NBA West player rankings, No. 3: Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry has vindicated all the believers with his play and silenced all the doubters after coming off last season in which he was injured most of the season, and the Golden State Warriors were a lottery team. The former two-time MVP of the league is having a similar season as his MVP season back in the 2014-15 season.
Steph’s stats from his first MVP season were, 24 PPG-4.0 RPG-8.0 APG which is very similar to Steph’s numbers this year, 28 PPG-5.0 RPG-6.0 APG. Some would argue his numbers are better, I think its close, but it’s to be expected that his points per game are up and his shooting percentages have gone done down since he is the only superstar left on the team, with KD being gone and Klay Thompson being out for the season.
Although Steph’s attempts are up, the offense is focused around movement which everyone is involved and included, while also getting Steph a ton of shots without them being forced, similar to when the Warriors started their finals run.
A couple of stats to help Steph’s case on the list include:
- #1 in 3-point field goals (89)
- #1 in total points (554)
- #6 in free throw percentage (92.4%)
- #6 in usage rate percentage (32%)
Finally, Steph has the Warriors in the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Winning matters, and if Steph wasn’t on the Warriors they’d be dead last in the league. Steph’s unselfishness and contagious personality impact his team in a positive way and is a perfect fit for the way Steve Kerr runs the team as well.