EASY ON THE HYPE TALK; STEPH NOT THERE YET

Basketballghana.com staff writer Yaw Adjei-Mintah argues fans should put breaks on the excessive hype of the exploits of Golden State Warriors guard Steve Curry.

By Yaw Adjei-Mintah

Absolutely no one can say Stephen Curry doesn’t deserve to be in the class reserved for the best of the best. Anyone who does is virtually saying Sprite can’t quench your thirst.

After returning from Church, I spent the rest of my leisure hours before leaving for the Accra Polytechnic Basketball Court fixed to a TV set to catch a glimpse of the prospective basketball talk I was about to be hit with for the next two and a half hours.

Due to football reasons- hmmmm Ghana and football, I will break that marriage-, Ghana’s premier basketball platform “Fastbreak” on TV3 has not run for the aforementioned duration for a while.

However, the stymied duration has not affected the enthusiasm for the game and program respectively-at least on a personal basis.

Watching regular host Yaw Sakyi Afari deliver his humor laden introduction lines, the program kicked into gear starting with foreign discussions particularly on the world’s best league, the NBA.

As a member of the “fastbreak” team, I was privy to information regarding topics to be discussed just before “fastbreak” went live.

Amongst the itinerary which featured Kobe Bryant’s assessment of being the 200^th best player in the league and James Harden finally getting accustomed to his new Adidas gear was Stephen Curry’s ascension to the upper echelons of the NBA.

League pass, Vine and YouTube are just but a few internet sites that have made the NBA a level playing field since the spotlight once reserved for players in big market areas such as New York and Los Angeles are all but lost.

Now attention is better distributed to all irrespective of market size. To gauge this trending phenomenon, one just needs to look at the Knicks and Lakers getting spurned by free agents like Greg Monroe (chose to play for Milwaukee) and LaMarcus Aldridge (chose to play for San Antonio).

Out West, in a mid-major market, Steph Curry- the 2014/2015 NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year, has carried over the form he showed to capture the Maurice Podoloff Trophy into this season. In five games, he has averaged more than 30 points whilst not playing a lot of minutes in the closing stages of games.

It is for this form that perhaps leads many to believe Steph is now in the league of current NBA stars and those of old. In short, the assertion here is Steph can be compared to the greatest of all time which I strongly disagree.

For starters, Curry has just a year of playing at an absolute elite level; should he play like he did last season for the next six years, I would be the first to hold my hand up and give him the respect; however he is way short of years with similar or improved production. Consistently performing at an elite level over a long period defines greatness.

In another team sport called football, Ronaldo and Messi are the dominant forces in the discipline. But think about it, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t get a look in the discussion of “greatest ever” had both not shared the last seven best footballer in the world awards between them.

These two athletes have improved their production year after year simultaneously adding new facets to their respective games; Ronaldo has increased his efficiency in front of goal to score more goals (233) than the games (211) he has played for Real Madrid. Messi on the other hand has increased his assists to top 137.

Back to basketball, in the lead up to this season, the NBA General Manager’s Survey showed a majority voted for Steph Curry as the best Point Guard (PG) in the league. That vote dethroned perennial lock for best PG in the league Chris Paul.

Now I look at Paul and I see he being still the best player in that position and the numbers or accolades back my prejudices. Forget the All-Star selections-they don’t exactly reflect what goes on in the league; Blake Griffin getting an All-Star nod in his rookie year over Lamar Odom in 2011- focus more on those voted by guys who see what we sitting afar don’t exactly see.

Aside being the National Basketball Players Association, Paul is a four time assists leader (2008–2009, 2014–2015) and a six time steals leader (2008–2009, 2011–2014). Curry’s strength lies in his ability to score in varied ways.

However, he is yet to exploit this advantage to the extreme since he doesn’t have a scoring title to his name but fellow PG Russell Westbrook who shares similar scoring traits minus a lethal 3-point shooting stroke is the reigning scoring champion in the NBA.

A player from a generation gone by who is so underappreciated but played in the same position; Allen Iverson won the scoring award four times and proved he was not slouch on defense by leading the league in steals for three straight seasons.

In an out of sight, out of mind world, this isn’t surprising giving how people even forget how great a pre-foot surgery Kevin Durant is. Yes I know flashes of  Curry wielding the Larry O’Brien Trophy back at the Oracle Arena some months ago has already crept into the minds of pro-Curry is a legend followers but way too much premium is put  in winning a title.

People let us forget the bottom line analysis of how many titles did he win and look beyond a glittering piece of metal; not wining an NBA title shouldn’t discredit the respect ought to be given to guys like Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Iverson. Wayne Gretzky is considered by pundits and fans alike as the greatest “ice hockey” player of all time yet the ‘Great One’ retired without winning a title in the NHL (National Hockey League).

Michael Jordan had a talented team that assisted him to win six titles but there is little doubt Jordan would have won at least a title with any of the lowest ranked teams in his era. Likewise, aside Mutombo, Iverson single handedly dragged a talent-bereft Philadelphia Sixers squad to the NBA Finals in 2001.

Knowing what I saw from Curry and the Warriors last season, I struggle to see how Curry would have carried an injury depleted Rockets team to the Western Conference Finals like Harden did last season; little wonder players in the league voted Harden as the Most Valuable Player.

Having overcome ankle injuries that dogged his earlier years in the NBA, Curry is on his way to become a legend but until his ankles and performances hold up, I wouldn’t tag him as one just yet.