Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry Highlights From Before He Became A Global Phenomena

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stephen-curry-davidson-asher-roth-620×342 @minustwentytwo.com

The 2013 NBA Playoffs offered Stephen Curry a platform where he could clarify any remaining questions as to whether his brand of basketball could dominate games, or entire series, at the very highest levels of basketball (while becoming one of the most popular traveling attractions in all of sports).

Check.

Curry didn’t just prove that a guy under 6’6” tall without Olympic level athleticism could still take over ballgames, he reminded basketball fans everywhere something Golden State Warriors fan already knew — Steph Curry doesn’t need to dunk on anybody to be the most exciting hoop player on the planet, he just needs to get hot.

Curry has excelled at every level of basketball, but there has always been reason to doubt if he could duplicate that same success at the next level.

After an All-State high school career in North Carolina, Steph couldn’t get a major college scholarship, even at Virginia Tech where his father Dell Curry starred before a lengthy NBA career. Steph was deemed too scrawny for the top schools, and he was still only 6-foot-1, so Curry became one of the greatest smaller school Division I players ever at Davidson, garnering Second Team All-American as a sophomore and First Team All-American as a junior (when he averaged 28.6 points per game). The Wildcats hadn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 1969, until Steph led them to the Elite 8 in 2008, but Steph’s size and athleticism were once again questioned when he announced for the NBA Draft after his junior year.

“will shoot for food” Curry_54_GSOM_medium @tonyroblesjr

This is the point where Warriors fans should give thanks to the Minnesota Timberwolves for taking two point guards not named Steph Curry at No. 5 and No. 6 in 2009 (Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn), and that Warriors management ignored the advice of many by picking the Davidson sharpshooter at No. 7 while he was still largely unproven as a point guard, especially with Monta Ellis still on the roster.

Today’s highlights were shot before Steph Curry took over the 2013 NBA Playoffs, before Steph got so hot against the San Antonio Spurs it was rumored Gregg Popovich even cracked a smile, before Curry broke the NBA record for three-pointers made in a season (after breaking it in college while at Davidson), before Steph nearly burned down Madison Square Garden with the flames produced by his 54 points, before Steph became the first Golden State Warrior to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated since 1997, and before thousands of articles were written last spring asking the same question – is Steph Curry the greatest shooter in the history of basketball?

Off the dribble, pull-up from deep, fade away, off glass, head fake, cross over, inside out, lefty finger roll, flat-footed, hands in his face – how do you want it?

Today’s highlights are from Steph’s first two seasons in the league, before Curry had convinced the higher-ups in marketing that watching Steph apply the art of shooting on a basketball court meant 17 of the Warriors 2013-2014 games needed to be broadcast on national TV.

But it’s only fair to remind you before you watch them, the “baby faced assassin” won’t start murdering defenses for real until October 30, when the Warriors open at home against Steph 54’s first regular season victim of 2013 — the Los Angeles Lakers.

Q: When was the last time the Warriors started the season predicted by everyone to finish ahead of the Purple and Gold of L.A.?

A: Who cares, the Dubs have Steph, and they’ve got antiques.