2015-16 to the one Bryant had prior. The only difference is this: Bryant’s killer scoring seasons were comparable to Jordan’s. As for Curry, the season he’s currently having is incomparable to anyone in league history. He’s truly a one-of-a-kind player, and the way he scores is something unseen.

Curry is 6-foot-3, 190-pounds, and is currently averaging 30.8 points, 6.3 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals per night. Along with spectacular numbers, he’s putting up a terrific slash line of .513/.445/.905. In a similar fashion, both are having unique seasons.

With Curry looking like the average American man, he scores by being one of the best and most efficient shooters in league history, along with breaking the opposition with his crafty handles and heading to the rim with floaters that reach heaven before coming back down to earth and being counted as two points. The shots Bryant is known for taking are difficult and questionable attempts that are often misses, hence why he’s the All-Time leader in that department. Bryant’s difficult shots are the ones Curry looks for and makes his ease every game.

Bryant’s career-high in PER of 28.0 (’05-06) is what Curry averaged his MVP year in 2014-15. This year he’s on pace for the highest PER in NBA history, as he’s currently at a 32.5.

Image

Bryant’s image was never family friendly. He’s been known as a stubborn man who will push every button needed to win. Throughout his illustrious career, his image was only tainted once, which was of course with his sexual assault case prior to the start of the 2003-04 season. That tainted his image for awhile, along with his reputation of being rude to his teammates. There’s a story involving Bryant telling former teammate Smush Parker to get dressed in a closet.

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Besides that though, his image is an acquired taste. He’s an old-school type of person, but has become more open and lighthearted as his NBA exit date becomes brighter with each game he completes. Maybe one of the reasons Bryant’s image isn’t talked about much is because he’s a proven winner and it’s sometimes misconstrued. Just as DeMarcus Cousins, who basically has a similar image to Bryant, said to Slam Magazine: “Winning covers up everything.”

Curry is the face of the NBA, hence why he’s nicknamed “The Baby Faced Assassin.” Bryant once had that label, which then went to LeBron James before he decided to head to Miami and destroy his image. After James, it was Kevin Durant, but then he started a campaign about him not being nice and got hit with the injury bug. So, with all that said, Curry was up next and his play-style along with everything he represents shows why.

The NBA’s new poster boy is evolving the game at a meteoric pace, while becoming a role model off of it. He knows how to have fun with his daughter Riley Curry becoming an Internet sensation this past postseason, and even becoming a model. Steph’s stature of being borderline skinny, not super fast or an uber-athletic specimen makes relatable and realistic. With that said, his relationship with his wife, Ayesha, and family in general have become goals for people on the Internet.

What’s there to hate about Curry? He’s known as a good character guy on a loaded team, and his rising popularity has led to a 581% increase in his jersey sales, according to ESPN. This is just the start of his rise as the NBA’s poster boy.

"LeBron James on Curry via Cleveland.com: “He’s special player, special talent, a special person more than anything. I think that’s great for our league.”"

Dynasty Potential

The duo of Bryant and Shaq will forever be known as the most formidable tandem in league history. Together they won three championships and made it to the finals four times in five years. On the court, the two were hard to stop as they were unquestionably the best as their respective positions during their tenure together. Their downfall was their relationship with each other off of the court, which led to O’Neal being dealt to the Miami Heat in 2004.

Along with Bryant and O’Neal having a bad relationship, they would publicly attack each other. O’Neal though, pushed himself out of Los Angeles with his injuries, request and question of desire. If the two had worked together and motivated each other, the duo might’ve won at least five championships. They’ll always be considered a “what if” through the rest of time, if they got along well while they were young.

Bryant wouldn’t be on a championship caliber team until 2008, in which the Lakers acquired Gasol from the Grizzlies. With Gasol in town along with Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest, the Lakers won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. That situation could’ve led to a quasi-dynasty but didn’t. The Lakers and Bryant did have another opportunity at it though when they acquired Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison during the offseason. Potential was evident in win-now mode and a future pillar in Howard, who was often compared to O’Neal while in Orlando.

The star heavy team didn’t reach its potential at all, with Bryant suffered an Achilles injury along with not getting along with Howard, Nash and Gasol, being injury prone and D’Antoni constantly being questioned as the wrong coach. The pieces were there but the health and chemistry weren’t.

Now, here’s where Bryant and Curry are supremely different. Opposing players want to play with Curry, based on his image care-free style of play. He doesn’t have that mentality of being an Alpha, and is okay with being a Beta or subordinate to someone else. Case and point are his Warriors, as they had a 65-17 regular season in ’14-15, started the ’15-16 campaign 24-0 with a 28-game winning-streak courtesy of last year, and are currently 28-1. As previously mentioned, the team has a few other franchise caliber players on their roster who genuinely only care about winning and not individual success.

The Warriors have become basketball’s modern day version of the Spurs. Reason being is with their style of play, roster makeup and coaching. Golden State becoming the NBA’s next dynasty is quite clear and evident. Thompson and Green signed on long-term deals, and Curry will most likely stay in the Bay Area on a max-deal once his contract expires following the 2016-17 season. Every other player, excluding team options, could become a free agent in 2017, meaning the Warriors will have cap flexibility to build on their dynasty as some of their core parts advance in age.

With cap flexibility, a winning culture, a players coach, innovative offensive and defensive schemes, and a one-in-a-lifetime player who has a small ego, it’s very scary to know that this is only the start of the Warriors’ domination of the 2010s led by Curry.

"“We want more,” Stephen Curry began saying to ESPN’s Heather Cox after their Christmas matinee against Cleveland. “We’ve tasted a little bit of success and won a championship, but we have such potential in this team and the core is back together and we’re better as a team so we wanna take advantage of that. We got to lay the foundation as we go through the season.”"

He knows the potential is there and wants to reach it early as soon as possible. Curry wants his Warriors to dominate the league just how the Celtics and Lakers in the early stages of the NBA, and the way Jordan did it during the 1990s.

With the exception of the Lakers and Spurs at the turn of the century, no team has really won an excess of championships in a short span to be considered a dynasty. The Pistons with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed and Ben Wallace didn’t do it. They would win one title and make it the Eastern Conference Finals each year. Boston’s quartet of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Garnett couldn’t do as they experienced injuries after 2008. The last potential that could’ve happened was in Miami with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and James, but the King went back home.

It’s hard to create a dynasty, just look at the recent teams that tried to do so in the 2012-13 Lakers and 2013-14 Nets. Loaded with talent but not able to put it together. Curry sees the opportunity to do so now, and that’s something Bryant didn’t see clearly until his hindsight became 20/20 later in his career.

Impact on youth

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The bigger and brighter the star, the more eyes that will be watching. Kids are always attracted to the spectacular elements of basketball, such as dunks, crossovers, blocks and long-range shots. Bryant and Curry have impacted the next wave of basketball studs in different ways.

Think about it. Bryant is a ball-dominant guard and is known for his shoot-first mentality. He’s had nine career games in which he’s attempted 40+ shots which is an NBA record, along with missing the most shots. His thought process of shooting himself and team in and out of games has become a thing some kids want to do. It’s the thinking of “If Kobe can do it, I can do it” type of thing. His impact on his shooting, attitude and persona can be felt on the players who have entered the league after him with similar aggressive styles akin to him such as Paul George, Kevin Durant, James Harden and LeBron. It also doesn’t hurt that his sneakers and apparel give kids the perception that they can play like him.

Whenever kids take an abundance of shots during a game, don’t look to pass often, and end up taking difficult and/or contested shots, they are often compared to Bryant. An addition to that, when kids take those shots or do the classic rolling of a paper into the form of a ball and fadeaway, chances are they’re yelling “Kobe” while holding their follow through.

In the social media era, where Curry’s drives to the basket, crossovers and three-point shots become hits on vine, he’s become the leading force of transcendent players. Young kids these days want to be Curry. If you walk into a gym and begin taking an abundant of three’s such as catch-and-shoot, off-the-dribble or pull-up then you’re teammates will question you as trying to play like Curry.

Yelling “Kobe” while one shoots won’t die until the next generation of viewers makes their presence known. On the rise though is kids shouting “Curry” or “Steph Curry with the shot boy” as they take and make a few three-pointers.

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In the history of the league, popularity amongst kids has always been important. They’ll always gravitate towards the cool and entertaining players. First they wanted to be like Mike, then Kobe, now Curry. Other players have had their little juncture in time when younger players wanted to play like them, but not on the level of the aforementioned.

Mark Jackson‘s hot take on Curry’s impact from their Christmas Day broadcast:

"“I’ve thought about this one. Steph Curry’s great. Steph Curry’s the MVP. He’s a champion. Understand what I’m saying when I say this. To a degree, he’s hurt the game. And what I mean by that is, I go into high school gyms, I watch these kids, and the first thing they do is run to the 3-point line. You are not Steph Curry. Work on the other aspects of the game. People think that he’s just a knock-down shooter. That’s not why he’s the MVP. He’s a complete basketball player.”"

The glaring comparisons along with the slight differences could be made and continued between Bryant and Curry. As Bryant leaves his pedestal of greatness, Curry is right their next in line. He’s the NBA’s next megastar of this decade, and will lead the NBA into another stratosphere of excellence. As Curry will be too busy collecting individual accolades due his play on a terrific team, the question will arise:

Will there be another comparable of his stature sometime in the future? Maybe, maybe not. Time will only tell. In the meantime though, let’s enjoy what he’s doing and accomplishing, because it’s something we might not see again on such a grand scale.