The Warriors have started the season 48-4, and are on pace to break the 1995-96 Bulls’ record 72-10 season, but TNT analyst Charles Barkley is still not buying into Stephen Curry being the best player in the league.
Barkley would not even acknowledge Curry as a “great” playmaker in an interview with Dime Magazine, simply giving him credit for being a great shooter. Barkley was asked to put the season Curry’s having in context with other dominant players like Shaquille O’Neal.
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“He’s just a great shooter. It’s a totally different animal,” Barkley said. “But he’s not a great playmaker. He’s just a great shooter.” Barkley cited Curry’s recent 51-point outburst as an example of his point that he’s not “unstoppable,” which was a curious choice. Curry finished that night with 51 points, seven rebounds, and 11 made 3-pointers. The Warriors were plus-20 with Curry on the floor.
“He played last week against John Wall and scored 51 and gave up 41. And most people think that John Wall had a better game, because Steph had 10 turnovers and John Wall had 41 and 15 assists,” Barkley said. He was slightly off, because Curry had only seven turnovers, but he did allow Wall to have a big night.
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Barkley is ignoring, however, that Curry is more valuable to the team’s defense than he is as an individual defender. The Warriors rank fourth in the NBA in defensive rating (per Basketball Reference), and Curry is third in the league in steals (107). He has been worth 2.7 defensive win shares this year, second on the team to Draymond Green, a likely choice for the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
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