Golden State Warriors: Look out for Stephen Curry on NBA All-Star Sunday

The 2020-21 NBA All-Star Game has been heavily criticized by fans for being dangerous amidst COVID-19, as players from around the country will have to travel to one stadium. Despite the backlash, the annual All-Star Weekend will take place tonight in Atlanta with all the typical events condensed into one day. One of the most anticipated attendees tomorrow is Stephen Curry, who missed out on last season’s All-Star festivities due to injury.

Despite Klay Thompson ruled out for the entirety of the season, the Warriors are still in the running to make the playoffs with Steph Curry leading the team and putting up insane numbers, including a career-high 62 points against Portland earlier in the year. His leadership and production on the court have earned him his seventh starting All-Star nod, where he will be representing the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference. Let’s look at what we can expect from Stephen Curry tonight.

With Stephen Curry’s seventh NBA All-Star appearance coming up, let’s take a look at what we can expect from the Golden State Warrior.

On Wednesday, team captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant each selected their teams for the All-Star Game — the draft was then televised on TNT the following day. Curry was selected to play for Team LeBron as the third overall pick and will be playing alongside James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic. With a lineup like that, it’s hard to imagine that Team LeBron will lose.

It’s important to note that among Curry’s numerous All-Star appearances, this will be his first time playing alongside LeBron James. Team Durant has some sharpshooters as well, with Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal starting alongside Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, and Jayson Tatum — KD will miss the game due to injury.

Before the All-Star Game, Curry will also participate in the Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest, competing against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Zach Lavine, Donovan Mitchell, and Mike Conley, who was recently selected to replace Devin Booker.

Curry has been shooting up a storm like usual this season, shooting 41.1 percent from behind the arc on a career-high 11.7 3-point attempts per game this season. Curry also recently passed Reggie Miller for second place in the number of 3-pointers made all-time in NBA history.

Looking at pure numbers, Curry’s biggest competition will be Zach Lavine and Mike Conley. Lavine is shooting 43.5 percent from three on 8.1 attempts per game and Conley has been shooting an impressive 42.2 percent from three on 6.6 attempts per game.

“(The money balls) are going to be in the corner. If I put my money balls in the right spot, I think I have a chance to win,” Zach Lavine reveals his strategy ahead of the contest, per K.C. Johnson on Twitter.

Sportsbooks currently have Curry as the favorite to win the contest, no doubt because of his extensive experience.

Looking back at his previous 3-point contest endeavors, Steph has only won one out of his seven times participating in the event. In 2015, Curry won against fellow Warrior Klay Thompson in the finals. In the following year, Thompson took his revenge by making five straight money balls and winning against Curry in the finals. In 2019, Curry fell short of Joe Harris’ performance.

After a year’s break, fans are eager to see Curry take home his second 3-point contest trophy. It will be important for Steph to prioritize his money balls, an area that he has struggled with in the past. A consistent performance in both rounds will also be helpful, as Steph can either start or finish hot.