How The Finals Restored Order to the NBA

The 2016 NBA Finals didn't have one close game through the first six games. Each win had an exclamation mark on it. Each win was by a double digit margin, and in games 2 and 3 the two teams traded 30 point blowout victories. However, the score differential in each individual game did not represent the closeness of the series as a whole. Both teams scored the exact same amount of points in the series as a whole through six games. The seventh game went down to the wire and accurately epitomized the series as a whole singular entity, even while emphatically defying the relatively one-sided storylines in each of the previous six games. The competitiveness of the series was finally showcased in a single game. A single game that would do the series justice, and show the true overall parity between the opposing teams with dire aspirations of being crowned. The Warriors knew that their historic 73-9 regular season was meaningless without the validation of a championship, and they knew without that final win that their chance to even be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan and Pippen’s Bulls would vanish as fast as it arose. Despite LeBron’s irrefutable dominance and reign over the league, he knew that the media would have a field day if he lost to their golden boy for the second time in a row. The media loved Curry to such an extent that they voted him MVP unanimously, and at many times to further honor Curry’s spectacular season they did so at the expense of his teammates by often nearly disregarding the depth of skill and even the competency of the Warriors as a whole. Many people didn’t understand that the Warriors had perhaps that deepest array of talented versatile wing players in NBA history. Many people disrespected Klay Thompson by labeling him as a sidekick or simply a common star (as oxymoronic as that sounds), while he was clearly playing at the level of a superstar. When Klay went on one of his ruthless locked in scoring sprees during the season it was often referred to as “Klay with his best Steph Curry impersonation.” Klay Thompson is also an elite on ball defender. Klay Thompson bailed Steph out on multiple occasions including in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals when he hit a playoff record 11 threes on the road in the deafeningly loud Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City. In Game 4 of the same series Klay Thompson scored 19 consecutive points for the Warriors in the 3rd quarter. Klay Thompson is a playoff WARRIOR, and I believe that he is a Top 10 player in the league for his play on both ends of the court. Steph is a slightly above average defender who often escapes from the task of guarding rival star point guards. However, Steph has notably great hands and defensive awareness. And we all know Stephen Curry has legendary handles and offensive creativity. In the regular season his field goal percentage was above 50%, which seems magical when you take into account the difficulty of an average Steph Curry attempt and that he was a volume scorer who also led the lead in scoring. Curry is also better than almost any other point guard at dictating the tempo of the game. Curry deserved heaps of praise, and yet the media still reached. Higher. Higher. Higher. Trying to make Steph’s success into something miraculous…..heavenly. Elaborating on how he is a devout Christian as a way to hint that he may be in fact a gift from above. The media simultaneously tried to make him out as this highly successful athlete despite his “very average natural athletic ability” in an attempt to make him more relatable to the average American. “If he can do it. Anyone can.” This was a tactic meant to glorify Steph, but I think it undermined his athletic gifts in an attempt to attach his success to an otherworldly or mythical force. Curry’s success isn’t accidental or as unlikely as it is made out to be. Just because Curry’s style isn’t predicated on dominating with sheer athleticism doesn’t mean he lacks elite athleticism. Curry is the child of a professional basketball player and has had every resource at his disposal to help him develop. Curry may not be Russell Westbrook on the fast break, but Curry is still a lengthy guard with supreme quickness who has been videotaped performing windmill dunks effortlessly off of two feet hops to the rim during workout sessions. The way Steph Curry dribbles and uses that death touch to gun in jumpers and guide pretty high rising floaters in the basket is not magic. Curry is remarkably cut physically even though he lacks bulging muscles (that would only hinder the fluidity of his shot to some degree), and his conditioning appears to be extremely elite as his ability to get up and down the court endlessly reminds me of Steve Nash (another back to back MVP) in his prime. Curry is more coordinated physically than perhaps any athlete I have ever seen grace a basketball court, and he understands and embraces his strengths with zero hesitation and with a killer mentality. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry are likely the two best shooters of all time, and Steph is worthy of slightly more praise because he is the orchestrator of the rhythmic flow that the Warriors play with that combines a lack of hesitation and methodical focus with free flowing creativity. It’s fun yet effective. Often deadly. But Klay was never a side kick. Klay is top 5 for his position offensively and defensively. They are both superstars, and future hall of famers. Draymond’s inconsistency prevents him from breaking into superstar territory, but he was a versatile star forward. Just as Klay relieved Curry from having to guard the opposing star point guards, Draymond relieved Curry from having to be the team’s primary setup man as he put on an assist clinic. Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston were also elite defenders who possessed all-star qualities and played at all-star levels. They just didn’t have high usage rates or force their will offensively with high doses of shots on a daily basis for the sake of the team’s success as a whole. That doesn’t mean they weren’t stars. They were all essential to what that team was. After six games came GAME 7 of The Finals. A single game that was more important than any previous game ever according to all the participants, and the vast majority of the fans. There were 20 lead changes. Kyrie continued to outplay Curry in the series as he connected on a series of spectacular seemingly impossible shots that culminated in him hitting one of the biggest shots in NBA history. A 3 pointer over the outstretched hand of the 3 point man himself….Steph Curry. The irony. The type of play many hopefuls anticipated Steph would be on the other end. An ending nobody predicted. A decisive clutch 3 to win The Finals. That was released from the hand of his opponent. After a season where Steph Curry was undoubtedly the clutchest performer in all of the league. Before Kyrie’s 3 pointer of course there was “The Block”, which is LeBron’s career defining play. Order was restored to the league. Now the world fully understands the obvious truth that LeBron is the best player. While Curry simply had the most electrifying and outstanding 2015-2016, which truthfully revolutionized the game. The media lived in the moment and tried to propel the relatable and ultra-talented Stephen Curry to a place that asked for things of him that were beyond his means. Curry was the most outstanding player in the 15-16 season, and he is perhaps more skilled than any basketball player on the planet. He is dazzling and people have been foolishly convinced that his game is relatable. However, LeBron can do EVERYTHING on a basketball court and is already a Top 3 player of all time. LeBron James led both teams in the 2016 Finals in every major statistical category (Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, and Blocks). No one has ever done that in any playoff series. He can play every position on either end of the court. He is on pace to challenge every conceivable record including most points scored ever and most points scored in the playoffs (which he is rapidly approaching). LeBron James is a generational Mount Rushmore-gracing type of player. Stephen Curry is spectacular and displays a game based more on elements involving skillful dazzling moves, but he will never challenge the cumulative overall (overwhelming) greatness of LeBron James in his prime.