Doc Rivers: Stephen Curry Doesn't Get Enough Credit for His, Warriors' Greatness

Paul KasabianSenior ContributorMay 29, 2019

PORTLAND, OR - MAY 20: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors goes to the basket against the Portland Trail Blazers during Game Four of the Western Conference Finals on May 20, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers praised Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry on a SportsCenter NBA Finals preview special Tuesday (h/t Clippers beat writer Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints).

Of note, Rivers said people do not give Curry enough credit among the league's greats.

"This is the point people miss about Steph—and I don't think we give him enough credit—we keep not talking about him being in the top four or five players, and he is."

The Clippers coach also credited Curry for buying into head coach Steve Kerr's system when he arrived in 2014.

"[Curry] gave up the ball 55 percent [more] and he won the MVP," Rivers said. "So he didn't have the ball in his hands, what he learned is movement. That's cooperation. When you watch them, they have bought in to who they are. They trust it. They trust their coach, they trust each other."

The Warriors have since won five Western Conference titles and three NBA Finals. They face the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals beginning on Thursday.

Curry has a backer in two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash in the all-time greatness debate. He told ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst the following on Oct. 31, 2018:

"I hate to break it to you, but he's already an all-time great. He's the ultimate one-off. He's the evolution of basketball. It evolved before our eyes.

"There's layers to his place in the Zeitgeist. People don't associate him to greatness because he doesn't dominate the game physically. He dances. He pays a tax for that. He pays a tax for his great teammates."

There will always be knocks against Curry and the Warriors' legacy. They beat a shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers team in the 2015 NBA Finals and added 2013-14 NBA MVP Kevin Durant before the 2017 and 2018 titles.

However, Curry is the best shooter the game has ever seen. He's also come up big time and again in the playoffs with or without Durant, like when he dropped 36.5 points per game in a four-game sweep over the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference Finals.

We'll see how history looks back on the Warriors' dynasty and its players compared to other great teams and legends, but for now, Golden State is looking for its fourth title in five years. Game 1 begins at 9 p.m. ET.