Stephen Curry is without a doubt the greatest shooter ever, but he has a strong argument as the most skilled player of all-time, too.
The Golden State Warriors legend's handle is perpetually underrated, marked by controlled creative flair only further leveraged by the peerless pressure he puts on defenses from the moment he crosses halfcourt. Curry's also become one of the league's best finishers over the back half of his career, additional strength and balance allowing him to absorb contact while maintaining the insane touch he shows from the perimeter. He's not a top-five passer in basketball, but he's not too far from it, either.
The one abject weakness of Curry's offensive game? His nagging penchant for turnovers, some of which are of the head-scratching variety. Remember Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals? A few minute before LeBron James' iconic chasedown block and Kyrie Irving's go-ahead pull-up triple, Curry committed the fourth quarter's only turnover with a careless, unnecessary behind-the-back pass that sailed into the front row of Oracle Arena.
Not all of Curry's miscues, thankfully, carry quite that historic gravity. But even amid his MVP-caliber start to 2023-24, Curry's turnovers have been a problem. He's averaging 3.3 turnovers per game in the season's early going, and gave the ball away a whopping seven times in Golden State's last-second win over the shorthanded Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
After finishing second-to-last in turnover rate the last two years, though, the Warriors rank a more respectable 19th in that category through six games. How? Mostly through an assist-to-turnover ratio from Chris Paul that's so impressive it's made Curry jealous.
“I am super jealous of the assist-to-turnover ratio,” Curry said after his team's thrilling win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I do not have that in my bag.”
Chris Paul's insane assist-to-turnover ratio with Warriors
Paul quietly doled out 13 assists on Friday night, a season-high total lost amid game-long drama of an instant-classic in-season tournament opener. He also didn't commit a single turnover, absolutely pivotal in a battle both Golden State and Oklahoma City wasted extremely few possessions without giving the ball away.
That performance pushed Paul's numbers to 54 assists against six turnovers on the season at large, a ridiculous 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks third in the league, per Team Rankings. The only players ahead of the Point God are the Minnesota Timberwolves' Mike Conley and Indiana Pacers' TJ McConnell, fellow longtime hawks of ball security. They've combined for just 32 assists, though, and occupy much smaller roles in their teams' respective offense than Paul does as captain of the Dubs' thriving second unit.
The 38-year-old's ability to keep Golden State's turnover numbers low while keeping its collective head above water while Curry rests already makes his offseason acquisition a success. Just imagine when Paul, shooting an unsustainable 1-of-21 from deep, gets his some of the easiest looks of his career to fall.
“They ain't going in. But the good thing about it is I know that that's not the normal, know what I mean?” Paul said of his three-point struggles. “But it's crazy to think about that I can score one point and two points and we still win the game. It's a nice luxury to have.”
Another nice luxury to have? The Warriors not just replacing Curry's singular offensive dynamism with Paul's rock-solid reliability, but playing both future Hall-of-Fame point guards together too.
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