The only question now is who will introduce Stephen Curry at his Hall of Fame induction.
There is no doubt that Curry belongs there. And he, too, belongs in that special wing within that elite group. Because of what he does on the court, the accolades he is stockpiling, the impact he has on the game, the buzz he generates that transcends basketball, we can already put Curry with the all-time greats.
Now. At 28. With only seven seasons in the books.
More great years under his belt will help. But that's mostly for us to break down our prior affinities and make room in our psyche for a new paradigm. But Curry's resume rivals the great of the greats now. Monday, he blessed basketball fans with one of the greatest performances in NBA playoff history.
Tuesday, Curry accepted his second MVP trophy in as many years.
Only 10 other players have won the league's most coveted individual trophy in back-to-back seasons. If the Warriors carry on to win the championship, he will be just the fourth player in league history to win consecutive MVPs and consecutive championships.
But no one else _ not Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or LeBron James _ was the unanimous MVP choice. In all of the excellence that has graced the NBA, no one else has ever put together a season that so outshined anything close to it, not a single contrarian or biased team rep could bring themselves to write another name ahead of Curry.
That's a nighty statement, even for a guy who has spent the last four years making loud ones.
Does that mean Curry is the best ever? No. But it does mean we are witnessing what we haven't before, and it is so obvious it can't be denied. It does speak to the overwhelming nature of his greatness. We have never seen anyone dominate in this way, win like this, with this set of tools, with this background with these odds.
The uniqueness of Curry's basketball elitism makes his place among the greats harder to peg, his validity harder to accept. Many of the game's giants of yesteryear have illustrated the inexplicable nature of No. 30 in the form of slights and cynicism.
Is Curry's success an indictment of the current NBA talent pool? Is it a referendum on this era of basketball? Such matters can be debated to no end. For every critique of this era being too soft, there is a critique of the '60s for being too exclusive, or a rip of the '90s being too brute, or a knock on the '70s for the lack of athleticism.
Those debates are fine, fun even. But they can't rob Curry of this indisputable truth: he is owning his era in a way no one has ever seen. And for the same reasons some can't embrace this anomaly are the same reasons Curry is worthy of anointing.
He isn't physically imposing or supremely athletic, so it's hard for a league of machismo to accept his superiority. But that's also why his superiority is so amazing.
"There is nothing about the tools he as given that makes you think this would happen," Warriors general manager Bob Myers said.
He came out of nowhere, or as general manager Bob Myers said, there was no runway to his greatness. We didn't get to watch the build up before the take off.
Coach Steve Kerr told a story of when he met Curry's parents at a game at UCLA, when Kerr was general manager of the Phoenix Suns and Curry was a sophomore at Davidson. He said the first thing Sonya Curry asked was if her son could play in the NBA.
"Your own mom wasn't sure if you could play in the NBA," Kerr turned to Curry and said, eliciting a hearty chuckle from the audience.
Nobody saw THIS coming, so it's hard to digest what is happening. But that it is such a surprise makes it so captivating.
Curry is not a legend. His greatness doesn't live in oratory of few witnesses. His story can't be fudged by fading memories of grandmothers and embellishment tendencies of uncles.
But Curry's stardom is happening in the selfie generation, his feats are performed in the age of citizen journalism. They are broadcast relentlessly all over the place. In high-def. We are all witnesses in that way. The evidence is aplenty and on loop.
But Curry is without a doubt legendary. Because what he does is worthy of being passed down through the generations. Will be passed down.
His talent is so sensational, his accomplishments so gaudy, his rise so sudden, it can't be forgotten. Its grandeur won't dull as the seasons rotate. His impact won't fade as other stars rise. Quite the opposite.
Curry is one of the rare players who can take credit for evolving the game. All that's left are creating the moments to bolster the legacy.
Curry could stop right now and will have done enough. He is a Hall of Famer. He belongs mentioned with the reverend basketball names _ even if we as viewers need a whole to settle on that truth.
"I never really set out to change the game," Curry said. "I never thought that that would happen in my career."
Even Curry needs time to let it sink in.
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