For a player who entered postseason play on the heels of a month-long absence due to injury, Stephen Curry has acquitted himself particularly well for the Golden State Warriors. The three-time champ is averaging a team-best 26.9 points per contest while adding 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
He played a crucial role in the Warriors’ series-clinching win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, scoring 29 points, 11 of which came during the decisive fourth quarter. Said Draymond Green: “He put us all in position and dominated the quarter and it’s why we’re sitting here moving on to the Western Conference Finals.”
Amazingly, that’s not even his biggest accomplishment during the current run.
While Steph and his crew are fully engaged in their effort to recapture the NBA title, the Dubs’ cornerstone was also able to take care of some longstanding, unfinished business. Specifically, Curry became a member of the graduating class of 2022 at his alma mater, Davidson College.
Steph Gets His Degree
As captured by his mother, Sonya Curry, via Instagram (embedded above), Steph’s name was just called out alongside those of all the other graduates at Davidson this weekend.
Meanwhile, the institution announced that Curry had completed the final semester of coursework needed to receive his bachelor’s degree via Twitter on Sunday.
“Stephen Curry has on many occasions emphasized the importance of education, how much he valued his Davidson College experience and that he is committed to earning his degree,” the announcement read.
“He needed to complete one semester of classwork. He re-enrolled at Davidson College for the spring semester and worked with: two members of the Davidson faculty, a Stanford University professor and a UC Santa Cruz professor who taught Stephen when both were at Davidson. He will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Sociology, with the class of 2022 on Sunday.”
Although Curry was unable to attend the actual ceremony, the statement from Davidson expressed hope that Curry could be presented with his diploma at an on-campus ceremony in the future.
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Curry Hits B/R’s Playoff MVP Rankings
Although Steph has been an integral part of the Warriors’ effort to down both the Grizz and the Denver Nuggets during the first two rounds of postseason play, he didn’t do quite enough to top Bleacher Report‘s updated NBA Playoff MVP rankings.
In the latest iteration of the list, published on May 14, Curry instead entered the fray at No. 5 overall. According to B/R’s Dan Favale, the sharpshooter’s conservative ramp-up process is at least partially responsible for his relatively low placement.
“Personally, I blame the Warriors’ refusal to turn him loose from the jump,” Favale wrote. “His role during first quarters — first halves, really — can and should be described as ‘deferential cardio'”
Added Favale: “Insisting Golden State have Steph attack more on-ball and juice up his shot totals earlier feels like an oversimplification. That doesn’t make it wrong.
“Spare me the ‘That’s not how the Warriors play’ trope. I honestly, unequivocally don’t care. He is arguably the most transcendent offensive threat even when his usage is bogged down with too much off-ball decoyism. Limiting him for the sake of system and philosophy is stupid.”
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