Shaquille O'Neal's respect for Steph Curry has been well-documented. The NBA legend has admitted the Warriors star is his favorite player, and he took his praise of Curry to another level on Monday during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show."
Patrick told O'Neal that he believed Curry is the most influential NBA player of the last 30 years because "he's given everyone hope they can play in the NBA." O'Neal, who has been known to hold prior generations of stars in higher regard, agreed with the assessment.
"Yes," O'Neal said. "I'm watching these little kids now, and I'm like, 'Bro, I've never seen a little kid dribble like that, shoot like.' Yes."
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It's hard to argue with the rationale. While Michael Jordan and LeBron James arguably are the two biggest stars of the past 30 years, as Patrick noted, not everyone has the ability to be like Jordan, James or O'Neal. But everyone can at least hope that can shoot it like Curry.
Now, of course, the two-time MVP has incredible strength, stamina, coordination and athleticism that not everyone is lucky enough to possess. That lower-body and core strength allow Curry to extend his range well past the 3-point line and take an incredible amount of hard work and dedication, something that, once again, not everyone possesses.
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There's no doubt that over the past decade more people have tried to emulate Curry's transcendent game, pulling up from all over the court and shimmying after ripping the net.
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It's true. Many just want to "Be Like Steph."