However, advanced analytics told a different story. The Warriors always struggled when Curry sat out, even with Durant on the floor. When Durant sat and Curry played, the team kept winning. Curry was the system. His willingness to share the spotlight allowed the dynasty to work, but his unselfishness was misconstrued as a limitation. 4. Redefining the Concept of "Clutch"
In 2006, college scouts saw a major problem when looking at Wardell Stephen Curry II: his frame. Standing at a frail 6-foot, 160 pounds, major Division I programs viewed him as a liability. Virginia Tech, his father Dell Curry's alma mater, only offered him a spot as a walk-on.
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Because Curry did not overpower his opponents, the basketball establishment was slow to accept his dominance. His success was initially treated as a fluke—a hot shooting streak born out of a gimmick system. When the Golden State Warriors won their first championship in 2015, critics dismissed it as a product of opponent injuries. When he won the unanimous MVP in 2016, traditionalists grumbled that the league had gone "soft."
Superstars in the NBA are expected to be alpha figures who demand the ball, dictate terms, and command the spotlight. Curry’s leadership style is completely antithetical to this archetype, which often leads to him being overlooked in debates about "all-time greats." Stephen Curry- Underrated
If one looks purely at scoring volume, Curry often trails players like Joel Embiid or Luka Dončić in points per game. However, this is a failure of traditional evaluation metrics. Curry’s efficiency is historically unrivaled.
As a high school senior at Charlotte Christian, Curry stood barely 6 feet tall and weighed a frail 160 pounds. Major college programs viewed him as a liability. He desperately wanted to play for Virginia Tech, his parents' alma mater, but the school only offered him a spot as a walk-on. The Davidson Cinderella Story
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Curry's humility and willingness to put the team first have made him a beloved figure in the Warriors' organization. He is a player who is always willing to make the extra pass or take a backseat to a teammate, and his selflessness has been key to the Warriors' success. However, advanced analytics told a different story
The Architect of the New NBA: Why Stephen Curry Remains “Underrated”
Unlike almost every other elite scorer in history, Curry is at his most dangerous after he passes the ball. He is a perpetual motion machine, sprinting through a maze of screens, exhausting defenders, and causing communication breakdowns.
Perhaps the most revealing clue about why Curry remains underrated comes not from the critics but from those who know him best: his coaches and peers. The commonly held belief is that Curry is a defensive liability who must be hidden on that end of the floor. The reality, as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has repeatedly pointed out, is quite different.
"Will struggle to finish at the rim against NBA athleticism." "Explosiveness and athleticism are below standard." Curry was the system
Six teams passed on him. The Minnesota Timberwolves famously drafted two point guards (Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn) back-to-back, leaving Curry to fall into the laps of the Golden State Warriors at number seven.
This piece explores the arc of that contradiction: how the kid nobody wanted became the player who changed basketball forever, and why his legend is still so stubbornly, fascinatingly underrated.
The run was electrifying precisely because it seemed impossible. A tiny liberal arts college with fewer than 2,000 students was going toe-to-toe with the sport's superpowers, led by a guard who looked like he belonged in a physics lecture rather than on a basketball court. By the time Curry declared for the NBA Draft after his junior year, he had put up 2,635 career points and cemented his place as one of the great scorers in NCAA history.