As he sat in a chair holding his 3-point contest trophy after his team won the NBA All-Star Game Sunday night in Atlanta, Warriors guard Stephen Curry appeared to be right at home.
Following his victorious 3-point contest performance, Curry scored 28 points and had his share of highlights as Team LeBron defeated Team Durant, 170-150, in the NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena to punctuate the league’s scaled-down version of the annual showcase. For Curry, this marked a return to the All-Star Game and an opportunity to share the court with the league’s top players for the first time since 2019.
Curry’s Team LeBron teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo took the All-Star Game MVP with 35 points on 16-for-16 shooting, and Damian Lillard had 32 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer from halfcourt.
Meanwhile, Curry finished with 28 points on 10-for-19 shooting (8-for-16 from 3-point range) four rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes. Though he cooled down in the second half, Curry appeared in the first half to be in the running for MVP honors.
Midway through the second quarter, Curry lost his dribble, picked it up several feet behind the arch and drained a 3-pointer from the “T” of the 2021 All-Star Game logo.
From the LOGO ‼️@StephenCurry30 || #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/vyhgWbDtHB
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 8, 2021
In the final minute before halftime, Curry caught a pass from Chris Paul for a two-handed, alley-oop dunk he punctuated by hanging on the rim with a grin.
Is it too late to get Steph in the Dunk Contest ⁉️#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/2nKkA7ouOr
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 8, 2021
Team LeBron won each of the four quarters, totaling a contribution to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund of $750,000. Per the rules for the contest, 24 points — honoring the late Kobe Bryant — were added to the leading team’s score after three quarters to set the target score for the untimed fourth quarter.
This was the first time LeBron James and Curry, 32, ever played for the same team. During player introductions, Curry watched with his trademark joy as James executed his signature powder toss. After the game James, who selected Curry with his second pick during the All-Star Game draft, wrote on Twitter “Finally got to share the floor with (Stephen Curry)! Well overdue and I loved every single second!!”
“Obviously LeBron has been doing it for a very long time,” said Curry, who played against James four times in the Finals (2015-2018). “There’s so much respect there, even as you compete throughout the years.”
Prior to the All-Star Game, Curry won the 3-point contest as part of the NBA’s scaled-down All-Star Weekend, in which the shooting contest, skills challenge and dunk contest were all performed in a single night amid the pandemic. This was the seventh All-Star appearance for Curry, who missed most of last season as he recovered from a broken hand.
“I would love this experience with just fans and more energy around the city in the building in a safe manner,” said Curry, who flew into Atlanta Saturday and acknowledged the limited festivities was much less exhaustive for the star players involved.
Next, Curry will return to San Francisco as the Warriors get set for the second half of the schedule and a playoff run. The organization believes that with Curry playing at an All-Star level and Klay Thompson expected to return next season from an Achilles tear, Golden State could reclaim status as a title contender.
Like James, Curry recognizes that his legacy is established and that he still belongs among the league’s best 24 players in this annual showcase, but that his career is far from over.
“I have a lot to accomplish, but nothing to prove,” Curry said. “There’s a subtle little difference there.”
