Picked 7th in the 2009 Draft, Stephen Curry was an exciting prospect. Despite the injuries sustained early on in his career, Steph was beyond exciting from very early on in his career. However, it wasn’t until the 2012-2013 season that Curry became a legitimate threat in the league. Many regard Curry’s coming out party as the Golden State Warriors’ contest against the New York Knicks on February 27th, 2013. The sharpshooter knocked down 11 3-pointers en route to scoring 54 points. Claiming that the matchup allowed Curry to become the player he is today, LeBron James’ former teammate – Iman Shumpert – compared the Warriors player to Gilbert Arenas.
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Gilbert Arenas was one of the better Guards in the 2000s who would have loved to play in today’s era. Agent Zero was one of the best long-range shooters at the time. Considered to be a player ahead of his time, there were campaigns where Arenas was taking more than 7 attempts from the 3-point line. Keep in mind that the game wasn’t as 3-pointer-centric back then as it is today.
After seeing Steph knock down almost a dozen shots from beyond the arch, Iman Shumpert drew comparisons with Arenas.
Iman Shumpert believes the game against the Knicks allowed Stephen Curry to be the player he is today
According to Iman Shumpert, the 54-point game against the New York side enabled Curry to be the player he is. Shumpert believes that Steph is able to hit all the look-away threes, 40-footers, and full-court heaves due to the confidence instilled in him after the matchup against the Knicks. In an appearance on the latest episode of “All The Smoke” podcast, the 2016 NBA Champ spoke about the incident that took place 10 years ago.
“Bro, before we knew it, the man had 50 and the Garden (MSG) was cheering for him. I was sick, bro… That lightskin man done got real vicious after that. Oh, it was real. He started shooting it from 40. Started turning around when he shoot. Like oh, you Gilbert Arenas now?
I think we ignited that confidence that came. Cause after that game, bro, he got very disrespectful,” Shumpert said.
Steph was shooting lights out on that day. Recording 18 field goals, the former Davidson Wildcat managed to connect 11 three-pointers on 13 attempts. Sidestep, stepback, transition, and off-the-dribble, The Baby Faced-Assassin was hitting all kinds of contested three-pointers.
“He got real vicious after that.”@imanshumpert breaks down how Steph turned into a monster after his 54-point explosion against the Knicks in 2013.
Full episode out now on our YouTube 💨 pic.twitter.com/QrAtilR6Gs
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) August 3, 2023
Of course, in today’s age, there are many players who can shoot from long range. However, at the time, a comparison to Gilbert Arenas was pretty accurate.
As mentioned by Iman, Steph’s confidence skyrocketed following the 54-point performance. In the very next campaign, he would go on to average 24 points and 8.5 assists, while getting his first All-Star and All-NBA nod. Soon later, Curry would win back-to-back MVPs and lift the Larry O’Brien trophy as well. Today, Curry is widely regarded as one of the best Guards in league history and will go down as the greatest shooter ever.
Gilbert Arenas once claimed he was better than Curry
Gilbert Arenas will be remembered as one of the better dynamic guards of his generation. During the 2000s, he was an exciting player to watch. However, for most fans, there is no doubt that Curry is a better player of the two. And yet, Agent Zero doesn’t believe so.
According to Arenas, he would be the better player if their careers were to be stopped at the age of 25.
“I got hurt at 25. So if you stop me at 25…Steph ain’t hanging with me. But, you’ve got to stop him at 25. At 25, there are no three championships. There’s only a one-time All-Star. I’m a three-time All-Star and a three-time All-NBA player by the age of 25. So, there’s not a lot of us at that age. Allen Iverson is only two!…two times at that age. But, you’ve got to stop it at 25.”
While this take may seem a hot one at first, under the conditions set by Arenas, it does seem to make sense. However, unfortunately for him, careers don’t stop at age 25. And due to what he has achieved since being in his mid-20s, there can be little doubt Stephen Curry is by far the better player.
