We know he can rain down 3-pointers better than anyone who has ever lived.
We know he can lead an organization back from the dead and put title banners in the rafters.
We know that his star power is strong enough to build those new, billion-dollar rafters.
Yes, Steph Curry can seemingly do it all.
But can he host a party?
We’re going to find out this weekend.
Welcome to the Warriors’ splash zone, basketball world. We’re excited to have you back.
Some things have changed since the last time the bay hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 2000. You can thank No. 30 for all of that.
For one, there’s that new arena — built on the other side of the bay on the back of Curry’s two MVP seasons and five NBA Finals appearances in five seasons between 2015 and 2019.
It’s a palace fit for the king of the long ball — the man who took the Warriors from being a laughingstock to being so good they “ruined” the game.
The stars will still spend some time at Oracle (now Oakland) Arena. Curry & Co. made sure to include that nod to history.
But with that in mind, I have bad news to deliver about the dunk contest. The best dunk contest of the 21st century was the first one.
Do not expect a reprisal. Instead of Hall of Famer Vince Carter, you now have G-Leaguer Mac McClung headlining the event. No, these days, it’s all about the 3-point contest — or, more specifically, the 3-point shooting exhibition Curry puts on separate from that event.
It’s fitting, though. Because this weekend, it’s all about No. 30.
Steph Curry watches as signs promoting NBA All-Star events are hung from the Oakland Arena facade, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. Though the All-Star Game will be played in San Francisco at Chase Center, the Arena will host related events including the All-Star Celebrity Game. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The celebration of his career and greatness couldn’t come at a better time.
With the Warriors’ recent descent into irrelevancy, there was a fear that this All-Star weekend would be a Tom Sawyer-like affair — a funeral attended by the “deceased.”
Curry’s All-Star selection this season is anything but charity. But after years of the basketball world descending on the bay seemingly every May and June, would this All-Star Game be the last time everyone got together in California’s better (see: Northern) half during Curry’s career? He turns 37 next month, after all.
We seemed to be heading that way. What a tragedy that would have been, celebrating a great career, all while the greatest Warrior of all time was still in his prime.
Luckily, the tone of this celebration has shifted since the NBA’s trade deadline last week.
The Warriors have added some juice since acquiring Jimmy Butler last week. It’s early, to be sure, but the new-look Dubs have shown just enough to make themselves part of a very loose conversation in the wide-open Western Conference.
That should make this weekend’s celebration of Curry all the more enjoyable. Starting on Valentine’s Day, Curry will be receiving flowers from a grateful league.
At the same time, he can show them how to have a good time.
No one plays the game with more joy. The way he makes the preposterously difficult look easy turns every game — even the biggest, toughest ones — into something that resembles an All-Star Game run.
We’ve been spoiled around these parts with how obscenely entertaining he can make even the most ignorable games.
So Curry helped change the format of the All-Star Game itself to make it even slightly more entertaining this Sunday, he revealed this week. In recent years, running seemed strictly prohibited, and playing anything resembling a real basketball game was considered gauche. So, instead of East vs. West, it’s now a four-team tournament. The segmentation may improve the product. Maybe not. It was worth a shot, because we’d all like to see a contested shot on Sunday.
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“Steph is a commissioner’s dream,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told KNBR this week. “He makes my job easy. He plays with real joy, and he’s so relatable as a player. I actually think the growth we’ve seen in girls’ and women’s basketball is directly related to Steph. … I think Steph has been responsible for a surge in growth and participation globally.”
What can’t this man do?
(Besides reviving the dunk contest?)
Yes, with Curry leading the way, the bay — both sides — will do this up right.
Whether at Chase Center or Oakland Arena, this will be one hell of a party.
After all, Curry won’t accept anything and deserves nothing less.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) holds the MVP trophy following their 103-90 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
