To say Stephen Curry is the biggest and best show in basketball seems obvious now. The Golden State Warriors superstar is dominating the league to such an extent that the reigning Most Valuable Player is being asked about potentially winning the Most Improved Player award. Golden State is the hottest ticket in the NBA, and everybody wants a piece of Curry.
Despite attracting extreme amounts of attention, nothing about Curry is polarizing. To Warriors coach Steve Kerr and St. John's coach Chris Mullin, that is reminiscent of Michael Jordan in the 1990s.
Kerr and Mullin, who both spent time playing and traveling with Michael Jordan, said the nation's infatuation with Curry is getting to that place where comparisons are warranted.
"I was around Michael during the summer of '92," Mullin said. "So yeah, I think it's at that level."
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"Michael would just draw crowds everywhere he went," Kerr said. "When we'd get to a hotel in the middle of the night, there'd always be 50-100 people waiting out there at 2 a.m., hoping for an autograph. People come before games to see these guys warm up; it happened with Michael, and it happens now with Steph. There's sort of a fascination with Steph that reminds me a lot of people's infatuation with Michael."
People of a certain age get a little queasy whenever anyone is compared to Jordan, but this is valid. There are so few players with transcendent skill, and fewer still who reach a level of stardom that draws the interest of people who wouldn't normally call themselves basketball fans. Curry, like Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, is the sort of player who makes the NBA itself more popular. He doesn't have the longevity of Jordan yet, but he is absolutely owning this moment.
