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SFGATE columnist Drew Magary on Steph Curry making the unbelievable plausible
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry looks on at TD Garden on June 10, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Elsa/Getty ImagesThis won’t last. If you’re a Warriors fan, or just a fan of life in general, you know that there are still an undefined but very real number of Steph Curry games in history. Other than Tom Brady, you don’t see a great athlete play forever, which makes every great game they play more precious to your memory as the end of their careers looms on the horizon. Steph Curry can only play so long and at just 6ft 2 inches and 185 pounds his body can only take so much punishment, especially against a Celtics defense that’s almost impossible to wash off once on one.
That’s what made last night worth keeping in your bookmarks. Steph lost 43 points to Boston in a game that would have doomed Golden State had they lost, and he deserved every one of them. It’s not just because Steph does insane threesomes, but because he can drop them off while having about as much space as you have in an office elevator at 9am. There was never a guarantee that Steph would make it back to the finals given the injuries and defects that left both him and Golden State foraging in the wilderness, a wilderness they would never return from. And there’s no guarantee the Warriors will win THOSE Finals given how talented and annoyingly disciplined Boston is. But what is guaranteed is last night. This happened and it was freaking awesome.
Just like you, I’ve loved watching Steph Curry play since he was a college player. I never want his career to end, even if he has worthy successors waiting elsewhere in the league. That’s because Steph Curry does all the recordings that people love to do. When I’m alone at a playground, I want to be Steph. I do NOT want to be Chris Paul. That would be idiotic. I never shoot inside the three-point arc unless I’m rebounding my own stray three-pointer or I have to throw in a layup just to say I’ve made a basket for the day (I then miss that layup). Outside of those rare occasions, I want to be a sniper. I want to do all the “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” shots. I can’t dip, and neither can you. But I can build a bomb occasionally, and it’s always satisfying. Those are the shots I also take in pickup games because driving to the basket is too hard. These are the shots I take in video games. These are the shots I take in every daydream.
Watching Steph Curry pounding willing threes through the net last night while obnoxious players like Derrick White were draped all over him (this is a San Francisco site, so I can state those fouls as fact) was like someone watching your daydreams film . You shouldn’t take pictures like Steph’s. That’s why it’s fun to take them and make them even more fun. And when you consider that the last 10 years of the NBA has been largely defined by a player whose entire game is geared towards making those shots on a routine basis. This is a gift. That’s what sport is for. I watch Steph play and I can see myself making Steph Curry s–t. Now, that’s a hilarious notion by any measure, but Steph’s size makes it plausible. And what fun is a realistic fantasy? I don’t want to dream of driving 85 km/h. I want f–king FLY. You too. Watching Steph do what he does is as close as it gets, and I’m happy to put up with it.
Because again, I know this won’t last. Maybe Steph rips off three more titles like Michael Jordan did after returning from his own hiatus in the wilderness. And maybe, like Jordan, Steph needs a little more cunning and ingenuity this time around to do what used to be a little easier for him. Or maybe you’ve just watched the last big game you’ll ever see played. In a way it doesn’t matter. Because after last night and after everything he’s done for basketball in general, Steph can never die.
