Stephen Curry: Doing More With...More?

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Curry: A Superstar Among Stars

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Curry is the Vin Diesel in Furious 7. He’s the Kurt Russell in Tombstone. He’s the George Clooney (or Frank Sinatra) in Ocean’s Eleven, the Marlon Brando in The Godfather and the Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed. Hell, he’s Woody in Toy Story, which means Thompson is Buzz Lightyear and Green is Mr. Potato Head.

The case with Harden is his usual supporting cast was out of commission for a good part of the year. That shouldn’t mean that Curry deserves to be chastised for having a strong core around him, and the injuries to Houston’s core shouldn’t be used as evidence as to why Harden should be MVP.

Some critics see Curry’s teammates and say he has more help than Harden (which we’ll prove questionable), but there’s a flip side to that coin that no one is really talking about: Harden hasn’t had anyone stealing his spotlight throughout the season. People shouldn’t be marking Curry down for having other capable players around him, because despite him having a strong supporting cast, it’s still crystal clear that he’s the undisputed star of the movie.

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And the greatest thing about that? Curry doesn’t need to carry the movie for him to be considered one of the best actors in Hollywood. The rest of the ensemble are stars in their own right, but it’s his very presence that pressures them to raise their game while sharing the big screen. He isn’t selfish with screen time — he even took less money to be a part of such a great cast. Curry could very carry the movie if he wanted to, but he chooses not to; instead, he finds ways to make each of them look better. He challenges them to be better and they all strive to be better players because of him, and that’s why their movie has become a box office hit.

Harden? He’s the star carrying his own box office hit, the guy that gets the most screen time throughout the movie, but he was the ONLY star carrying the entire movie up until Howard came back. In fact, Harden has kept the Rockets at the third seed behind the Memphis Grizzlies for much of the season, and it wasn’t until Howard came back that Houston finally was able to pull ahead for the second seed in the West.

Curry deserves the Oscar for Best Actor in a movie that’s been regarded as the Best Picture for more than half the season. He’s the star that shines above all the other stars on his team, and he still manages to be regarded as one of the most efficient players in the NBA. And while it goes without mentioning, he’s been central in creating a historically significant motion picture that will one day go down as a classic.

But enough with the analogies. Now for some factual data and statistics to support this notion.

Next: Curry Making More of a Difference On The Floor

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Stephen Curry: Doing More With…More?

By Angelo Mendoza | Apr 6, 2015