Steph, Klay and Dray: The Most Unique Superstar Trio In NBA History By Far
It’s hard to picture a team where the best player is just as good without the ball in his hands as he is with the ball in his hands. It’s almost impossible to picture a team where the two best players are just as good without the ball in their hands as they are with the ball in their hands. Then you add the third best player who is such a big threat as a pass-first player. These three players are Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
This unorthodox trio is the same trio that single-handedly shifted the way basketball is being played on every single level of the game, from youth ball to high school ball to college ball to pro ball. The whole NBA has had a dramatic increase in average threes shot every single season for six years now. You see big men that probably shouldn’t be shooting threes standing in the corners or wings patiently waiting for the opportunity for a catch-and-shoot three.
It’s not their fault that they are so dominant that the whole world decided to implement their playstyle into their game. It’s a copycat game where people follow the ways of the most successful people that are doing it during that time. The world plays like them, but nobody can ever be them.
Draymond’s ability to completely understand the best ways to get the two shooters open plays just as big of a role as the successful shooting in the team’s success. Whether it’s the little drop bounce pass directly into a screen, him standing at the top of the key wide open surveying the court, coming down on a fastbreak attacking the rim while looking for the pass, his understanding of the game gives great benefit to not only Steph and Klay, but to the other players on the team as well. So much attention is drawn to the two shooters that a lot of the other players’ shots will be open more often than not.
Klay is the biggest off-ball threat in NBA history. Nobody has ever been able to generate more points while taking as little dribbles like he has. The perfect game that describes that is his 60-point game on 12 dribbles against the Indiana Pacers. 60 points. 12 dribbles. An absolute shooting clinic. The other game that comes to mind is the game against the Sacramento Kings where he racked up 37 points in one quarter, an NBA record. Barely any dribbles used, most of the points in that quarter were off the catch-and-shoot with a hand in his face on almost every single shot. Truly no other player like Klay Thompson.
Then there’s the one and only Stephen Curry. The man who changed the game. The all-time three-point leader in the NBA. The greatest shooter to ever walk the face of the planet. People always talk about the obvious which is his shooting ability, but the part of his game that tends to fly under the radar is his handles and conditioning. When the ball is in his hands, his silky smooth handle gives him the ability to create space for three-point looks off the dribble that would be considered bad shots for almost every player in the league. When the ball is not in his hands, his elite conditioning allows him to constantly be moving around the court, coming off multiple screens and simply outpace his defender into eventual open catch-and-shoot threes. The best player of the team being able to play off-ball allows the other players to get more touches than they would playing with any other superstar.
These three unique skillsets set the foundation to what would eventually lead to four titles in eight years and six total finals appearances in eight years. Starting their historic run in 2015, it is now 2022 going into 2023 and their run is still going. The world must appreciate greatness while it’s here because these three players will be retired from the game of basketball at some point and all of these time will flow into memories.
