Stephen Curry, already widely considered the greatest shooter in NBA history, ceases to amaze night after night on the NBA floor.
An explosive start to the season, individually and as a team, Curry's legacy continues to grow. If it weren't for Kevin Durant, no one would doubt that Curry is the MVP but even considering KD, the Warriors superstar seems to have a clear advantage.
Given his level of play, this question is valid: Are we witnessing the best version of Stephen Curry?
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The fact that this is discussion can even be brought up is a testament to the greatness we have seen from Curry so far this season. And although it would be difficult to answer the question above after only one quarter of the season, it is possible to compare his stats.
How does this Stephen Curry compare against the one from his unanimous MVP season or his first MVP season? Let's take a look.
From the above numbers, a couple of things are clear about the current version:
During the 2015-16 season, his points tally stood at 640 (compared to 556) at an efficiency of 52.4 percent (compared to 45.1 percent). In the current season, although he is scoring lesser at a lower efficiency compared to the 2015-16 season, he's knocking down more 3-pointers and grabbing more rebounds.
Recently, he broke his own record for the least number of games required to reach 100 3-pointers.
Fastest player to ever reach 100 threes in a single season:
1. Stephen Curry - 2021-22 (19 games)
2. Stephen Curry - 2015-16 (20 games)
3. Stephen Curry - 2018-19 (20 games) pic.twitter.com/QUeQWPBXUP
His 105 3-pointers exceed his mark of 102 and 101 he set in the 2015-16 and 2018-19 seasons through 20 games, respectively, as per Stathead. Now, let's get to the team record.
The 17-3 start falls short in comparison to the 18-2 start in 2014-15 and the 20-0 start in 2015-16 season. In fact, in the latter campaign, the Warriors began the season with a 24-0 start and eventually set the best record in NBA history 73-9. Does this mean the 2015-16 season gets the edge here? What could be but a small omen for the San Francisco franchise is that in both MVP years, they made it to the NBA Finals, taking home the championship in 2015.
(*) Led the NBA in the season | (**) Played 26 games due to injuries | (***) Played 5 games due to injuries
This is where the current version of Curry gets the advantage despite the fact that during his unanimous season, he led his team to the league's all-time best record of 73-9.
There are a few common denominators across these three Curry seasons from a team standpoint - Steve Kerr as a coach, Draymond Green as a defensive pillar and Andre Iguodala as the experienced veteran off the bench. Having said that, there are two substantial differences.
Iguodala shined in those early years. In fact, he was Finals MVP in 2015, while now he plays the role of a limited-minutes veteran off the bench whose mark is made more for his impact in the locker room. The other? Klay Thompson was healthy and had his first two All-Star selections at that time, while now he is awaiting his return after more than two years of rehab.
There are certain similarities. Harrison Barnes was the face of non-Big 3 players on those teams while in 2021, it's Andrew Wiggins. The Canadian's role grows in the current team along with the emergence of Jordan Poole, which has helped the team deal with the absence of Thompson.
The rest of the supporting cast is different but like the other seasons, these young players also understand their role and maximize it. Back then, it was Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli, Leandro Barbosa and a small stretch of David Lee as the most recognized faces. Right now, it's Kevon Looney, Damion Lee, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Gary Payton II.
In both cases, there has been a solid mix of experience and youth. At the time, the Big 3 core was entering its age from 25-27 and the veterans were the role players. Six years later, the Big 3 have grown in age but have not dipped in performance while most of the supporting cast is under 30 (Poole is 22 years, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are 19).
With Fanduel as a reference, here's a look at what betting pundits are saying about the MVP race.
At the beginning of 2021-22: +800 to win MVP. Curry shared third place along with Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, behind Joel Embiid (+700) and Luka Doncic, who was the favorite at +200.
Currently: +150 to win MVP. Yes, Steph jumped to the top of the betting list, with Durant in second place (+500), and Giannis (+700) and Jokic (+1300) behind him.
At the beginning of 2014-2015: +4000 to win MVP. Yes, the odds were not with him before the start, but boy did the gamblers who got ahead of the end-result do damage.
At the beginning of 2015-2016: +650 to win MVP. Safe bet, right?