After a 58-game absence, two-time league MVP and three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry returns to the NBA court tonight. Curry suffered a severe fracture in his left hand a little over four months ago and will finally make his long-awaited return in front of an Oracle Arena crowd that will be ready to explode with adulation.
When Steph Curry was drafted with the No. 7 pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors thought they were getting a short, skinny, ball-handling point guard who can also get hot from deep from time to time. What the fans would have never expected is exactly what Steph Curry became: the greatest Golden State Warrior of all-time.
When Curry was drafted, the Warriors were a disaster without an identity. After finishing the 2008 season with a 29-53 record, Golden State was desperate for change. The cultural shift from Curry’s first season with the team to now is a true testament to who he has become on the court. With the team healthy, the Warriors were the head and shoulders favorites to win the title every single year for the past five NBA seasons. In a trio of those years (2015, 2017 and 2018), the Golden State Warriors were crowned champions. While Stephen Curry had loads of assistance from the likes of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and many others during this time period, everyone in the league knew that it was Curry’s team.
Curry’s deadly three-point shot changed the identity of the franchise from a slow, half-court style team to a run and gun shootout style barrage. And with the change to the Warriors team and how dominant they had become, the rest of the league had to follow to keep up. The way Curry is able to decide a game from the three-point line has changed the way the NBA will be forever.
Stephen Curry returns to the starting lineup on Thursday night to try to bring light back to the Bay Area. Facing off against the Toronto Raptors, the team that beat Golden State in the 2019 NBA Finals, will make things that much sweeter.
This is must-watch television. One of the greatest of all-time is lacing up his sneakers for the first time in 2020 for a triumphant return to the fanbase that loves him dearly.
Yes, Steph Curry is back.
