Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry’s meteoric rise to superstardom was sudden. He’s widely regarded as one of the top ball-handlers in the NBA, but his 3-point shooting is the main key to his sudden popularity.
After all, the 6’3” point guard is the back-to-back reigning MVP and the first player in NBA history to be selected unanimously for the coveted award. He even shattered his own 283 3-point record in 2015 by putting up 402 the following year and he is in the exclusive 50-40-90 club (50% field goals, 40% 3-pointers, 90% free throws over a season) while leading his team to break the Bulls’ 72-win season in 1996.
All of these records and stats would most likely ensure his NBA peers have a lot of respect for him, right? Not so fast, because a recently released new book claims many NBA players have a disdain for Steph Curry.
According to MSN:
“According to the author of a new book about Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are among several NBA players who harbor ‘disdain’ for the Golden State Warriors superstar.
Marcus Thompson, author of the recently published ‘Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry’ suggests in the book a handful of Curry’s superstar colleagues aren’t fond of all the hype he has received in his ascension to elite status.
Thompson discussed the notion Curry is not well-liked among his NBA peers during an appearance on ‘The Big Lead with Jason McIntyre’ over the weekend.
‘I think if you ask them and they’re being honest, they don’t like all the hype he gets, and they have to direct it that way,’ Thompson said during the interview, as transcribed by CBS Sports.
‘I think, out of all of them, if somebody doesn’t like Steph Curry, I think it’s probably Westbrook. He just shows no sign of … this ain’t really about Steph, it’s bigger. His seems to be, ‘I don’t like that dude.’
‘But LeBron and them, I think they will say, ‘Man, I like Steph. We can have a conversation.’ But there’s something that burns them about the fact that Steph is the one that is exalted and because of that they want to go at him and demean his hype. They want to take him down.’
Thompson goes on to say that Curry is somewhat taken aback by the perceived disdain.
‘So there’s an interesting dynamic there, and it’s not just with LeBron. Steph wants to be accepted by all these guys,’ Thompson said, as transcribed by Business Insider.
‘This is what he worked for. For you to say, ‘You’re one of us.’ It seems like they don’t want to give that to him. Not yet anyway.’
There arguably seems to be some semblance of pettiness on the part of the players mentioned by Thompson.
Is it spawned by a jealousy based in their belief Curry was staked an easier path than they were forced to navigate? If so, it’s certainly a dubious contention, if accurate, to say the least.”
Thomas elaborated on Clipper’s point guard Chris Paul on The Big Lead:
“Chris Paul was one of those guys. Chris Paul was somebody [Curry] looked up to. Chris Paul used to dominate that matchup. Chris Paul was supposed to be next in line to win a championship. Then, suddenly, it was Steph … that’s another relationship where [Curry] was like, ‘oh, I look up to you,’ and suddenly there is this disdain vs Steph.”
This all just seems like they’re jealous and bitter, as if the path to winning a championship is about being next in line to achieve greatness.
That’s absurd. Steph Curry can’t control how beloved he is by the fans. In fact, he inspires hope to any young, short player who keeps practicing their shooting.
But there might be a bigger underlying issue here that isn’t basketball related at all.
Under Armour stole Steph Curry from Nike in 2015 because they failed to match UA’s price, so Curry jumped brands and the value of the company went through the roof.
Morgan Stanley projected Curry’s worth to the sports brand at $14 billion.
Business Insider reported:
“If Curry continues his streak, the difference in market-cap value of the company could be approximately $14 billion, with Under Armour being valued at about $14.1 billion under Sole’s base case and $28.2 billion in his bull case.”
None of those other players are worth that much to their prospective brands and that includes King James. Maybe that’s why they’re all bitter.