How Steph Curry is the new Roger Federer

It’s not just that Curry is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, or plays in an aesthetic way, or is admirably player-like, or is a multiple-time NBA champion. It’s more of a vibe. As with Federer and tennis in recent years before the injury, there’s a public urge around Curry to drop everything to watch him play basketball, because you’re not quite sure you’ll ever hit anyone. Will see you playing like this.

On Sunday, in the midst of a crush of NFL games, Curry scored 33 points in a road win against the Los Angeles Clippers, a victory that extended the Golden State Warriors’ record from 18-2 to a stellar 17-3 Phoenix on Tuesday. . Curry did his usual curry: 3-pointers from different area codes, a dewdrop floater in the paint, a wicked, no-look, behind-the-back pass to bite teammate Drummond Greene who played West in addition to Greene. Tricked everyone on the coast. Curry also got involuntarily furious, earning a technical foul in the fourth quarter after throwing a drive into the basket and yelling at a referee who didn’t blow the whistle on the play.

The rare tee only stirred up Curry, and he made one final flurry to end the clips. After hitting a dagger 3 from the corner, Curry stopped and made a technical foul hand gesture himself.

“Open for interpretation,” Curry said dryly, when asked about it later.

As Curry was kicked out of the game, fans stood up and greeted him on the Los Angeles arena.

This is becoming a comical routine. Not long ago, during an allegedly huge road game with the Nets, the Brooklyn crowd rained “MVP” chants at Curry as he stomped on his former teammate, Kevin Durant. That’s what happened two nights later in Cleveland—a rowdy MVP chant from a city that Curry and the Warriors denied on two rings in the past decade.

Curry flies above the cloud line, in his airspace of universal appeal. He may not always be the most influential NBA player in the league—on a certain night, the title may alternate between Durant, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, and even LeBron James. However, it is still going to be tough for the Lakers despite being injured in their 19th season. While those players are wonderful, they are all routinely assigned the hat of the villain. Curry is not. He is the most popular player in every room. An otherwise hostile mob pushes him to do his best, even if it is against their selfishness.

Curry had heard the “MVP” chants on the street before—years ago, fans at opposing grounds were quick to watch him perform pregame shooting practice—but now the goodwill has stagnated, as it wasn’t clear who. Will we get this version of curry again. The Warriors are roaring once again, but it wasn’t long before the Bay Area dynasty scoured the NBA’s ocean floor—Durant left, Klay Thompson injured, and Curry himself closed with injuries. The bleak bummer vibe, which included an affair for the shoddy team lottery, only bolstered Curry’s precious appeal. Being Curry to lose Curry and the Warriors of Warriors was a reminder that nothing is in the game forever, and it just added a layer of praise to this reboot run.

Federer also reached this point. Early in his career, the Swiss right-hander was a dominant champion, collecting titles to the point of boredom. It wasn’t until Federer was roughed-up – repeated, heart-wrenching defeats to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic; A long, fallow stretch between major titles—from Wimbledon 2012 to Australia 2017—that he presented as a totally hot character. Federer also proved to be human, and this widened the circus around him—the “fadehead” pilgrims who turned their matches into rock concerts as they looked in their 40s. Anyone against Federer in the last decade knew they would play one-two: against Roger, and also against the crowd.

Of course, like Curry, Federer is also a wonderful surprise—no one has played a modern power game with such ballistic grace, to the point that their matches felt like watching a masterpiece painted in real time. Federer is hurt again, with serious doubts he’ll ever return to mountaineering, and while it’s sad for the sport, it’s satisfying for anyone who saw him: a player like Fede will probably never be the same again.

There is curry. His coach Steve Kerr has drawn Federer comparisons of his own in the past. As the Journal’s Ben Cohen wrote persuasively, Curry added minor improvisations and greatness to his greatness, but now it’s time to look at him. Curry is 33—not pristine, but it hasn’t promised five more years. If you’re not a fan of basketball, or you’re stuck for some reason, I highly recommend you reconsider and add Warriors to your life. Start with Tuesday vs. Phoenix. What Davidson’s 6-foot-2 marvel is doing is historic, but also historically beautiful.

Like Roger Federer, to deny yourself Steph Curry is to deprive yourself of happiness.

This story has been published without modification to the text from a wire agency feed