Before Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome signed with Cleveland on a two-year deal in the summer of 2023, he spent the prior campaign playing for the Golden State Warriors, which just so happens to be the squad that Stephen Curry has played with for his entire NBA career.
Jerome saw Curry play at a high level up close, as the latter averaged 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in the 2022-23 regular season. He was named an All-Star as well as a member of the All-NBA Second Team.
The 27-year-old reflected on his time spent defending Curry in practice back when he played for Golden State, and he gave his former teammate the ultimate compliment.
“I don’t want to call him [Steph Curry] a system player… I think he is the system.”
TOUGH 😮💨🔥
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— BALLIN HQ (@BallinHQ) November 26, 2024
“The difference that Steph has and I’ve never seen before is that when he gives it up, you truly can’t relax for a second because he just takes off,” said Jerome. “… If you relax for a second, it’s a 3, literally every time. Yeah, his pace, his awareness off the ball, his ability to move off the ball. … I don’t wanna call him a system player, I think he is the system.”
Jerome has taken a page out of Curry’s playbook with how well he’s scored the ball from 3-point range so far in his second season as a Cavalier. He is currently leading the league with a 3-point percentage of 54.4 percent.
The former University of Virginia star makes a solid point in the sense that Curry is a big part of why Golden State’s 3-point heavy style of play on the offensive end has been so successful over the last decade. Curry is the ideal player to spearhead such an offense, as he’s the league’s all-time leader in 3s made and also a career 42.6 percent 3-point shooter.
With Curry leading the way on the offensive side of the ball, Golden State has enjoyed more collective success than any other in the NBA over the last decade. The Warriors have won four NBA titles and played in six NBA Finals since the year 2015.
Curry most recently helped Golden State to an NBA title in 2022, and he was maybe the best player in the league during the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Across 22 games, he averaged 27.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists per contest. He also won the Finals MVP award for the Warriors after the team eliminated the Boston Celtics in six games in the championship series.
Partway through the 2024-25 campaign, the Warriors look like they might have another deep playoff run in them next year. The team owns the second-best record in the Western Conference at 12-5 and has recent wins over teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies.
