There's an old NBA adage that the team with the best player in a playoff series is always most likely to win it. If it holds true in 2022-23, expect the Golden State Warriors to defend their title by winning a fifth championship in five seasons—at least according to Shaquille O'Neal.
The five-time champion lavished praise on Stephen Curry on the latest edition of The BIG Podcast with Shaq, predicting another ring for the Dubs this season largely because he's “the best player in the world.”
“I do, but nobody’s going to beat the best player in the world, Steph Curry,” O’Neal said when asked about the Western Conference hierarchy.
O'Neal obviously isn't the first major media personality to give Curry his flowers in wake of his fourth championship with the Warriors and first Finals MVP.
He was no doubt among the best players in the world when the playoffs began, but the consensus was Curry sat a rung below at least the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and—depending on who you ask—Nikola Jokic in the league's individual pecking order. The argument he's alone at the top of it needs no further explanation after he tormented the Boston Celtics in an all-time Finals performance.
O'Neal, though, even believes that gaudy assessment does Curry a disservice. He's of the mind Curry is “by far” the best player in the world.
“Yeah, by far,” O’Neal said of Curry being basketball's best player. “Hell yeah. As Kenny [Smith] would tell you, you can have a category, but the real ones are recognized by the championships that you have. Nobody plays better than Steph Curry. He’s a tough shot-taker, tough shot-maker. I like where he’s brought his career.”
O'Neal isn't wrong. There's no denying the historical gravity of Curry's four Larry O'Brien Trophies, and no one in the league takes and makes tougher shots. He dominated the Celtics, ostensibly the team best suited to stopping him, in isolation and pick-and-roll over and over during the Finals.
Still, it's not the magic Curry conjures with the ball in his hands that makes him one of one, but the all-court defensive panic he prompts from Warriors opponents every step past halfcourt he takes without it. There's never been a better off-ball mover than Curry.
Does that fact alone make him the best player in the world? No way, but is an often overlooked aspect of his singular brilliance, and one of the many reasons why Curry remains in that discussion in his mid-thirties.
[h/t Lakers Daily]
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