For over a decade, Stephen Curry has been the defining player for the newly crowned NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. Its throwing power from a distance is legendary.
Stephen Curry celebrates his fourth championship with the Golden State Warriors
“One, two, three, four – four championships,” Stephen Curry roared in all directions – the NBA trophy in his hands, a cigar in his mouth. For the fourth time in his career, the superstar had just won the title in the world's top basketball league with the Golden State Warriors. And in the decisive sixth final game against the Boston Celtics with the German professional Daniel Theis, Curry was the outstanding player on the floor and with 34 points also the best pitcher of his team. For the first time in his long and successful career, he was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
Inherited feel for distance shots
In his youth, Curry was often told that he was too small and frail for a basketball career. The sport was in his cradle. His father Wardell, called “Dell”, Curry was already an NBA professional and was considered one of the best long-range shooters in the league when he was active: 40 percent of his three-pointers ended up in the basket. “Dell” probably passed this talent on to his son: Stephen is the only player in NBA history to convert more than 3000 long-range shots from behind the three-point line.
“The genes could have a little to do with it,” Curry once said in an interview. “Nevertheless, most of it is hard training. It took countless hours of training and millions of repetitions to hone the movements and the feeling that I got from my father.” Curry's younger brother Seth also earns his money in the NBA.
Accurate pitcher and playmaker
Even in his high school and college days, the 1.91 meter tall Stephen Curry caused a sensation with his shots from three and helped his teams to many victories and titles. In 2009, the Golden State Warriors selected Curry seventh overall in the NBA draft. He has remained loyal to the San Francisco club to this day. Curry quickly became the linchpin of the game there, being instrumental in the Warriors' NBA triumphs in 2015, 2017, 2018 and now 2022.
Curry (left) is a safe bank of points for the Warriors
“He's like an engine that can power a whole ship,” superstar LeBron James said of Curry in 2015. In that and the following NBA season, Curry was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of regulation time. He is also a regular on the league's all-star team.
Mega Contract
“The league has never seen anything like Steph,” enthused former German NBA star Dirk Nowitzki. “He's so fun to watch that I sit in front of the TV and cheer him on. He dribbles towards you and suddenly the ball is in the air, you can't see it that fast.” Curry holds numerous NBA records. In May, for example, he became the first professional in NBA history to break the 500 three-pointer mark in the playoffs. Last August, the superstar prematurely extended his contract with the Warriors by four years to 2026. His salary is princely: a total of $215 million.
Nevertheless, he is considered modest and rather reserved in his appearance. But Curry also takes a clear position – as in 2018, when the Warriors refused the otherwise obligatory visit to the White House of then President Donald Trump after their championship title. “By not going, we hopefully inspire others,” Stephen Curry said at the time. “We need changes in how we deal with tolerance and acceptance in this country.”
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Stephen Curry – 20,064 points*
Probably no NBA professional masters the throw beyond the three-point line as well as he does. As of December 2021, Curry holds the all-time record for most three-pointers made. But the small guard of the Golden State Warriors is more than a long throw specialist. He has twice been voted the most valuable player in the league. He won the championship four times with Golden State. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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LaMarcus Aldridge – 20,558 points*
The 2.11-meter center of the Brooklyn Nets actually ended his career in April 2021. He developed heart problems during an NBA game and called it quits. Five months later he returns with the OK from his doctors and wants to win the title with the Nets. Shortly after the comeback, Aldridge became the 48th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Chris Paul – 20,936 points*
As a scorer, he made it into the top 40 in the NBA, but his qualities as an assist provider are even greater. Paul, one of the shortest NBA players at 1.83 meters, is the third-best preparer in league history with over 10,000 assists. After stints in New Orleans, with the LA Clippers, in Houston and Oklahoma City, Phoenix is his fifth NBA club. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Russell Westbrook – 23,298 points*
Westbrook is the NBA pro with the most triple doubles, double-digit values per game in three categories. At the beginning of his career he formed a strong trio in Oklahoma City with James Harden and Kevin Durant, but they did not win the title. After stints in Houston and Washington, Westbrook is now with the Lakers. As a scorer, he has reached the top 30 in the NBA. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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James Harden – 23,477 points*
< p>With giant strides, the man with the beard is also approaching the top ranks of the basket hunter list. The opponents of “The Beard” are not to be envied. If you give him too much space, Harden hits the threesome. If you get closer, he dribbles past and moves to the basket. Harden is the 32nd NBA pro to break 23,000 points. An end up? Not in sight! (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Kevin Durant – 25,526 points*
Despite his 2.08 meters, “KD” is an agile, elegant player. He won the NBA title with Golden State in 2017 and 2018. Before that, he was named Oklahoma City's 2014 MVP of the season. He has been playing for Brooklyn since 2019. After a year out injured, he leads the Nets on the field today. Durant is about to break through into the top 20 of the scorer list. (*As of June 17, 2022).
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Hakeem Olajuwon – 26,946 points
A native of Nigeria, he is ranked 12th on the list as the best African. The elegant 2.13-meter center shaped the game of the Houston Rockets from 1984 to 2001. He won the NBA championship with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995 and was voted MVP in 1994. Hakeem “The Dream” has held US citizenship since 1993 and is a member of the US team at the 1996 Olympics.
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Elvin Hayes – 27,313 points
In the 70's Elvin Hayes is one of the best players in the NBA. An elegant center who is always successful with his outstanding jump shot from the turn. “The Big E” led the Washington Bullets to the NBA Finals three times and won the championship with the capital team in 1978. In 1303 career games, Hayes clocked up exactly 50,000 minutes.
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Moses Malone – 27,409 points
In 1974, Moses Malone became the first player to go straight from high school to the pro league. The center experienced his most successful time with the Philadelphia 76ers, with whom he won his only championship in 1983. Malone has been playing professionally for 21 years and is signed to nine teams in total. He died in 2015 at the age of 60, apparently as a result of cardiovascular disease.
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Carmelo Anthony – 28,289 points*
The 2.03 meter tall forward, who has been playing in the NBA since 2003, has developed into a reliable long-range shooter after weak odds at the beginning of his career. After eight years in Denver, Anthony is playing six seasons for New York. He will join the Lakers in 2021 via Oklahoma City, Houston and Portland – the eighth NBA club of his long career. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Shaquille O'Neal – 28,596 points
Size and power are two key arguments that make Shaquille O'Neal one of the best scorers in the NBA. The beefy 2.16 meter center scores almost all points from close range. His weakness in free throws is striking. Many opponents therefore make fouling O'Neal before the throw (“Hack-a-Shaq”) their tactic – O'Neal, active from 1992 to 2011, still mostly leaves the field as the winner.
Wilt Chamberlain – 31,419 points
Before turning pro in 1959, Wilt Chamberlain played for the Harlem Globetrotters for a year. As a professional, he sets numerous point records. His mark from the game Philadelphia against New York in 1962 is unmatched. Chamberlain scores 100 points. A total of 118 times he manages 50 or more points in a game. He died of heart failure in 1999 at the age of 63.
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Dirk Nowitzki – 31,560 points
Unexcited, always modest, often not very spectacular, but mostly impressively sure, Dirk Nowitzki brings his throws to the finish line. An unequaled 21 seasons – from 1998 to 2019 – “Dirkules” is loyal to the Dallas Mavericks. In 2011 he won the championship with the Mavs. Nowitzki is the first European to break the 20,000 point mark and is the sixth NBA professional to break the 30,000 mark.
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Michael Jordan – 32,292 points
“Air” Jordan already wore the 23 at college in North Carolina – he became a legend with the Chicago Bulls and won six titles. Jordan's particular specialty is the “Buzzer Beater”, a decisive throw with the final siren. Jordan is still considered by many to be the “best basketball player of all time”. His numbers would have been even more gigantic if he hadn't interrupted his career twice.
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Kobe Bryant – 33,643 points
Not many basketball players can play as elegantly as the “Black Mamba”. The L.A. Lakers guard, who grew up in Italy as the son of a US basketball pro, has played in the NBA since 1996, always for the Lakers. He leads his team to five titles. At the age of 37, the back pinches and after 20 seasons it's over in April 2016. Bryant died in a helicopter crash in 2020 at the age of 41.
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Karl Malone – 36,928 points
Nicknamed the “Mailman,” almost every mail he sends finds its target in the form of a thrown basketball. The beefy power forward has 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and one year with the Lakers. He will never become a champion, but in 1992 he won the Olympics in Barcelona with the “Dream Team”. Bronze statues of Malone and his faithful mastermind John Stockton stand in front of the arena in Salt Lake City.
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LeBron James – 37,062 points*
Hardly any active NBA professional is as highly decorated as the forward, who has been playing for the Los Angeles Lakers since 2018. Four times the most valuable player in the league (MVP) and four times the MVP of the NBA Finals. James also wins the championship title four times. 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat, 2016 with Cleveland and 2020 with the Lakers. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 38,387 points
No one is as successful as he is: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his almost impossible to defend “Sky Hook” throw are legendary. Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor and converted to Islam in 1971, Abdul-Jabbar played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989. The 2.18 meter long center is six times champion, 19 times he is in the squad of the All-Star-Games.
