Fans and media members always compare Warriors superstar Steph Curry to all-time greats – because the newest 37-year-old is one.
On Friday’s edition of ESPN’s “Get Up” show, Mike Greenberg was the latest to find a bigger-than-life comparison for Curry, this time from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
"So people will say Steph is 1-of-1. He has impacted the game and there's never been anyone like him,” Greenberg prefaced. “He is 1-of-1 in basketball history. What he is, is the Babe Ruth of basketball and let me present for you some statistics.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Greenberg then followed with facts to illustrate the linkage between Curry and The Great Bambino.
“When Babe Ruth started playing in 1920, there were 630 home runs hit in Major League Baseball in that entire season. In 1934, which was Babe Ruth's last season, there were 1,344 home runs hit, which is more than double. The number of home runs that were hit in the sport more than doubled because of Babe Ruth.
“Let me take that to Steph Curry. In his rookie year, NBA teams were averaging 18.1 3-point attempts per game; eighteen, let's call it to make it a nice round number. Do you know what they're averaging this year? Thirty-seven and a half, more than double the number of 3s, because of Steph Curry. That's what Steph Curry has done. He has changed the way the game of basketball is played in the way Babe Ruth changed the way the game of baseball was played forever.”
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
There is no denying the parallels between Curry and Ruth. As Greenberg highlighted, each megastar not only mastered their respective crafts, but they truly were game-changing talents.
Curry popularized shooting behind the arc the same way Ruth popularized the go-ball. The stats support Greenberg’s case, but one could also recognize the two stars’ impacts at any level of play on the court or the diamond, with every kid, prospect or professional wanting to shoot the basketball like Curry and wanting to hit home runs like Babe.
With that said, Greenberg acknowledged that Curry might not have the “greatest of all time” label like Ruth. But the ESPN host ended his claim by giving the sharpshooter more flowers.
“Now that is not to say he's the greatest player of all time,” Greenberg said. “Those are entirely different conversations and let's face it. They are purely subjective. Let's have an objective conversation. Steph Curry has changed the way basketball is played that I think is beyond debate."
Nonetheless, the beauty about Curry and Ruth is that their legacies forever will remain alive; because that's what happens when you're great.