Warriors: Stephen Curry, The League’s Most Unguardable Player

Well that didn’t take long. Three games into the 2015-16 season, I’ve already ran out of ways to articulate how unbelievable Stephen Curry is as a basketball player. After last night’s victory over the New Orleans Pelicans moved the Golden State Warriors to 3-0, Curry’s repeat campaign for the MVP Award — and the Warriors’ repeat campaign for a title — seems to be off to a fine start.

Instead of regaling you with hyperbolic comparisons to unstoppable forces of nature or mythical creatures, I’ll let the numbers do the talking.

In Saturday’s game against the Pellies, Curry was once again a thorn in Anthony Davis‘ side, putting up a whopping 53 points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals in 36 minutes of action. He went 17-for-27 from the floor (63 percent), 8-for-14 from three-point territory (57.1 percent) and made all 11 of his free throws.

Needless to say, putting up 53 points is absurd. But putting up 53 points on only 27 shots while draining eight three-pointers? That’s a whole ‘nother level of stupid.

https://twitter.com/nbastats/status/660641856783589376

In the first game of the season, Curry dropped 24 first quarter points on the Pelicans en route to a 40-point performance. He tore apart New Orleans’ shorthanded backcourt of Nate Robinson and Ish Smith, molecularly dissolving them into nonexistence with every pull-up three.

Last night, the Pelicans welcomed back a good defender in Jrue Holiday…only to watch him torched to smithereens in an even more dominant performance. Curry dropped 28 points in the third to help the Warriors distance themselves from a team they’ve owned over the last few months.

There’s just no conceivable way to guard something like this:

Since we’re only three games into the season (with two of them coming against this same Pelicans team), there aren’t too many takeaways to be had for the 2015-16 campaign so far. But for the time being, all you really need to know about the Golden State Warriors is that they have the league’s most unguardable player.

Last year, Under Armour released a commercial starring Curry and Jamie Foxx that labeled him as such. It was a cute commercial. It was an entertaining commercial. But less than a year later, it’s proven to be 100 percent accurate.

Go on. I dare you to name a more uncoverable player in the league right now. At this rate, Curry is on pace to make THIS a legitimate conversation:

We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Curry is probably the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen, and it won’t be long before he breaks every shooting record that Ray Allen/Reggie Miller/Larry Bird/every other great shooter in NBA history holds dear. But we’re only three games into the season and his numbers are bound to return to earth soon. We shouldn’t overstate things, right?

Maybe. Taking a look at Curry’s first three games, it’s hard not to get excited about what’s coming in 2015-16. After the Warriors had to listen to people call them “lucky” all summer long, the Dubs seem devoted to burying that narrative in a 60-foot trench.

Through three games, Curry is averaging 39.3 points, 7.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 32.7 minutes per game. He’s posting .588/.486/.955 shooting splits and if the raw numbers weren’t good enough for you, here’s a quick breakdown to put his offensive production in perspective:

If your eyes still haven’t popped right out of your skull, don’t forget that the manner in which Curry has been compiling those points is just as ludicrous. The step-back threes are from a whole different planet of talent, but the reason he’s able to create that kind of space is his absurd ball-handling ability.

Because Curry might be one of the craftiest dribblers in the game, he’s able to manipulate pick-and-roll sets in ways that few guards in the history of this league have been able to. The defense is literally at his disposal, and Curry has become a master of reading coverages to know when to pull up, when to hesitate and burst toward the rim and when to give the ball up to an open teammate.

Turnovers were the biggest flaw in Curry’s game last season, but he’s chopped those down to 1.7 per game so far this year. True enough, three games is a tiny sample size, but Curry’s handles, Superman-esque court vision and mastery of reading defenses has led to jaw-dropping plays that would raise the eyebrows of even Magic Johnson and Steve Nash.

Per ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh, Curry joined Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West as the only players in NBA history to ever tally at least 118 points in the first three games of the season.

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Per CBS Sports NBA, he became just the fifth player to ever put up 53 points and nine assists in a game.

Per Golden State Warriors Stats, he joined Rick Barry and Chamberlain as the only Warriors to ever record at least three 50-point games.

You get the point: Between his shooting, passing and dribbling ability, Steph Curry is on pace to join some elite company that extends beyond the MVP Award and NBA title he’s already got on his resume. The prospect of Curry getting even better is terrifying, but it’s starting to look inevitable.

Next: Stephen Curry: Top 10 Moments From His MVP Season

With so much superstar talent in the NBA these days, it seems crazy how far this once injury-prone player has come to ascend to the top of the pack like this. But the way Curry holds opposing defenses in the palm of his hand is unlike anything the rest of the league has to offer right now.

That includes LeBron James. That includes Kevin Durant. That includes Russell Westbrook and it includes James Harden. Props to Under Armour. They had it right before anyone else realized what was happening.