After bringing three championships and a pair of Most Valuable Player awards to the Bay Area, Stephen Curry has earned respect around the league.
On Friday, an Eastern Conference All-Star had high praise for Golden State’s point guard.
In a live Instagram video with hoops skills coach Pep Stanciel, Jayson Tatum ranked Curry as one of the top 20 NBA players of all-time. According to the young Boston Celtics’ forward, Curry changed basketball.
Via Chris Montano on Twitter:
I was going to say Steph changed the game, bro. They don’t want you to shoot mid-range anymore — it’s just trey balls.
Tatum’s assessment of Curry’s impact on the game isn’t far off. After drilling a record 402 3-pointers during the 2015-16 season, Curry was a driving force in ushering a new wave of basketball from beyond the arc.
The 22-year-old has laced up against Curry four times in his career, averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
In 2018, Curry put on a show when Tatum and the Celtics traveled to Oakland’s Oracle Arena. The Davidson product dropped 49 points on 16-of-24 shooting from the field. Curry recorded eight three-pointers, with five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Injuries held Curry out for both matchups with Tatum during the Duke product’s All-Star season. Curry and Tatum will have to wait till the 2020-21 season for their next matchup.
