Steph Curry has wreaked havoc on his defenders throughout his NBA career. One NBA champion guard has named the Golden State Warriors icon as the most difficult player to guard in the league.
According to Duece McBride of the reigning NBA champions New York Knicks, Curry’s ability to move off the ball and make himself a real threat throughout any possession makes him the most difficult player to guard in the league.
“For me, it’s Steph. He never stops running. But on top of that, he always plays smart,” McBride said when asked about the difficult player to go in The Crew Has It podcast. “So he keeps you constantly under pressure because you never really know what he’s going to do.”
“He can fake a shot, pass, cut, pop back out… You never know if he’s just serving as a decoy or if the ball is really coming back to him. And you can see in the way he plays that he wants to win. Plus, he’s physically strong. He might not look it, but his balance and strength… One time, I tried to push him and he didn’t budge at all. I said to myself: ‘Oh yeah…'”
Why Steph Curry Is Hard To Guard
Curry is difficult to guard because of his relentless off-ball movement, conditioning, and game-breaking shooting range that creates constant panic for defenses.
Curry spends most of the possession sprinting through a maze of screens set by his teammates. So, his primary defender cannot rest or lose focus for a single second without giving up an opening.
Additionally, Curry’s reputation as the greatest shooter ever means defenses often commit two or three players to him even when he does not have the ball.
On the other hand, McBride is known for his perimeter defense and full-court pressure, especially against stars like Curry.
McBride has also worked to transform into a knockdown shooter, hitting over 41% of his 3-pointers during the team’s championship run.
Selected 36th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, McBride worked his way up from the G League’s New York affiliate Westchester Knicks, to become a vital rotation piece and an NBA champion when the Knicks took down the San Antonio Spurs in five games during the 2026 NBA Finals.
Steph Curry Talks About The ‘Organized Chaos He Brings’ To The Warriors
Steph Curry’s off-ball movement is a weapon few superstars in the league have. He talked about via NBA.com, which broke down Curry’s gravity and the chaos he brings against opposing teams.
“The organized chaos is that I play fast and can play both on and off the ball,” Curry said. “The saying is, the play starts when I’m getting off the ball because I’m either running off to the other side of the court, coming off a screen and trying to create attention, no matter where I am on the floor.”
“The organized part of it is a big deal. There are certain patterns that you see more often than others, as far as where I’m at, where the ball is at, and what options you have off of it, whether you’re going to screen, cut, or stay spaced and shoot. Reps help and being in that situation where you get to see the pictures makes it easier.”
That chaos has given the Warriors and Curry four NBA championships and made the 6-foot-3 point guard one of the greatest basketball players to ever live.
Knicks Champion Reveals Why Steph Curry Is the NBA’s Toughest Player to Guard