Getty Steve Kerr speaks to Steph Curry during a game.
Steph Curry is having what is arguably the greatest season of his career, playing so well that Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sees parallels to another NBA legend.
Kerr spoke out about the MVP-caliber season from Curry, making a comparison to the player many see as the greatest in NBA history, Michael Jordan. Kerr explained how Curry’s play is having a similar impact as his former Chicago Bulls teammate.
The latest Warriors news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Warriors newsletter here!
Kerr Makes Lofty Comparison
The Golden State Warriors are at something of a crossroads, with Curry still in his prime but for an unknown number of years, and Klay Thompson expected back next season but recovering from back-to-back season-ending injuries. Curry spoke out about the situation in an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, comparing it to Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls when the team was trying to stay together for one final title run.
“There’s a heightened sense of urgency, as it should be, when you’re a championship team that’s trying to hold it together,” Curry said. “Obviously, if you watched ‘The Last Dance,’ there’s a lot of things in play in this league. Nothing is predictable. But that’s what makes it fun.
“You have to have a perspective that you’re good enough, capable enough to figure it out.”
Curry’s coach saw another comparison with that 1997-98 Bulls team. He noted that Curry’s torrid stretch this season reminds him of his former teammate.
An iconic April.
@StephenCurry30 has been named the Western Conference Player of the Month ‼️
“He’s reminding me of MJ in that you just get so used to the brilliance and the excellence, it sort of blends in with everything else,” Kerr said. “It just becomes routine. It’s insane to say that because what you’re watching is otherworldly, and yet you sort of begin to expect it. That’s probably the purest sign of greatness.”
Others See Curry-Jordan Comparison
Kerr is not the only one of Jordan’s contemporaries to see comparisons in the way Curry has played. Patrick Ewing, one of Jordan’s longtime rivals during his time in the NBA, said earlier this season that Curry’s impact on NBA is on par with what Jordan did for the game. Ewing said that Jordan helped take the game above the rim, inspiring a generation of high-flying players, while Curry has helped by opening up the very long-range shot as a viable option on offense.
“Steph, like Michael, changed the game,” said the New York Knicks legend told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Chris Mullin. “You got guys shooting those deep shots and doing the things that he did. Michael changed it by all the dunking he was doing.”
Curry’s play this season, which included a stretch of 11 games with 30 points or more, has helped take an otherwise bottom-of-the-pack Warriors team solidly into playoff contention. The Warriors are currently 33-32, good for eighth place in the Western Conference and three-and-a-half games behind the No. 6 spot, which is outside the league’s new four-team play-in tournament.
Steph Curry becomes the FASTEST player to reach 300 3-pointers in one season 😮🔥
Only needed 58 games.
Curry has earned some accolades in the process and taken down a pair of franchise records, setting the all-time Warriors mark for total assists and points, passing Wilt Chamberlain for the latter.
READ NEXT: Steph Curry Gets Honest About His Long-Term Future With the Warriors