Stephen Curry is arguably the best point guard in the NBA today. The two-time NBA MVP is still a huge threat to the rest of the league just as he was in years past. Coming off a season in which he barely played, Curry is looking to lead the Golden State Warriors back to the top of the league.
With Curry playing just five games and Klay Thompson sitting out the entire 2019-20 season, the Warriors saw their stock take a nosedive. They didn’t even make it to the playoffs after consecutive years of appearing in the Finals.
Curry definitely has his work cut out for him in the upcoming season. He's preparing to play with a revamped Warriors roster that looks a whole lot different than the one he won three titles with.
The Warriors can be a bit of a mystery this season, with new key pieces coming in like James Wiseman, and Kelly Oubre Jr. Nevertheless, the Warriors are hoping that Curry will deliver the goods for them.
Here are some bold predictions for Curry for the 2020-21 season.
3. Curry retakes All-Star voting
Even though Curry played in just five games last season, people are not just going to forget how good he is when he's healthy. Curry's appeal to the fans remains strong, and we should see that reflected in how well he'll perform in the All-Star voting. LeBron James is among the favorites to lead the voting again, but there's no reason to sleep on Curry, who's expected to play at a high level again.
Despite almost sitting out the entire 2019-20 season due to a hand injury, Curry still managed to be relevant in the All-Star voting with over 1 million votes. It didn't matter to the fans that Curry was not going to be available to play at the All-Star game. With Curry back, expect those fans — and more — giving him All-Star votes.
2. Curry-Green combo still elite
Curry and Draymond Green are undoubtedly the leaders of this new-look Warriors team. With Thompson sidelined, the Warriors’ core will be composed of those two players, who should be able to work their magic on the floor again. Green has been known as the Warriors’ glue guy during the team’s championship runs in the past, and he’s at his most effective when he’s playing alongside Curry and Thompson.
In Curry, Green at least gets one half of the Splash Brothers back, and that should be enough for him to make a huge impact for this Warriors team that’s seeking to reclaim their throne in the NBA.
The Warriors won just 15 games last season. This time around, count on the Warriors to double that production, especially since they will have an entire season of the duo ahead of them.
1. Curry averages 30 points, 8 assists; Warriors make second round
The news of Thompson's torn Achilles definitely shook the NBA world as a whole. The 30-year-old sniper was just coming off a torn ACL that he'd fully recovered from and was looking to help Curry retake the West with a new-look roster.
Now Curry will take up the bulk of the work in the backcourt, which could only provide huge benefits if he's successful. During the 2018-19 season, when both players were fully healthy, Curry averaged 11.7 3-point attempts per game while taking 19.4 shot attempts per game overall. All of this was done while the Warriors also had Thompson and Kevin Durant.
In All-Star regards, Curry remains the only true, polished player the Warriors have outside of Green, who isn't expected to have 20-point performances every night. They also have Andrew Wiggins, who made sure to give some reasonable production in his 12 games last season.
Still, Curry, as well as anyone else on that team, knows that Curry will have to elevate his game if they are to succeed in their goal to get back to the top this season.
With that added sense of responsibility will come better stats, however. Curry's 3-point attempts will rise to at least 14 while his overall shot attempts also get a bump up into the mid-20s. It might take time for him to gel with his new teammates, but it's just a matter of time before he starts racking up assists.
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