It seems that everywhere I go these days, I see “that” jersey.
In an area dominated by football and baseball, Stephen Curry’s basketball jersey is unmistakable. Kids have the road blues, the home whites, the “Curry 30” t-shirt/jersey mash-ups and, if they want to wear a different shirt, they’ve got a Golden State Warriors hat on.
More and more often, kids that I talk to in my work-related adventures — Athlete of the Week or otherwise — are citing Curry as their favorite athlete. Or, they’ll say the Warriors are their favorite team — and there’s usually one big reason why that is. I’ll let you use context clues for that one.
Truthfully, it’s really hard to root against the guy if you’re not a contrarian, someone who plays devil’s advocate just to stand out from the pack.
He checks all the boxes for most folks: NBA MVP, historically great skillset, fun demeanor on and off the court, dedicated family man, devout Christian and, perhaps most importantly, living proof that you don’t have to be a natural-born physical specimen to succeed in sports, let alone the most athletically-dependent sport there is.
I’m not a huge fan of his Under Armour shoes but, other than that, count me in as a Curry fan.
When I was around the same age as many of the Curry fans I’ve talked to, recently-retired Kobe Bryant was that dude. He was Michael Jordan for people born after 1996 and, for people born a few years before then, the young, thrilling player to latch onto as Jordan neared his own retirement. A lot of my friends wanted to ball like Kobe.
Kobe’s impact on the young folks at the time ended up changing the way basketball was played (with some help from Jordan, of course). In Kobe’s prime, because everyone grew up wanting to play like him, teams were building around guards and forwards that could run isolation plays well.
The short version is, “give me the ball, clear out some space and let me work.”
The long version is, most of an offense spaces itself around the floor in such a way that opposing defenders are drawn away from the basket, giving one player (generally a guard, or a small forward) the ability to play one-on-one ball. With the amount of space generated in ISO, this approach let players either blow by an opponent for a layup or create a nice, open space for a jump shot. As inefficient as it could sometimes be, it’s worked often enough to remain popular.
Of course, as star-focused as it could be (your ballhandler in these situations is almost always your best player), relying too heavily on the ISO without the right supporting cast can lead to disaster.
Now that Kobe’s gone, it looks like Curry is about to be the next guy who changes the game, which we should see in a big picture in a few years.
I’m curious to see how Curry and the Warriors will affect basketball, especially the high school game. There are so many reasons why this Warriors team works: it’s unafraid to move the ball, it plays fast, its role players are great at doing what they’re asked, it uses screens better than any other team. The list goes on.
But building a team to play that way will require coaches to change the way they teach their players. You know how many NBA forwards can play a true all-around game like Draymond Green, my favorite Warrior? One, but that’s LeBron James.
You know how many spot-up shooters can be as automatic as Klay Thompson and also play defense at the same level? Very few.
You know why Curry’s jump shot is completely flawless, the same way Ken Griffey Jr.’s baseball swing was? Because he had great teachers and a killer work ethic.
I hope to see more Plant City athletes working like Curry. He’s not a freak athlete like Kobe was, meaning his style of play is more accessible to anyone.
And if more kids want to play like Curry, more coaches will want to play like the Warriors do. Small-ball could blow up, giving the vertically-challenged (like myself) a better shot at a basketball career.
And, yes, I have Curry and Golden State beating the Miami Heat for the NBA championship in five games.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.