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At long last, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry will make his return in front of the home crowd on Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors.
Curry dealt with a multitude of ankle problems earlier in his career, but he has remained mostly healthy during Golden State's championship runs in the past few seasons.
However, a broken left hand in the fourth game of the season would sideline Curry for the next 58 contests, all but eradicating any chance the Warriors had of reaching the playoffs.
Some wondered whether the Warriors would simply sideline Curry for the remainder of the season, given they have the worst record in the NBA. But Curry and head coach Steve Kerr were insistent he would play when healthy, and now the “Chef” is back in action.
Here are five of Steph's most savage moments ahead of his return later this evening.
5. Stephen Curry Puts Jaylen Brown in his place
Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown has evolved into one of the NBA's brightest young stars. But during the 2016-2017 season, Brown was just just a rookie trying to uphold his reputation as a dogged defender.
The Warriors and Celtics squared off in March of 2017 in a battle of two of the better teams in their respective conferences. This was a hotly-contested battle in which the Celtics sought to use their overwhelming team defense to keep a high-powered Warriors offense at bay.
At the end of the third quarter, Brown switched onto Stephen Curry. Steph, who at this point had established himself as having one of the best handles in the game, danced free for a three-pointer right as the horn sounded. He buried it in Brown's face.
Apparently, the rookie had been doing a lot of chirping throughout the game, because Curry immediately turned and pointed at Brown, making the “yapping” sign as he walked back towards the bench.
Brown should have known better than to bring out the dog in Curry, who at that time was the reigning MVP and hailed as the best point guard in the game.
4. Dropping Chris Paul
Just as Brown was known for his defense in his early years, so to was Chris Paul regarded as an unbelievable perimeter defender. That is just what happens when you lead the league in steals in six different seasons.
Only, Steph was suddenly out to prove he was the marquee point guard of this generation, and that it was time for Paul to ride in the back seat.
The Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers had incredible battles in the last decade, including a seven-game war that saw the Clips advance in the first round of the 2014 NBA playoffs.
But the 2014-15 season had a different aura from the start. Stephen Curry was playing at an MVP level in a year where he would capture the award while leading the Warriors to 67 wins and an NBA title. Paul was equally terrific that year, leading the NBA in assists while scoring close to 20 points per game.
Still, a changing of the guard (pun intended) was clearly afoot. The two teams met for a regular season game in March, during which Curry dropped Paul with a devastating behind-the-back dribble move.
Notice how–after recovering from the switch–Paul tried to get right back into Curry's body. He undoubtedly wanted to use his physical strength to force Curry into a tough position.
But instead of being backed into a corner, Curry fakes baseline by going behind his back, only to bring the ball back around and catch Paul leaning.
Curry really cemented himself among the league's elite this year, mostly due in part to moves such as this killer crossover.
3. Stephen Curry's Davidson heroics
How about where it all started for Curry?
Steph was a little-known prospect coming out of high school. Aside from the fact he was Dell Curry's son, he did not have a national reputation outside of North Carolina. He was still extremely slender and did not have a ton of size, which likely resulted in teams passing on him.
But boy did those programs miss out.
Curry wound up attending Davidson College, a small liberal arts school in his home state. He averaged over 21 points as a freshman, asserting himself as one of the better scorers in the country. But by his sophomore year, Curry had ensured he would remain in the national consciousness.
Steph helped the Wildcats to an improbably Elite Eight run during the 2008 NCAA Tournament, putting up 40 in the team's first-round upset of Gonzaga before scoring 63 points in the next two games combined.
Curry and the Wildcats would come up short of reaching the Final Four, but he had become a national story.
The small-school guy would go on to be named First Team All-American in his junior season, and he was eventually selected by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
2. Going at LeBron
So, remember all that talk about Curry's small frame? It has absolutely nothing to do with his heart.
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The Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals in four consecutive seasons, with the Dubs getting the best of the Cavs in three of those matchups.
Each series pitted Stephen Curry (and later, Kevin Durant) against LeBron James in a thrilling clash of styles: Curry with his flair and tendency to launch from the perimeter; LeBron with his undeniable strength and sheer force of will.
Indeed, Curry even went at James numerous times. LeBron made Curry a meme after swatting his shot in Game 6 of the 2016 Finals.
But Steph just kept on coming.
He shook LeBron for a layup in Game 2 of the 2017 Finals, a spectacular play in an otherwise boring series.
Just one year later, Curry and LeBron were barking at one another in Game 1.
Very few players will openly go at LeBron like Curry did during their Finals encounters. Considering the size difference, that is nearly as savage as it gets.
1. The Shot
Was it ever going to be anything else?
Ok, so Michael Jordan really lays claim to “The Shot.” But this moment was arguably as earth-shattering as they come in recent NBA history.
After winning MVP in 2015, Curry took his game to new heights in 2016. He averaged over 30 points per game and dazzled fans around the country by firing at will from seemingly anywhere on the court. To this day, pundits and executives throughout the league credit this season as a seminal moment in terms of how teams run their offenses and build rosters.
Led by Stephen Curry, the Warriors would win a record-breaking 73 games during the 2015-16 campaign. Although they would blow a 3-1 lead to the Cavaliers in one of the greatest NBA Finals ever, this season is still one of the greatest in league history.
The highlight of the year came on Feb. 27, 2016, when the Warriors took on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Curry was already having a ridiculous game as the two teams battled in the final seconds of overtime. He had 45 points and was shooting 11-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Then-Thunder guard Russell Westbrook missed his midrange attempt with just under 10 seconds to go. The Warriors had a timeout, but elected not to use it as Curry dribbled across the timeline.
Stunningly, Curry fired from just past half court. It was obscene range, but this was also Steph at the peak of his powers. He drilled the triple to seal an unbelievable win.
It cannot be understated just how profound this season was in changing the landscape of the NBA.
Now it seems almost commonplace for the likes of Damian Lillard or Trae Young to pull from the logo. Heck, even LeBron did it the other night.
But Curry was really the first to make these sort of shots a dependable weapon in his offensive arsenal, and this moment defined one of the more miraculous seasons the league has ever seen.
