Steph Curry was arguably the steal of the 2009 NBA Draft. Selected seventh overall that year, the Golden State Warriors hit the jackpot with Curry and became the catalyst of its current dominance.
As he enters his 15th NBA season, let’s take a look back at five years that were instrumental in making Curry the superstar that he is now.
Steph Curry’s 5 most fantastic seasons5. Warriors back as NBA champs (2014-2015)
Steph Curry was still learning his ropes in the pros in his first three NBA seasons following a stellar three-year stint at Davidson College.
However, “Chef Curry” was unleashed beginning in Year 4, the Warriors’ first full season since trading Monta Ellis, and in his sixth season, Curry’s grind to the top finally bore fruit as he led the team to its first NBA title in 40 years.
In 80 games during the regular season, Curry averaged 23.8 points on nearly 49% shooting, including 44.3% on threes and a league-leading 91.4 % free throw shooting.
Curry, known to be a shoot-first point guard, gave up a lot of assists too, averaging 7.7 assists per game, along with 4.3 rebounds per game and 2.0 steals per game. He was eventually named the regular season MVP.
Curry upped those numbers to 28.3 points on a career-high 42.2 three-point shooting percentage, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.9 steals a game during the playoffs which ended in a championship, although Andre Iguodala was named Finals MVP.
4. Dominant first year with Kevin Durant (2016-2017)
Through a column in The Players’ Tribune, Kevin Durant announced that he was moving to the Bay Area to join Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
While Durant was so stellar during the 2016-2017 season that he rightfully won the Finals MVP award for leading the Warriors to another pennant, Curry still did enough to show that he was still the top franchise player.
Curry averaged 25.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game during the regular season, but in the playoffs, he netted career-highs in field goal percentage (48.4 percent), rebounds (6.2), and steals (2.0) while also averaging 28.1 points and 6.7 assists.
3. When Steph Curry dropped 32 a game (2020-2021)
The 2020-2021 NBA season was shortened due to the effects of COVID-19, but it did not stop Curry from reaching a career-high.
Curry averaged 32.0 points per game that year, his current personal best which he did so by shooting 48.2 percent from the field including 42.1 percent on threes and 91.6 percent from the foul line.
However, the Warriors did just enough to enter the play-in games, where Curry averaged 38.0 points a game in two outings. Unfortunately, they failed to enter the playoffs.
2. When Steph Curry became the unanimous MVP (2015-2016)
Steph Curry played way better than his first MVP season during the 2015-2016 NBA season.
Curry averaged a league-leading 30.1 points and 2.1 steals — a career-high — a game along with 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
What made it more spectacular is that Curry averaged a career-high 50.4 % from the field, including 45.4 % from the outside and 90.8 % from the free-throw line, becoming the seventh member of the elite 50-40-90 Club, but he is currently the only player to go 50-40-90 while averaging 30 points a game.
Also, he led the Warriors to a 73-9 record, the best regular season performance ever in NBA history.
Curry did more than enough to convince the entire MVP voting jury to name him the regular season MVP for that season. He became the first player to receive a unanimous decision for this award.
However, the Warriors’ dream season ended in a nightmarish collapse as they too became the first team to blow a 3-1 finals lead, letting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers walk away with their first NBA title.
1. When Steph Curry finally became Finals MVP (2021-2022)
Despite being one of the Warriors’ current franchise players, Steph Curry did not win Finals MVP honors in their first three title runs in their ongoing dynasty.
He would have easily been the 2016 Finals MVP if they quickly finished off the Cavaliers and avoided the 3-1 collapse.
But in the Warriors’ last championship in 2022, Curry finally got the Finals MVP award that he deserved.
Curry averaged 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals a ball game during their series against the Boston Celtics that they won in six games.
The entire season was actually spectacular in itself for Curry. He became the NBA’s all-time leader in made three-pointers and the All-Star Game MVP that year. The Finals MVP award was the icing on the cake.