NBA

Stephen Curry's Game 4 Performance Proved He's Still the Best Player on the Planet

Jacob Gibbs  —  @jagibbs_23 May 10th, 2016
The Warriors played eight straight playoff games without a healthy Stephen Curry. Last night, he reminded everyone just how important he is to their success.

News broke yesterday that Golden State point guard Stephen Curry would be named the NBA MVP for the second consecutive season. Shocker! After leading the league in scoring at 30.1 points per game and leading the Warriors to the best single-season record of all-time, his status as the MVP was really never in question.

His status for Game 4 against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals, however, was very much in question.

Curry hadn't played more than 20 minutes in a game since April 13, and he was listed as doubtful early in the day. Head coach Steve Kerr decided to allow Curry, after warming up, to give it to go -- albeit in limited fashion. Curry came off the bench for the first time since 2012 and was supposed to be on a 25-minute limit.

Curry entered the game at the six-minute mark to find his Warriors trailing 16-2. While he struggled out of the gate, Curry galvanized the Warriors. Golden State was able to come back from the 14-point deficit and, behind a 10-point fourth-quarter effort from Curry, eventually force overtime.

That's when Chef Curry decided to take over, as we have seen so many times before this season.


Curry hit the first shot of overtime and then proceeded to score Golden State's first 12 overtime points. He shot six-of-seven from the floor in overtime, including a perfect three-for-three from behind the arc


He finished the overtime period with 17 points -- the most ever scored by a player in overtime. The Warriors scored 21 points in overtime, tied for the second-most ever by a team in a playoff overtime period in the Shot Clock Era (since 1954-55).


Curry's final stat line was a video-game-like 40 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Not bad for a bench player, I guess.

His 40 points were the most by any player off the bench in Warriors history and marked the second time in the last 30 years that a player has scored 40 points off the bench in a playoff game.

His theatrics along the way left us with memorable reactions.


I couldn't have said it better myself, Sir Charles.

Steph's performance left some completely speechless.


It's safe to say, the MVP is back.

Curry's performance has to be equally deflating for Portland fans and exciting for NBA fans around the world.

This year's NBA Playoffs has been the most lopsided in more than 30 years, and many NBA fans were starting to get bored. The potential of a showdown between the revamped Curry-led Warriors and the seemingly unstoppable Cleveland Cavaliers is beyond exciting.

With the reigning MVP back at full strength, it is hard to imagine anyone being able to stop the reigning champs -- especially after last night's historic performance.