Stephen Curry has been great as well as fortunate in being able to compile four iconic NBA titles so far in his illustrious career with the Golden State Warriors.
But if there is a chance that he’ll be able to give one of the four golden rings on his fingers, he’s certainly open to doing it and presenting it to the most well-deserved legends of the past who weren’t able to salivate that sweet taste of a championship victory.
In his recent appearance on BigBoy TV, Curry was asked which player would benefit from this hypothetical generosity he’ll observe. In a playful start, the two-time MVP opened up the discussion by considering Charles Barkley as a non-recipient.
“It would not be Charles Barkley,” he said, bursting into laughter.
Curry might be joking, but Barkley is perhaps the greatest NBA player ever to never win it all.
Despite being undersized at the power forward position, the former league superstar and current TNT analyst powered his way to becoming one of the all-time basketball greats using an unimaginable combination of dominating strength and elite athleticism.
In 16 years of being in the association, Barkley wasn’t able to cement himself as an NBA champion even once. He went close in 1992-93 during his MVP campaign for the Phoenix Suns, but he became an unfortunate victim of the greatness of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls squad who went on to seal their first three-peat triumph in the 90s on the said season.
After three years, Barkley went desperate to win that elusive ring by landing in the Houston Rockets to join forces with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Still, fate has been truly harsh for him to reach the summit.
After playing Barkley’s name, Curry ultimately picked two of his greatest influences and inspirations Steve Nash and Reggie Miller as his choices for his ring turnover.
“Can I pick two people? I would pick Steve Nash and Reggie Miller,” Curry said after taking a brief moment to decide.
Nash, for his part, used his wizardry and genius offensive acumen to serve as the main showrunner of the revolutionizing “7 Seconds or Less” era of the Suns franchise from the mid to late 2000s. But during the height of their prime from 2005 to 2010, Phoenix and its two-time MVP weren’t able to get over the hump due to injuries and unwanted occurrences – most especially during the controversial 2007 West Semis against the San Antonio Spurs.
The 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Metta World Peace would have answered Nash’s title prayers, yet they collapsed into one of the most blunderous and underachieving superteams ever due to age, injuries and misfit playing styles.
And finally, the beloved small market hero in Miller stuck through thick and thin with the Indiana Pacers since entering the association in 1987 and leaving at the conclusion of the 2004-05 season. He and the Pacers were just two wins away in the 2000 NBA Finals, but the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers were just too much to outrace and overcome.
The stars were aligned for the Hall of Famer marksman to finally clinch his first title in his last season with a much younger and promising Indy team that features Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal, and Stephen Jackson. However, the roaring outcome of the “Malice at the Palace” with the Detroit Pistons instantly burst Miller’s championship hopes like a bubble.
With Curry and the Dubs vying for their fifth title in nearly a decade for the next 2023-24 season, they can also hope that they’ll be able to help Chris Paul – another basketball great who is yet to win his first championship – to get his one before calling it quits.
