Steve Kerr Says Stephen Curry Has Been Face of the Warriors amid Kevin Durant Debate
June 22, 2022
After Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA title in the past eight seasons, it's become fashionable to discuss the eight-time All-Star's place in history alongside other iconic point guards.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has gotten in on the discussion, comparing Curry's importance to the Warriors to what Magic Johnson meant to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kerr told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami:
“There’s no doubt that Steph is the fulcrum of all of this. I guess maybe the analogy I would think of, especially growing up as a Laker fan, Steph is Magic. And Magic was the face of the Lakers. Steph is the face of the Warriors. But those Laker teams had Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and James Worthy, incredible talent around Magic. Just like we’ve had with Draymond and Klay, and Kevin (Durant) was just so dominant while he was here, two finals MVP awards. Just an incredible run for him. But he was only here for three years. Steph is the face of the decade-long run with a lot of amazing talent that supported him along the way."
The three-season run with Durant in Golden State has somehow made it easier for some fans and analysts to downplay what Curry has accomplished.
Former NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady told Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington that it's tough to know where to rank Curry all-time.
"Because you’ve gotta think, he won a championship, right, against LeBron [James] that didn't have Kyrie [Irving], that didn't have Kevin Love," McGrady said. "He didn't win the [Finals] MVP, right? Then he loses a 3-1 lead to LeBron, gets K.D., K.D. comes and wins two championships, so that gives Steph three championships but K.D. wins the two MVPs, right?"
Curry winning Finals MVP this year might change McGrady's perspective, but he's correct that Durant did win two Finals MVP awards when Golden State won back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Curry was brilliant in both of those series, though. He averaged 26.8 points, 9.4 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game in the 2017 Finals. The now-34-year-old followed that up with 27.5 points, 6.8 assists and 6.0 rebounds in Golden State's four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.
As good as Durant was for a brief period of time in Golden State, Curry has been the driving force behind the franchise's success for 13 seasons.
Since being drafted by the Warriors in 2009, Curry has led them to eight playoff appearances. They made a total of six postseason appearances from 1977 to 2008 with four playoff series wins during that span.
Everything the Warriors have built during this dynasty revolves around Curry. He has one of the most unique skill sets in NBA history, and it has allowed him to carve out one of the greatest careers in the history of the sport.