Should Curry be included in the GOAT discussion?Both O'Neal and Jennings have recently commented on this, saying that Curry is definitely on the discussion. Curry has a championship and has influenced the preferences of a generation of fans, so much so that fans now look first at how far they shoot, not how hard they dunk. Curry should at least be included in the discussion if he doesn't talk about Jordan, which is the latest topic in the NBA right now.
Curry first had the hardware criteria to be selected for the GOAT. He has four championships and built a dynasty (that's up for debate), and he has two regular season MVPs and one Finals MVP. The Warriors he led from winning the first championship in 2015 to the fourth championship in 2022, except for two seasons that did not enter the playoffs, the rest of the time broke into the playoffs, and they were all favorites to win the championship and entered the finals. He also led the Warriors to an NBA-record 73 wins in 2015-16.
Curry's personal accolades are also pretty much up to par. In addition to the aforementioned two regular season MVPs and one Finals MVP, he is also the NBA's all-time three-point leader, hitting 3,519 three-pointers, surpassing Ray Allen's 2,973. In addition, he was a nine-time All-Star, a nine-time All-NBA All-NBA selection, a two-time scoring champion, a one-time steal champion, and a selection to the NBA's 75 superstars. Since 2014, he has won almost every season (except for the 2019-20 season), achieving a Grand Slam of honor.
In the history of the NBA, the number of championships included in the discussion of the GOAT is a hard standard, generally not less than 3. The same is true for Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan, Duncan, Kobe Bryant and James. The same is true for Curry today, whose championship win in the second decade of the 21st century can only be matched by James, who is also a favorite for the GOAT.
Moreover, Curry rose to fame with the rise of the Warriors, as was the case with his back-to-back MVP in 2016, which was unanimously approved in 2016, and he amassed a lot of popularity at that time. It's almost fair to say that when the Warriors win a championship is when Curry is strong, there is no fault line between the two.
Curry should be remembered more by the world for his promotion of modern basketball, which has had a huge impact on fans that is rare in recent decades. He changed the pace of basketball, shifting the focus from cool dunks to three-point shooting. He appeared on the court at a height close to normal, and created countless great achievements, making people have the mentality of "Curry can beat me" and walked on the court one after another. He has become a basketball idol sought after by millions of people, and he is a high-quality idol, and he has been like a day for several years, and there has been no scandal. Everything about him was so perfect.
Those who can be included in the discussion of GOAT are the most influential basketball idols of an era. Russell set the standard for defense and made the idea that it takes defense to win championshipsJordan built a dynasty of guards, breaking the convention that a good center must be present to win a championship;Kobe Bryant is admired by the world for his "Mamba spirit", he is also the winner of 5 championships, and the creator of the miracle of 81 points in a single game;Duncan took his old-fashioned shooting to the extreme, winning five championships and winning three decades.
The only exceptions are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James, who have created NBA scoring titles for three decades with their evergreen careers. The two have also won 10 championships, and the number of times they have reached the finals is even more innumerable. Now Curry is no less than them.
Curry isn't trying to be compared to Jordan, but he should be included in the GOAT discussion, an honor that few NBA stars can enjoy. It's a glory that belongs to Curry. (Mao Mao Daddy Push-ups).