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on March 20th 2025 I was at home
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watching Steph Curry drive to the basket
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only to get body checked like it was
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hockey and yet there was no whistle that
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is a hard fall he's in pain i don't
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understand how that wasn't a foul well
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one it makes no sense a beach
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two weeks later on April 6th I watched
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the Houston Rockets manhandle him for 32
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straight minutes and still the refs
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refused to give him a single free throw
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i was outraged how was no one else
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seeing
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this steph Curry isn't just the game's
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greatest shooter he's a global icon but
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night after night officials watch him
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take punishment and do absolutely
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nothing
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i don't even know i I've never seen an
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individual get fouled more than he gets
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fouled
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why does this keep happening that
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question didn't just bother me it
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consumed me so I went down the rabbit
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hole watched read listened questioned
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everything and somewhere in the chaos I
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uncovered a truth that changes
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everything a truth the NBA doesn't want
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you to
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[Music]
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see but Curry really does get the worst
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whistle and it's not because he's never
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attacking i'm typing this script with a
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big smile on my face want to know why
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because I'm wearing the most comfortable
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pair of underwear I've ever put on
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sheath underwear as someone who sits at
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a desk all day and needs to stay focused
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comfort isn't just a luxury it's a
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necessity and sheath delivers they're
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also a gamecher when I hit the gym on my
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brakes supportive breathable and just
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right and it makes sense this brand was
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actually founded by a US Army vet during
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his second tour in Iraq so yeah these
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bad boys have been tested in serious
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conditions this isn't just a step up
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from what I used to wear it's a whole
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new experience now I've never flown
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first class but if I had to guess that's
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exactly how my boys are feeling right
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now
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sheesh and here's the kicker sheath
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offers a money back guarantee on your
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first pair if you're not feeling the
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magic no wonder they've got over 10,000
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five-star reviews so if you're still
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rocking those old school uncomfortable
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boxers it's time to level up visit
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sheath.com/hoopreports today and enter
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the promo code hoopreports for 20% off
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life's too short live luxuriously live
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comfortably live with
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sheath here's James Harden taking his
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defender to dance school then like he's
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done a thousand times he hits that
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signature step back his momentum carries
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him forward legs drifting out and the
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defender crashes into him whistle bucket
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three and the foul two to play harden
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step back puts up the three got hit
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shots good and one james Harden
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now here's Steph same move create space
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defender closes late contact whistle you
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know what's next right
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an offensive foul an offensive foul an
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offensive foul
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if there's one great mystery I can't
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wrap my head around as an NBA fan it's
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this why do NBA referees seem to hate
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Steph Curry this is the greatest shooter
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the game has ever seen never dirty never
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over the top arguably the most ethical
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bucket getter of his
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generation and yet for some reason the
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refs act like he doesn't deserve a
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whistle it's bad it's really really bad
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and I'm dead serious if I'm the Golden
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State
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Warriors Steph gets clobbered out there
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every game and the only people who can
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do something about it they stand there
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like statues swallow the whistle and
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give that nothing to see here look like
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we all didn't just watch number 30 get
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hammered steph Curry gets hit on the
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head on a three-point shot like that's
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that needs to be called you know
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just the other night I watched Dylan
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Brooks plow through him on a three and
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nothing two days earlier Michael Porter
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Jr runs up behind him on another three
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again no call it's ridiculous it's
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infuriating but what makes it even worse
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is seeing these same refs turn around
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and hand out whistles to guys like Shay
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Gilis Alexander at the slightest touch i
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mean you breathe down his back he's at
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the line you enter his airspace that's
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two shots
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guaranteed but with Steph it's radio
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silence at first I thought maybe I was
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just
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overreacting maybe it was biased maybe I
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was just seeing what I wanted to see so
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I decided to check the numbers to
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actually know
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that's why I looked at a full decade's
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worth of data and checked how often
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other top guards of Steph's era cracked
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the top 10 in free throws made per
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season here's what I found bradley Beal
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two times trey Young six times damen
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Lillard seven
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times now take a second think about
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Steph Curry the engine of the Warriors
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offense touches the ball almost every
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possession twice in the last decade
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Steph ranked second in the league in
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field goal attempts not just among
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guards
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overall so with all that volume how many
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times do you think Steph cracked the top
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10 in free throw attempts if you said
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three you're wrong six or seven like
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other perennial Allstars still wrong
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eight then get ready to be surprised
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because the real answer is
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zero yes you heard that right steph
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Curry has never finished in the top 10
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for free throw attempts not
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once how is that even possible a
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superstar in constant motion bumped
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grabbed chased every night and yet he's
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never cracked the top 10 in free throw
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attempts is it because he doesn't sell
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contact because he's a jump shooter or
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is it something deeper on the Golden
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State Warriors I am compiling a weekly
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montage of blown foul calls against my
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superstar and I'm sending them not to
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the league office i'm sending them to
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Adam Silver's direct
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account the internet is flooded with
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outraged fans post after post thread
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after thread all calling this utterly
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ridiculous and it's not just fans either
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sports commentators analysists they see
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it too the amount of disrespect and the
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lack of foul calls for a guy that is
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going to be top 10 greatest to ever do
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it when it's all said and done blows my
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mind
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with all this in mind one question still
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kept burning what if Steph Curry
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actually got a fair
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whistle would he be clearly better than
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LeBron a more unstoppable scorer than
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Kobe would he have a real chase to
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challenge Michael Jordan as the
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GOAT i'm not here to answer that but I
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am here to show you something that might
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change the way you see Steph Curry
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forever so I checked every game from
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2021 to now where Steph took 10 or more
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free throws just to see how he'd stack
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up if he got the same free throw
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merchant treatment
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in those games he averaged 12.04 free
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throw attempts per night that's slightly
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more than peak James Harden in 2020 at
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11.8 per game slightly more than MVP
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Joel Embiid in 2022 also at
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11.8 so what happens if Steph Curry gets
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that kind of whistle every
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night first let's put it in context
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lebron's highest free throw season 10.3
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attempts 31 points per game kobe 10.2
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attempts 35 points mj 11.9 attempts 37
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points per
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game now here's the cold hard truth if
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Steph Curry averaged 12.04 free throws
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per game night in night out he'd
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averaged 39 points per game
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39 that would literally make him the
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highest scoring player in a single
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season in the modern
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era and that's when it clicked for me
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that this wasn't just about basketball
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anymore it was about something much much
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bigger why is the NBA disrespecting
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Steph Curry i sat with that question for
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a long time in addition I've read the
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fan theories followed the discussions
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and the more I looked into it the more a
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pattern started to emerge nike has
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officially extended their partnership in
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the basketball world there's no
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definitive proof but once you understand
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the machine behind the NBA things start
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to add up let's start with something
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simple steph Curry is signed with Under
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Armour to get to this day um this is a
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dream come true a brand that's been
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behind me from from day one
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now consider this nike isn't just
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another brand they're the NBA's largest
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apparel partner and by many accounts
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their most powerful
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ally and in 2024 Nike didn't just renew
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their NBA deal they locked in another 12
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years through 2037
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the details kept under wraps but
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insiders say it's worth multiple
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billions this isn't just a sponsorship
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anymore it's an alliance and Nike's most
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important assets they're NBA
00:10:57
athletes now picture this steph Curry an
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under arour athlete starts lighting up
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the league dropping 40 a night on 70%
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true shooting not because he changed his
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game again but because he finally
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started getting the same whistle those
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Nike stars get what happens
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then suddenly the spotlight shifts
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nike's headliners lose their grip on the
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next generation who begin rocking
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Curry's kicks and buying Under Armour
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instead my favorite is definitely the
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Curry 2 this wouldn't just be a branding
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issue for Nike it'd be an existential
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threat so here's the theory nike and the
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NBA share an interest in keeping Steph's
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dominance just a little in check not
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erased just human a few fewer whistles a
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couple less free throws enough to still
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keep the numbers impressive but not
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mythical because if Steph ever got the
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same whistle as someone like SGA he
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wouldn't just be the greatest shooter of
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all time he'd be the most unstoppable
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player of all time and suddenly the face
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of the league would be wearing Under
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Armour but that's just one side of it
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here's the other layer lebron
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James for over a decade they've invested
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heavily in pushing LeBron as their heir
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to Jordan espn revolves around him he
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starred in Space Jam 2 the GOAT
00:12:34
conversation somehow always loops back
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to him despite him and Curry now having
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the same number of rings
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why because Nike bet a billion dollars
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on LeBron literally well according to
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one of James' business partners it could
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be somewhere in the $1 billion
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range now if Steph starts pulling in 10
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free throws a night and puts up
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legendary numbers while winning it
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doesn't just threaten LeBron's legacy it
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threatens Nike's billion dollar
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gamble now some will point out that Joel
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Embiid gets to the line a lot and he's
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also Under Armour others like Harden
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Trey Young or Lillard all Adidas rack up
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free throws too but here's the
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difference none of them are in the
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position to challenge LeBron's legacy no
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rings no dynasties no real
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threat steph is different he can
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challenge that legacy and he already has
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and that's why many believe this is the
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real reason Steph Curry doesn't get the
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whistle not because he flops less not
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because he plays differently but because
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giving him that whistle could change the
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balance of power on the court and in the
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business of
00:13:55
basketball because at the heart of it
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this was never just about fouls it was
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about protecting a billion brand
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going through all this made me see Steph
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Curry in a completely different light he
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was doubted in college undervalued in
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the draft he didn't fit the mold too
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small too skinny too different but he
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just kept showing up kept working kept
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refining his craft not chasing attention
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just getting so good the game couldn't
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ignore him and now he's reached a point
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where the only way to stop him is to
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nerf him not with a double team not with
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strategy but by tweaking the rules and
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swallowing the whistle because if he got
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the same calls as everyone else he
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wouldn't just win he'd dominate
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embarrass the system make the big dogs
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look small and honestly that made me
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think
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steph's story proves there's no real
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ceiling not when you work hard and smart
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you can get so good so undeniable that
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even if they nerf you you're still right
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there at the summit this isn't just
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Steph's story it's a reminder for all of
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us get so good they try to hold you back
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then show them that wasn't your peak
00:15:23
[Music]