Bill Simmons has some choice words for anyone who doubted whether Steph Curry could put the Golden State Warriors on his back this season.
The NBA analyst sounded off on those who questioned whether the former two-time NBA MVP could step up and lead the team in the absence of the injured Klay Thompson, saying people were “idiots” if they had doubts about Curry.
Curry has instead enjoyed one of the strongest seasons of his career, putting up numbers similar to the 2015-16 season when he became the first unanimous MVP in league history.
Simmons Says Curry Can Still Carry a Team
Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons and ESPN’s Zach Lowe discussed the big year for Curry and how he answered critics worried he might wither without the other Splash Brother in the backcourt.
“This was a big year for Steph Curry,” Lowe said. “Because there was a lot of ‘Can he carry a team?’ ”
Simmons made it clear that Curry has long put that question to rest, already proving that he could either step up and lead a team or take a secondary role depending on what the Warriors needed from him.
“From idiots,” Simmons responded. “You’re an idiot if you made that point. [The Warriors] were 140-24 in the two seasons before [Kevin] Durant got there. You guys are morons if you said that.”
Curry is putting up 29.9 points per game this season, just a shade under the 30.1 points he notched in his unanimous MVP season. He is adding 6.3 assists and a career-high 5.5 rebounds per game.
6,000th career made regular-season shot for Steph 👏
Only four Warriors have reached the milestone:
▪️ Wilt Chamberlain
▪️ Rick Barry
▪️ Chris Mullin
▪️ Stephen Curry
Curry’s Play Earning Praise This Season
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes that Curry is getting wiser with age, and the strong play this season is a reflection of that wisdom.
“It’s probably very similar to a quarterback when he gets to his 10th or 12th year. He’s just seen every coverage and understands the game at a really high level,” Kerr said earlier this month, via CBS Sports. “Every year Steph sees something new and learns a little bit more. I just think he’s at an all-time high in terms of his knowledge of what is coming at him because of how much has been thrown at him for the last 12 years.”
But the Warriors star still had a hard time coming into the season without his backcourt partner. Steph’s father, Dell Curry, opened up to The Athletic about the moment his son learned that Thompson would be out for the year and what it meant for his own game.
Dell Curry explained that Steph would be “seeing all 10 eyes of the opponent every single night.”
“The uncertainty of what the team was going to be like was a big concern, his role, if it could be any bigger, was going to have to be bigger,” Dell Curry said. “You hate it when you lose a player like Klay, but I think that made him aware that he was really going to have to be ready when the season starts. Teams are throwing everything at him.”
READ NEXT: Dell Curry Explains Why Last Warriors Season Was Blessing in Disguise for Steph
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Analyst Slams ‘Idiots’ Who Doubted Steph Curry This Season