Former NBA Star Thinks Stephen Curry Has Hurt the Game of Basketball

“Stephen Curry ruined the game of basketball.” This is a comment we hear uttered every few months when people are trying to figure out what has changed about how basketball is played over the last few years.

There’s no denying something is different. Since Curry exploded onto the scene, the three-pointer has become a huge focal point for every NBA offense. With that change, there’s been increased spacing as well as pace. The result is that basketball is now played in a completely different way than it was years ago. 

Many people also point to how kids approach basketball as another thing that Curry’s influence has affected. Lamar Odom recently spoke about how Stephen Curry’s greatness may have inadvertently hurt youth basketball. 

“It’s not his fault, but I know if I get a kid right now 10 years old, 8 years old, 9 years old from wherever and I give him a basketball when we go to the park, he probably going to shoot the ball from the furthest part of the court. And that’s do to Steph Curry greatness, he was amazing, he is amazing still.”

On the one hand, Odom is right, Curry has made every kid believe that they can be great by hucking threes and wild shots. However, Curry has also given hope to every undersized kid that if they put in the work and master the art of shooting, they too could be an NBA star. 

So yes, Curry did change the game. But did he hurt the game? No. Kids are always going to emulate their favorite players. Just because they can’t dunk like LeBron but can shoot like Curry, it doesn’t mean the game has been ruined.