When Patrick Mahomes came from behind last month against the 49ers to win his 3rd Super Bowl, it was his 6th playoff win coming back from behind. He has made a habit of making comebacks and has gained a reputation as a lead killer so much so that Lebron James recently compared him to Stephen Curry.
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LeBron partnered with former NBA player JJ Reddick to start a podcast called Mind the Game, a basketball-centric podcast. During the podcast, JJ and Bron talked about the evolution of basketball and how teams don’t step off the gas even with substantial leads in the 4th Quarter of the game. James pointed out that this trend started in the 2008-09 season when one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, Steph Curry entered the NBA.
Showering praise on Golden State Point Guard, LeBron asserted that Curry changed the whole narrative singlehandedly and made sure teams defended their teams until the last minute of the game, just like the NFL teams have had to worry about Mahomes since 2018. He said,
“I believe in 08-09 or whenever that light-skinned f*cker came in the league, that’s in Golden State, he changed the whole narrative. He did. He singlehandedly changed the ‘no lead is safe’. It’s like Patrick Mahomes right now.”
As per Pro Football Reference, Mahomes has fourteen 4th quarter comebacks in 16 game-winning drives during the regular season and five 4th quarter comebacks in six game-winning drives during the postseason.
It seems both Mahomes and Curry share many similarities which has made them revolutionise their respective sports.
Are Steph Curry and Patrick Mahomes Really Similar?
The two modern greats in their respective sports, Mahomes and Curry have a knack for making comebacks and have been doing so since they entered their respective leagues. Physically, both are 6’2, which makes them average for their positions. But it’s their arm talent that makes them special. Curry is arguably one of the best shooters in the league and Mahomes may not be a gunslinger or have a big arm, but can throw the ball effortlessly. Both are deceptively athletic, despite slender frames.
Both have fathers who were former professional athletes. As per the Mirror, Mahomes Sr. was a professional MLB pitcher while Del Curry played in the NBA for 16 seasons. Mahomes and Curry both have 2-MVPs. Both have changed the way their sport is played. Defenses have to change their entire game plan, even though neither were top-five picks in their respective drafts. Both have a penchant for golf too.
Curry’s deadly shooting ability which allows him to make shots anywhere has led the teams to use their full squads to play the game even with a substantial lead in what was traditionally considered ‘garbage time’. The same goes for Mahomes, with his ability to make plays by reading the defenses. While he can stay in the pocket and work through progressions, he doesn’t mind stepping out of the pocket, using his legs to make when the situation demands. Both players have revolutionized the game and will go down as the greatest players in their respective leagues when they retire.
