When it's all said and done, what do you expect will be regarded as Curry's peak season?

[Dutchball97]

I find it strange how 2015 isn't even mentioned much. LEBRON is probably the most accurate metric that isn't behind a paywall (EPM) and there we see 2015, 2016 and 2017 all being incredible seasons with barely anything between them. 6.8 for 2015, 6.77 for 2016 and 6.68 for 2017. In terms of RAPM it's 2017 > 2016 > 2015 at the top. RAPTOR for regular season + play-offs has 2016 1st, 2015 a close 2nd and 2017 a pretty distant 3rd. Boxscore stats have 2016 clearly 1st, 2015 a clear but distant 2nd and 2017 as a middling season for Curry at best.

Overall these 3 seasons really seem to stick out over his later years. 2016 is the best regular season, 2017 the best post-season but I don't think it's a ridiculous notion 2015 might've been the best overall season.

2015 isn't mentioned much because there's no logical reason to mention it.

Curry was so much better in 2016 that there was actually debate regarding whether or not he should have won MIP that season. He was on another level that season and it stands within reason that the gap is so big to the point where 2015 doesn't even deserve a mention.

And you're going to back up that statement with stats like I did or? Because my post clearly shows what you're saying simply isn't the case in reality.

[TheLand13]

I find it strange how 2015 isn't even mentioned much. LEBRON is probably the most accurate metric that isn't behind a paywall (EPM) and there we see 2015, 2016 and 2017 all being incredible seasons with barely anything between them. 6.8 for 2015, 6.77 for 2016 and 6.68 for 2017. In terms of RAPM it's 2017 > 2016 > 2015 at the top. RAPTOR for regular season + play-offs has 2016 1st, 2015 a close 2nd and 2017 a pretty distant 3rd. Boxscore stats have 2016 clearly 1st, 2015 a clear but distant 2nd and 2017 as a middling season for Curry at best.

Overall these 3 seasons really seem to stick out over his later years. 2016 is the best regular season, 2017 the best post-season but I don't think it's a ridiculous notion 2015 might've been the best overall season.

2015 isn't mentioned much because there's no logical reason to mention it.

Curry was so much better in 2016 that there was actually debate regarding whether or not he should have won MIP that season. He was on another level that season and it stands within reason that the gap is so big to the point where 2015 doesn't even deserve a mention.

And you're going to back up that statement with stats like I did or? Because my post clearly shows what you're saying simply isn't the case in reality.

You gave me two stats that backup 2017. No, I don't make any plans on using numbers, that would be foolish on my part. Advanced stats can be incredibly flawed especially depending on the circumstances at hand. In this case, blindly using them with no basis on reality like you're doing. Curry in 2016 was outright unguardable with much more attention and focus being put on the defensive end (even though all he really did was play the passing lanes more but it's still an upgrade I guess) all while creating even MORE scoring opportunities for his teammates. This is all from eye test. 2015 Curry was at least containable.

Again, there's no argument for 2015 Curry. The only people who would think that there is are the ones who didn't watch him play at the time.

[Dutchball97]

2015 isn't mentioned much because there's no logical reason to mention it.

Curry was so much better in 2016 that there was actually debate regarding whether or not he should have won MIP that season. He was on another level that season and it stands within reason that the gap is so big to the point where 2015 doesn't even deserve a mention.

And you're going to back up that statement with stats like I did or? Because my post clearly shows what you're saying simply isn't the case in reality.

You gave me two stats that backup 2017. No, I don't make any plans on using numbers, that would be foolish on my part. Advanced stats can be incredibly flawed especially depending on the circumstances at hand. In this case, blindly using them with no basis on reality like you're doing. Curry in 2016 was outright unguardable with much more attention and focus being put on the defensive end (even though all he really did was play the passing lanes more but it's still an upgrade I guess) all while creating even MORE scoring opportunities for his teammates. This is all from eye test. 2015 Curry was at least containable.

Again, there's no argument for 2015 Curry. The only people who would think that there is are the ones who didn't watch him play at the time.

Yeah this is just sad lol. You refuse to use stats and even call using stats foolish then bring up the "eye test" and arrogantly state your way of viewing things is right and anybody who came to other conclusions is 100% wrong. Your last sentence especially shows your ignorance, don't reply to me in the future please.

[OhayoKD]

And you're going to back up that statement with stats like I did or? Because my post clearly shows what you're saying simply isn't the case in reality.

You gave me two stats that backup 2017. No, I don't make any plans on using numbers, that would be foolish on my part. Advanced stats can be incredibly flawed especially depending on the circumstances at hand. In this case, blindly using them with no basis on reality like you're doing. Curry in 2016 was outright unguardable with much more attention and focus being put on the defensive end (even though all he really did was play the passing lanes more but it's still an upgrade I guess) all while creating even MORE scoring opportunities for his teammates. This is all from eye test. 2015 Curry was at least containable.

Again, there's no argument for 2015 Curry. The only people who would think that there is are the ones who didn't watch him play at the time.

Yeah this is just sad lol. You refuse to use stats and even call using stats foolish then bring up the "eye test" and arrogantly state your way of viewing things is right and anybody who came to other conclusions is 100% wrong. Your last sentence especially shows your ignorance, don't reply to me in the future please.

Yeah, feel like if you're going to claim someone is "blindly using stats", you need to actually show something more than "well my eyetest disagrees"(maybe explain how Dutch is misusing them, assuming you actually understand thesr stats beyond "oooh, they're advanced!!"). Most of the time, "people use stats they don't understand" is more a matter of projection than actually having an issue with how someone is using the data(that would require actually understanding the data!)

[IdolW0rm]

2017 is the better RS+PS, but we all know what peak Curry looks like. And that's his videogame reality breaking 2016 self.

[TheLand13]

And you're going to back up that statement with stats like I did or? Because my post clearly shows what you're saying simply isn't the case in reality.

You gave me two stats that backup 2017. No, I don't make any plans on using numbers, that would be foolish on my part. Advanced stats can be incredibly flawed especially depending on the circumstances at hand. In this case, blindly using them with no basis on reality like you're doing. Curry in 2016 was outright unguardable with much more attention and focus being put on the defensive end (even though all he really did was play the passing lanes more but it's still an upgrade I guess) all while creating even MORE scoring opportunities for his teammates. This is all from eye test. 2015 Curry was at least containable.

Again, there's no argument for 2015 Curry. The only people who would think that there is are the ones who didn't watch him play at the time.

Yeah this is just sad lol. You refuse to use stats and even call using stats foolish then bring up the "eye test" and arrogantly state your way of viewing things is right and anybody who came to other conclusions is 100% wrong. Your last sentence especially shows your ignorance, don't reply to me in the future please.

Alright, I tried to be nice about it.

On top of the fact that Curry's shooting stats and overall numbers are significantly better across the board, his O-PIPM, OPBM, RAPTOR, VORP, BPM, and both WS and OWS are higher. Do I need to go on or do you want to continue on with this idiotic nonsense?

Next time, don't blindly go off of advanced stats to discuss time periods you clearly did not watch.

[parsnips33]

I honestly think his game is now more complete now than it's ever been. And while he might be slightly slower from his mid20s, I do think he's more athletic now than he's ever been as well. Strength and Stamina have certainly improved from the MVP years

[Lost92Bricks]

I'm sorry, but saying 2017 is just revisionist history. Nobody felt that way when it was happening.

If we're being real, I remember Curry struggled with his shooting for a good portion of the season and he was getting outshined by KD.

He had a great postseason but it was the easiest circumstances I have ever seen. Not just KD being there, but the teams they faced were a joke. They basically played regular season basketball during the playoffs.

This site just wants to choose the "most perfect" season instead of when a player was actually at their best.

They downplay carryjobs, actual memorable physical performances/displays. No video footage. Nothing.

2016 was clearly his peak. We literally saw it with our own eyes the crazy stuff he was doing.

[Lost92Bricks]

I remember 2016.

All the other superstars (players who will go down as the definitive players of that generation) in the heart of their careers, having brilliant seasons were being ignored because of how insane Curry was.

But we're gonna ignore that because Draymond got suspended.

If you wanna have the perfect season then why not 2015 then? Why do people just ignore that year.

In 2017, Curry was getting outplayed by KD the whole year, that can't be his peak.

[No-more-rings]

I honestly think his game is now more complete now than it's ever been. And while he might be slightly slower from his mid20s, I do think he's more athletic now than he's ever been as well. Strength and Stamina have certainly improved from the MVP years

No one is more athletic at 34-35 years old than they are in their mid-late 20s, that’s pure nonsense.

You apparently didn’t watch Curry back then or need to watch again.

[BIGJ1ER]

I remember 2016.

All the other superstars (players who will go down as the definitive players of that generation) in the heart of their careers, having brilliant seasons were being ignored because of how insane Curry was.

But we're gonna ignore that because Draymond got suspended.

If you wanna have the perfect season then why not 2015 then? Why do people just ignore that year.

In 2017, Curry was getting outplayed by KD the whole year, that can't be his peak.

He was only getting outplayed early in the year when he was clearly taking a backseat to let KD fit in.

I thought 17 Curry was easily the better player over the year

[eminence]

If focused on strength/stamina I think I’d agree Curry has gotten better in those areas, not too strange. Overall I can see the argument that the inproved strength is more useful than the quickness lost.

[Lost92Bricks]

He was only getting outplayed early in the year when he was clearly taking a backseat to let KD fit in.

I thought 17 Curry was easily the better player over the year

He was outplayed in the finals too.

[rk2023]

It's a very interesting debate because he's never put together his best RS performances with his best postseason performances.

'16 was obviously the best RS but then he missed a bunch of games in the Playoffs and clearly wasn't the same guy.

'17 he took a step back in the RS but had his best Playoffs.

'19 he was relatively healthy in the RS and had a pretty good Playoffs but that year just doesn't have the same wow factor for me.

'21 was arguably his second best RS and he was healthy throughout but... missed the Playoffs.

'22 was a red hot start to the RS, had a two month slump, and then had his second best Playoffs.

He's never had a "perfect" year that stands out above the rest. I think if not for the slowdown in the RS last year 2022 would be the consensus pick. But it happened, so that leaves us wondering....

If you think that in 2017 he wasn't any worse in the RS than in 2016 and just took a smaller role, it would be the pick but you'd expect him to be more efficient then, and he wasn't.

I go 2017, even with lesser box production - I still think he had an uber-impactful regular season and ramped up in the time Durant missed.

Curry in games Durant didn't play, RS only:

Spoiler:

- 16-4 Team Record
- 16.8 Net Rating on , 11.0 Team Rating Overall , 120.0 ORTG on , 113.9 ORTG Overall
- Per 75 stats: 28.5 Points , 5.1 Rebounds , 8.1 Assists (only 3.5 TOV) , 61.6 TS%

I am unsure the exact SOS, but this is still some remarkably impressive data. Then he capped this off with what was his best and most impactful PS run. Of course he may not have the "selling points" or battle-test compared to other years like 2015 or 2022, but he was the driving force of what I see to be the greatest team of all time:

Warriors KD/Curry on-off splits from 2016-17:

Spoiler:

RS: http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201142,201939&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh

PS: http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Playoffs&PlayerIds=201142,201939&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh (ofc, far more noise)

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Furthermore, here is how some catch-alls see it:
Augmented +/- per Game: 7.5 (3rd all time / since 1994, only to 2017/09 James)
Thinking Basketball's BPM Model: 8.7 and 7.0 on Offense (both 100th percentile)
538: 12.6 RAPTOR (3rd) and 5.0 WAR (2nd)

[parsnips33]

I honestly think his game is now more complete now than it's ever been. And while he might be slightly slower from his mid20s, I do think he's more athletic now than he's ever been as well. Strength and Stamina have certainly improved from the MVP years

No one is more athletic at 34-35 years old than they are in their mid-late 20s, that’s pure nonsense.

You apparently didn’t watch Curry back then or need to watch again.

I did watch, but I'll take any excuse to go back down memory lane

I'm saying certain aspects of his athleticism have declined and certain aspects have improved. Holistically, I think you can make an argument that he's more complete now than he was then. Obviously if you focus narrowly on certain aspects, the decline is unquestionable

[CodeBreaker]

2016 was when he was considered the "Best player in the world" for quite a while.

I don't believe he was at THAT level in 2017, altho he definitely was more important to the team than KD, and it was a successful title run. But side-by-side, if I would pick a version of Curry, it's still 2016.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

It's a very interesting debate because he's never put together his best RS performances with his best postseason performances.

'16 was obviously the best RS but then he missed a bunch of games in the Playoffs and clearly wasn't the same guy.

'17 he took a step back in the RS but had his best Playoffs.

'19 he was relatively healthy in the RS and had a pretty good Playoffs but that year just doesn't have the same wow factor for me.

'21 was arguably his second best RS and he was healthy throughout but... missed the Playoffs.

'22 was a red hot start to the RS, had a two month slump, and then had his second best Playoffs.

He's never had a "perfect" year that stands out above the rest. I think if not for the slowdown in the RS last year 2022 would be the consensus pick. But it happened, so that leaves us wondering....

If you think that in 2017 he wasn't any worse in the RS than in 2016 and just took a smaller role, it would be the pick but you'd expect him to be more efficient then, and he wasn't.

LeBron Stans don’t want to hear that Curry was not at full strength in the finals.

I choose 2016 as the best even though Curry not being healthy during the finals cost the Warriors the championship.
But Curry is still amazing now and there are somethings that Curry is doing better now than he was doing in 2016. Current Curry is better than playing injured 2016 finals Curry but not not as good as mid season 2016 Curry.