Getty Steph Curry celebrates during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
When Steph Curry is earning praise from his Golden State Warriors teammates, it’s usually for his nearly unstoppable shooting touch or the gravitational pull he has on defenses.
But this season, it’s another aspect of Curry’s game that’s catching the attention of teammates and helping to propel his team to a league-best 9-1 record. His defense, which has sometimes been seen as a weak point in Curry’s game, has been turned up a few notches this season as the Warriors have turned in one of the best overall defenses the NBA has seen in years.
The latest Warriors news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Warriors newsletter here!
Curry the Lockdown Defender
“It’s huge. Obviously, we know the offensive punch that Steph’s going to give us,” Poole said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I want to say in his position, Steph’s up there for one of the best defenders in the league right now, so being able to just have the best scorer in the league, the best shooter in the league, go buckle down on the defensive end as well just gives us that much energy, so much life as a unit.”
Steph Curry: Elite rim protector 🙃
Curry has still been stellar on the offensive end, averaging 27.6 points per game. In Monday’s 127-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Curry poured in 50 points on 14-of-28 from the field, including 9-of-19 from behind the three-point arc. Curry added 10 assists and seven rebounds, flirting with what would have been his second triple-double of the young season and ninth of his career.
Shedding His Old Reputation
Curry has carried a reputation as a weak defender, though Shrock said this is unwarranted as the two-time league MVP has always been a strong team defender and made strides to improve his one-on-one defense. As the San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau noted in a February article, much of that appears to be a lingering reputation from earlier in Curry’s NBA career, when he was still struggling and often assigned to guard spot-up shooters while Klay Thompson matched up with opposing point guards.
The lockdown defense that Curry has shown off this year was already forming last season, with Letourneau noting that some added muscle was allowing Curry to take on a much more physical style than he had before.
“Teammates attribute much of Curry’s improved defense to added muscle,” he wrote. “During the extended offseason, he worked with the Warriors’ performance staff often on his core strength and conditioning. Little more than two weeks shy of his 33rd birthday, Curry is powering through screens, brushing off holds and grabs, and rarely getting fatigued.
The Warriors points allowed in the last 3 games:
82
92
85
They have the best defense this season and currently the best by any team in the last 18 seasons.
The strong defensive play has been a teamwide effort this season and has the team in some rare company historically. As Stat Muse noted, the Warriors have the best defensive rating of any team since the 2004 Detroit Pistons.
READ NEXT: Steph Curry Gets Honest About His Long-Term Future With the Warriors