One game after his streak of games with at least one three made ended at 157, Stephen Curry decided to respond by breaking his own record.
Stephen Curry’s explosion against the Pelicans was a return to the old
He put his awful game against the Lakers in the past, but he can’t completely forget the free spirit that accompanied his rise.
Against the Pelicans, Curry went went 13 for 17 from behind the arc en route to 46 total points. The last of the bunch came late in the fourth quarter and saw him catch and shoot over two defenders from the top of the key, then stomp off triumphantly while swinging his head from side to side.
The game was a microcosm of the slogan Curry is making famous with his signature Under Armour Curry 3s commercial: “Make That Old.”
The commercial begins with a shot of several kids. Some are standing and some are on bicycles. Most have their hands in the pockets of their hoodies or pants, staring straight ahead. Then, it transitions to Curry walking onto a basketball court in his new shoes. The narration, his voice interchanging with the voice of the children, starts:
“We’ve all heard the story, we know the story. Daddy taught jumpers. We know, daddy taught jumpers. Not the size for the NBA, not pro size. Too small for the league, 180 pounds soaking wet, soaking wet. That’s old, that’s old, old news.”
Then, Curry listed the superlatives that have been reserved for him in the last few years.
“Chef, genius, pockets full of dimes, magic-man, blah, blah, blah.”
He notes his two MVP awards, the second of which was unanimous, and that too is called old. Towards the end, as the religious chorus begins, Curry, with the help of his cherubic co-narrators, mentions last year’s 73-9 season and the missed championship. That, he calls new. That’s interesting. And just as quickly as it’s brought up, it’s countered with “now make that old.”
It’s a self-aware ad that fits Curry’s personality. When audiences wondered if the acquisition of Kevin Durant could somehow make the Warriors forget that they blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, Curry was unmoved:
“I still haven’t gotten over Game 7 ... I’m at that point now where I can try to fuel any kind of terrible nightmares or thoughts about Game 7 into motivation for how I’m going to prepare myself for this year.”
He doesn’t want to run from the jokes or quickly repress the bad memory. He wants to silence this new narrative the only way he’s ever done so: by meeting it head-on and overcoming it. By making it old.
So after missing 10 threes and losing against the Lakers, before the whispers could even start about a shooting slump akin to that of Klay Thompson’s, he made that old. And not only did he destroy any doubt that could have existed, he did so by shattering his old record for most three-pointers made in a game. Past records could have very well been on the list of items to make old in that ad.
Ironically, he achieved this not by doing anything different or new, but by being the Curry we’ve known the last few years. Transition catch-and-shoot threes? That’s old. A ball fake that freezes the defender before pulling up over an outstretched hand? That’s old, too.
A broken play that leads to him being wide open in his favorite left corner? Dribbling through two defenders while keeping his body low and then shooting at the first sign of daylight? Pump fakes and sidesteps? The patented heavily defended shot over multiple Pelicans defenders that beggars belief when it drops? That’s all old.
Beating up on the Pelicans is old, too. Last year, he gave them 40 points and seven assists in the season opener, then 53 and nine a week later, including 8 of 14 from three. The year before saw him end the Pelicans’ playoff adventure with this memorable three over the outstretched arm of Anthony Davis from that left corner.
But these old things aren’t the ones he’s trying to supress. They’re the ones he has to remember. They’re the ones he needs this season, because there’s a new criticism on the horizon that he won’t necessary like.
While Durant has played well, Thompson is still in his shooting slump and the rest of the Warriors are struggling, relatively speaking. They are still being pounded on the glass, and as great as Curry was, the Warriors needed every bucket in the explosion to overcome a winless Pelicans team. They’ve been blown out twice this season and have struggled to overcome non-playoff teams like the Suns and Pelicans. This is the current reality. This is fresh.
Curry wants to make last year’s failed championship a distant memory. He wants to be better than he was before. The platform for greatness is there, but the performances haven’t been up to par. They aren’t fulfilling our massive expectations, at least not yet.
The best way for the Warriors to do so seems eerily familiar. Curry doing the impossible and breaking records? That’s old. But sometimes, old is needed.
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