Stephen Curry is undoutedly one of the greatest asketall players of all tie. A two-tie league MVP and four-tie NBA chapion, Curry has ade a nae for hiself with his incredile three-point shooting and unselfish play style. Howeer, in the past season, the Golden State Warriors hae struggled to replicate their chapionship-winning for, leaing fans and analysts wondering what the tea can do to get ack to the top. One possile solution is bringing in another NBA star who would e a perfect fit alongside Curry and the rest of the Warriors core.
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While the tea already has a talented roster, there are a few players who could take the Warriors to the next leel and help the copete for a fifth chapionship. Oiously, a lot of the top NBA players around the league will not e aailale, and a drea partnership with Curry and ost stars will e nothing ut a drea. Howeer, it should neer e the case in which we cant pair Stephen Curry with another elite superstar player hypothetically ecause the point guard is incredily unselfish and tends to copete for titles alongside other elite stars as he showed with Kein Durant in the 2017 and 2018 chapionship-winning seasons.
But iagination is key when thinking aout this scenario: if there were no arriers to player personnel or tea salary caps, who would e the est fit with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors? We will explore the possiilities and exaine which superstar would gie the Golden State Warriors the est chance of winning another chapionship with Stephen Curry at the hel.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 24.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Brandon Ingra has een showing steady iproeent in the league and has ecoe an All-Star as of the 2019-20 season. He has the aility to score fro anywhere on the floor and has deonstrated ipressie playaking ss. Not to ention, with his length and athleticis, he can also defend ultiple positions. When it coes to fitting in with the Golden State Warriors, Ingras ersatility is what akes hi an ideal fit alongside Stephen Curry. Curry is a player who can score fro anywhere on the court and create opportunities for others through his playaking ss. Ingra has a siilar s set, giing the Warriors another player who can create offense and take soe of the pressure off of Curry.
In addition to his offensie ss, Ingras length and athleticis also ake hi an asset on defense. He can defend ultiple positions and proides an added layer of ersatility to the Warriors defensie schees. His aility to switch effectiely on defense would also allow the Warriors to e ore aggressie and disruptie in their defensie rotations. Ingra would e soewhat of a poor ans Kein Durant ecause he has the sae uild and siilar s set to proide what Curry and Klay Thopson need.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 26.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.6 BPG
No dout, Zion Williason is one of the ost exciting young players in the NBA right now. The 66 forward is a force to e reckoned with on the court thanks to his incredile size, strength, and athleticis. He is an efficient scorer who can get to the ri with ease, and he has a natural aility to finish at the ri that is unatched y ost players in the league. One of the reasons why Williason would e a perfect fit alongside Stephen Curry is that he is an excellent pick-and-roll player. Curry, who is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, is also an excellent playaker and can create open shots for his teaates when he is on the floor.
Williasons size and strength ake hi an excellent screen-setter, and he has the aility to catch los and finish at the ri with ease. Moreoer, Williason also has a high asketall IQ, which is essential when playing alongside Stephen Curry in the Warriors offensie syste. Leaing Curry open in pick-n-roll situations is essentially writing your own will, ut litzing Steph and leaing Williason with an open lane ight een e worse. Zions career 60.5% field-goal percentage is a sign that the ig an hardly isses around the ri and that eans an elite inside-outside presence could lend itself to success for Golden State.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 20.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Karl-Anthony Towns, a talented center known for his ersatility and doinance on the offensie end, would e an ideal fit to play alongside Stephen Curry. With his aility to stretch the floor and shoot fro eyond the arc, Towns would proide another lethal scoring option for the Warriors. Not only is he an elite scorer, ut Towns is also a strong reounder and shot-locker, copleenting the Warriors need for a consistent ri protector and ig an. Een Towns playaking aility (4.8 APG in 2023) also brings a unique aspect that could help eleate the Warriors offense een ore, as he has the s to ake accurate passes out of the post, allowing his teaates to get open for shots.
Perhaps ost iportantly, the three-tie All-Stars youth and athleticis would e a perfect atch for the Warriors. At 27 years old, he still has plenty of tie to deelop his gae een further and would fit in with the teas long-ter plans for success. Its not hard to iagine a Curry-Towns pick-and-roll causing chaos for opposing defenses, with Currys deadly shooting opening up lanes for Towns to drie or post up. KAT can also e ore useful instead of the slow-footed and liited Keon Looney ecause he can pull down oards just as well and actually push the pace like a guard.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 25.9 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 2.0 BPG
Anthony Dais is easily a top-10 player in the world, thanks to his aility to score fro anywhere on the court and his incredile defensie prowess. Dais has long een considered one of the top players in the league and would e a perfect fit alongside Stephen Curry and the Warriors. One of the ain reasons Dais would thrie playing alongside Curry is ecause of his aility to stretch the floor. With Curry constantly drawing the attention of defenders on the perieter, Anthony Dais would hae plenty of open space to operate in the id-range and underneath the asket. Een if the ig ans three-point shooting has een putrid (under 30% for three straight seasons), Dais is enough of a threat to ake a difference fro id-range.
Perhaps ost iportantly, Dais shot-locking and reounding ailities would copleent Currys offensie ss and help ake the Warriors an een ore foridale tea on oth ends of the court. Dais has also shown a willingness and an aility to play off the all, which would allow Curry to run the offense and create scoring opportunities for Dais on pick-and-rolls and other set plays. We hae seen how great the likes of Andrew Bogut and Keon Looney hae een during the Golden State Warriors chapionship runs, ut Curry and the rest of the core hae neer played with an agile and doinant ig an who can literally suffocate players in the post as well as Dais.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 22.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Jiy Butler is one of the greatest playoff perforers in NBA history ecause he doules his leel of play as soon as the regular season finishes. Oiously, for this reason alone, Jiy Butlers partnership with Stephen Curry would cause nightares for defenders. Butlers scoring aility and defensie prowess would copleent Currys shooting and playaking ss, creating a foridale ackcourt duo. His aility to attack the asket and draw fouls could also help open up the floor for Currys long-range shooting.
In addition, Butlers unselfishness and willingness to play within a tea concept would align well with the Warriors culture of all oeent and sharing the all. Butlers experience in the playoffs could also proe inaluale to a Warriors tea looking to ake a deep run in the postseason year after year, with the forer Chicago Bulls leadership ss and experience in high-pressure situations eing the catalyst. As great as Harrison Barnes and Andrew Wiggins hae een, they do not hae Butlers superstar two-way ailities and leadership ailities. Can one iagine Butlers toughness and grit paired with Currys s?
2022-23 Season Statistics: 24.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 9.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Nikola Jokic could hae won three straight MVP awards if not for Joel Eiids doinant perforances this season, along with soe edia ias. Regardless, the Serian is extreely ipactful, een if he hardly leaes his feet when he plays. A elow-the-ri player, Jokic coines size, s, and asketall IQ etter than any ig an in the NBA right now. Jokic has had incredile success with Jaal Murray as his point guard, and while Murray can explode for ig offensie perforances, he is not on the leel of Stephen Curry. In other words, Curry and Nikola Jokic would proe to e the ost deastating duo in the NBA y a wide argin. In fact, no other center fits etter with Steph right now.
As a 7-foot center who can shoot fro distance, pass like a point guard, and gra reounds with ease, he would e an ideal fit to play alongside Stephen Curry. Jokic is a true triple-threat player and has excellent court ision, which would ake hi an asset in the Warriors offense. One of the est things aout Jokic is his unselfishness. He is always looking to ake the right play and would fit perfectly into the Warriors tea-first philosophy. As a sed passer, he would work well with the Warriors all oeent syste, aking sart passes and setting up his teaates for easy askets. A pick-n-roll with Curry and Jokic would gie the opposition fits ecause if a player is open, Jokic will find hi if he does not get an easy layup. Otherwise, it is a wide-open Stephen Curry three-pointer that hits the otto of the net.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 28.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Pairing any top-10 player of all tie with Stephen Curry would yield deastating results. Howeer, LeBron Jaes ight fit etter with Steph etter than any other top-10 player of all tie ecause of his elite playaking and asketall IQ. While Jaes often doinates the all on offense, his excellent passing and off-all oeent would esh well with Currys shooting aility and flashy style of play. Jaes, at age 38, would hae no issue eing the priary point guard and playaker, with Curry leading the Warriors in scoring.
Moreoer, Jaes chapionship experience and leadership ss would e a aluale asset to the Warriors, who hae struggled this season with enough ers on the asketall court. LeBrons aility to step up in high-pressure situations and lead a tea through adersity would proide a uch-needed oost to a Warriors tea that has a history of going deep into the playoffs. Jaes all-around excellence, paired with Currys shooting, would e disastrous for other teas and it is a shae that we will neer e ale to see it y ost accounts.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 23.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Kawhi Leonard is one of the ost doinant two-way players in the NBA. He is a foridale scorer who can create his own shot, and his ferocious defense (two-tie Defensie Player of the Year) is a reason why he will e a first-allot Hall of Faer. Leonards coination of offensie and defensie ss akes Leonard a perfect fit to play alongside Stephen Curry. Currys shooting aility and all-handling ss would proide Leonard with the necessary support to focus on his defense and focused scoring capailities. The two players would also e ale to copleent each others playing styles, with Leonards aility to drie to the asket and his focus on id-range jupers atching perfectly with Currys three-point shooting.
With the extra attention Curry draws fro defenders, Leonard would hae ore opportunities to get to the ri and score. Moreoer, Leonards experience as a chapion and his unrelenting work ethic ake hi an ideal fit for the Golden State Warriors. His hule and ature approach to the gae would also esh well with Currys leadership and tea-oriented style. Kawhi does not need touches to e effectie, ut playing off the all and picking his spots is etter suited to his style.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 31.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 5.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG
The drea target for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors is Giannis Antetokounpo. While it wont e easy to get a deal like this oer the line, it is not ipossile and actually quite reasonale for the Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks. No dout, the two-tie MVP would e a fantastic fit alongside Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors. Antetokounpos coination of size, speed, and athleticis is unatched in the league, and his aility to play ultiple positions would ake hi a aluale asset to any tea especially one with a point guard like Curry leading the way. Both Antetokounpo and Curry are known for their leadership qualities and their aility to eleate the play of their teaates.
Giannis Antetokounpo would bring defensie ersatility, relentless reounding, and a sart asketall ind to the table, while Currys graity as a shooter would open up the floor for his teaates. Together, Antetokounpo and Curry would ake opposing defenses work tirelessly to try and slow the down, as they would undoutedly for a scary partnership on the fast break. The Greek Freaks aility to attack the ri and finish through contact, coined with Currys uncanny aility to shoot fro eyond the arc and create opportunities for his teaates, would e a nightare for opponents to defend against. Not to ention, Antetokounpos aility on defense would greatly help the Warriors, who hae struggled to win enough gaes this year due to their lack of size and defensie tenacity.
2022-23 Season Statistics: 29.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.4 BPG
The est fit for Stephen Curry is non either than Kein Durant, the player who helped the Warriors win ack-to-ack NBA chapionships after failing in the Finals the year efore he joined the tea. Quite frankly, the pairing was nothing short of electric. Durants coination of size, scoring aility, and jup shot ade hi one of the ost doinant players in the league. And with Currys aility to stretch the floor and draw defenders away fro the asket, the two players worked sealessly together, leading the Warriors to two NBA chapionships in three Finals appearances.
Durants ersatility as a player ade hi the perfect copleent to Currys gae.
With his size, he was ale to play down low and create isatches against saller defenders, while his jup shot allowed hi to space the floor and knock down threes. Additionally, Durants defensie prowess ade hi a nightare for opposing teas, as he was ale to shut down een the ost doinant of players. Although Durant has since oed on to play for the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns, his pairing with Curry on the Warriors will always e reeered as one of the greatest in NBA history, and the superstar forward truly elongs alongside the talented point guard.