Kevin Durant sat with a wry smile on his face when he saw Steph Curry pull up the clutch three, sinking hopes of a Phoenix Suns win against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on Saturday. His former Golden State Warriors teammate fired a three with 3.3 seconds remaining on the clock to help the hosts go up 113-112.
Durant who was tasked to perhaps close it out for the Suns with 0.7 seconds remaining couldn’t get the shot off. And in a show of sportsmanship, the veteran forward lauded Curry for his brilliance. Speaking to the media after the loss, Durant shared his thoughts on Curry’s clutch three, and the former had lavish praise to heap.
“Greatest ever at his position, Top-5 ever.”
One of the fans disagreed, by saying:
Top 5 ever is a reach
More comments followed suit.
Curry finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, while Durant propped up 24 points and 10 rebounds. The win now sees Golden State improve to 24-25 and sees them two wins behind the Utah Jazz. The Steph Curry-led side is still a few wins away from getting into playoff contention, but their recent surge shows they cannot be discounted.
Is Steph Curry a Top 5 player?
Steph Curry as a top-five player can be debatable, but there is no doubt that the 4x NBA champion is one of the greatest players of this generation.
According to the Warriors Wire, Curry was named in the top five NBA players alongside Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid. Per ESPN, the greatest three-point shooter has been a top-five player in the NBA for the past three years.
The ongoing season has been a struggle for the Warriors, but Steph Curry has been a consistent force for the side. The 35-year-old is averaging 28.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
His last five games have seen him prop 34.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. The efforts were good enough to see him make the reserves in the All-Star selections to show up and ball out at Indianapolis on Feb. 18.
For now, imagining Curry to be on the Mount Rushmore of basketball makes for a healthy debate, but there is no doubt that the future Hall of Famer will go down in history as one of the greatest ever to play the sport.
