Get Off of My (NBA) Grass

Despite the fact that Lebron James is universally recognized as the best basketball on the planet, the NBA is currently in the midst of the Steph Curry Era. Curry is the two-time and reigning league Most Valuable Player, and seemingly came out of nowhere to become the best shooter in the league, and to lead the Golden State Warriors to three consecutive NBA Finals. Again, Lebron will be playing in his seventh consecutive Finals, his eighth overall, and he is the first player to take two teams to the Finals four times each. However, past players don’t cast nearly as much negative criticism towards James as Curry receives.

All of the criticism that Curry and his team receives reminds me of when I was a child and my senior citizen neighbors were constantly telling me to get off of their grass. It was not so much about the grass as it was about the fact that they were trying to keep the children in their places, and let the children know that their elders were superior.

Steph Curry set records for three-pointers made in a season, and has achieved numerous other records and milestones during his career. However, no matter what Curry does, or what he accomplishes with the Warriors, former NBA players can never seem to applaud and compliment Curry. It seems as if the players of the past desire to keep Curry in his place as a youngster, just like the senior citizens did to the kids in my old neighborhood.

According to players like Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Shaq and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Warriors team that won 73 games in 2015-16 could not defeat Michael Jordan’s 1996 Bulls team. Also, Curry did not deserve to be a unanimous MVP, even though he won the award simply because none of the voters voted for anyone else. Beyond that, Curry’s Warriors supposedly could not even defeat Cedric Ceballos’ Suns teams, or Byron Russell’s Jazz teams. While these teams played in the NBA Finals, they both lost to Michael Jordan, while Curry won the NBA title one year, and lost in game 7 to a super-motivated Lebron James the next.

The most disturbing part of all of this is that these players, basketball lifers, cannot simply appreciate Curry for his accomplishments, and give him credit due him for being one of the top players in the NBA right now. Shaq and Kareem should be able to appreciate this because they both had to deal with being told that they were not as good as Wilt or Mikan. Yet, these men are among the detractors who seem content to put down Curry, mostly in an attempt to elevate Lebron James, though James’ accomplishments speak for themselves.

Curry is one of the top players in the NBA today. During the Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996-1998, Jordan’s Bulls set a record by winning 203 games, and along the way, they captured three championships. From 2015-2017, Curry’s Warriors broke the Bull’s record by winning 207 games, and will be appearing in their third-straight NBA Finals. It is about time for past NBA players to simply admit that Curry is an all-time great player, and to recognize that he is doing things that haven’t been done before, no matter what rules or styles of play have been changed. Curry needs to be compared to the teams and players against whom he is competing today, and not to teams that he could never play against because of differences in era and rules. Since Curry’s Warriors could never compete against Jordan’s Bulls, it really doesn’t matter which team is better.

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