Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
Stephen Curry is now the leading scorer in Warriors franchise history.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Chiu/AP.)
Stephen Curry passed Wilt Chamberlain as the all-time leading scorer in Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors history. So chew on that for a bit.
That’s Wilt Chamberlain, man. This is the same guy that scored 100 points in a game wearing a Philadelphia Warriors uniform. That’s a record that may never be broken.
But Curry did break another record from Wilt. And what makes this impressive is that there have been some greats that wore a Warriors uni. Rick Barry. Chris Mullin. Nate Thurmond. Paul Arizin. Purvis Short. Curry passed them all.
And we all know Stephen Curry is a transformative player. He made the three-pointer and the long distance three vogue in the league, for better or worse. His decision to stay in college one more year to hone his point guard skills helped him become an elusive player to get that one look at a shot. The thing was he probably wasn’t supposed to be this good. Hell, he was struggling with injuries early in his career that he decided to take a contract that wasn’t huge at the time because of that. It all paid off after two MVP awards and three NBA championships.
And yes, his team is struggling to be around .500; that’s what you get when most of your supporting cast is still trying to adjust to the league. But we’ve seen him explode in some games this season, including Monday‘s. He went for 53 points as he helped the Warriors score a mild upset over the Nuggets. Earlier this season, he scored 62 points to shut up the naysayers. And he’s averaging a career-high 30.4 points per game to keep the Dubs afloat.
But what a player he’s been for the Warriors. We all didn’t find out until around his fourth year that he’s more than just a starter in this league. He became a superstar; he likely broke the trajectory of the NBA when it seemed like it was going to be dominated by LeBron James. Sure, James still does that but Bron would probably have more than four championship rings if it weren’t for Curry and the Dubs.
So another record for Stephen Curry. He will go down as one of the all-time greats and I don’t care what the haters have to say about that.
Bullet Passes
Unfortunately, G. State and Denver ended on a somber note as Jamal Murray hurt his knee inside a minute left in a game. This could really affect Denver’s run as we come into the homestretch. Most importantly, we hope Murray is okay.
De’Aaron Fox tied his career high with 43 points but it’s not enough against the Pelicans, who have silently won three in a row.
The Washington Wizards upset the Utah Jazz and snapped their 24-game home winning streak. In that game, Russell Westbrook got his 5th straight triple-double with 25-14-14. He has 23 of those trip-dubs this season.
Luka Doncic is not happy with the play-in games that all teams approved before the season started.
I agree with Doncic, honestly. But Mark Cuban agreeing with Doncic is pretty funny because he also helped approve the play-in. I liked it better when there had to be a certain distance like it was last season (4.5 games). The thing about having a marathon and then losing your spot because you have a bit of a cold spell doesn’t seem ideal. I feel like the Top 8 earned their spots.
Suddenly, the Suns are back to within 1.5 games behind the Jazz.
Oh, Orlando Magic…
NBA Scoreboard
Apr. 12, 2021
Watch This Play
Ja Morant just keeps doing this, man.
(VIDEO CREDIT: House of Highlights.)
That bounce is INSANE.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.