Podcast Summary: Hoops Tonight — Why Steph Curry is #6 on My NBA Player Rankings for 2025

Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd / Hoops Tonight
Host: Jason (The Volume)
Date: September 4, 2025
Episode Focus: Jason explains why Steph Curry is ranked #6 on his NBA player rankings for the 2025 season, tracing Curry’s continuing impact on the Golden State Warriors, his evolving reputation, detailed stats, and the rationale behind his placement relative to other top NBA talents.

Episode Overview

Jason continues his annual NBA player ranking series, dedicating this episode to Steph Curry’s placement at #6 for the 2025 season. He explores Curry's durability, on-court impact, leadership, and how the narrative around Curry continues to fluctuate—arguing Curry may be entering another phase of being underrated. Jason unpacks not just stats, but how Curry’s gravity and skill set transform the Warriors and influence the league, culminating in a thorough defense of Curry's elite status even as he ages.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Curry’s Place in the Rankings: Why #6?

[02:11]

• Jason describes ranking Curry as the “toughest pick” in his superstar tier—vying for the #5 spot with Anthony Edwards.
• While Jason would trust Curry over Edwards in a hypothetical playoff series if both are healthy, he places Edwards at #5 due to Edwards’ "unmatched" availability.
  • "Ant is the safest bet in the NBA this year to actually make it through an entire regular season and playoff run." (Jason, 06:11)
• Curry’s availability is often underrated—he’s played more games in recent years than most superstar peers (e.g., Durant, Giannis, Luka).
  • Curry missed 16 games last season; Edwards missed a total of 9 games across three seasons.

2. Curry’s 2024–25 Season: Impact, Stats, & Defensive Value

[09:03]

• Season averages: 25 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.1 steals (highest since 2022); 45% FG, 40% 3PT, 93% FT.
• Defensive resurgence: post-All-Star break, Curry was a “very useful part of the number one ranked defense in the NBA.”
• Jason emphasizes Curry is underrated as an on-ball and off-ball defender among skill guards, noting his smarts and ability to generate steals through anticipation.

3. The Importance of Team Context

[10:57]

• Warriors lacked “star talent” beside Steph—post-Kevin Durant and with the decline/trades of Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins.
• The midseason addition of Jimmy Butler "lit a fire" under Curry and Draymond Green, energizing both and propelling the Warriors into contention.
  • "Both Steph and Draymond, it like lit a fire underneath them... moved him firmly into that group of second-tier contenders." (Jason, 13:21)

4. Late-Season Surge & Offensive Engine Status

[12:20]

• Before Butler: Curry averaged 22.7 PPG on 59% true shooting.
• After Butler: 27.3 PPG on 66% true shooting over the final 28 games; Warriors went 22–6 in that stretch.
• This run both matched and reaffirmed Curry’s elite-tier ceiling and his unique capacity to elevate a limited supporting cast.

5. Curry’s Offensive Gravity: Beyond the Box Score

[21:32]

• Jason dissects Curry’s three signature forms of gravity:
  • a. Catch-and-shoot: 52% on open attempts—“more than 1.5 points per shot.”
  • b. Pull-up jumpers: Best in NBA; “the only player...1.1+ points per attempt on 500+ 'off the dribble' shots.”
  • c. Off-ball movement: 44% from three on off-screen plays, with 21 more made threes than any other player on such possessions.
• Defensive overreactions to Curry create "countless advantages" for teammates, generating elite offense even with subpar shooting elsewhere on the roster.
• The Warriors had a 120 offensive rating with Curry on the floor (per Cleaning the Glass)—essentially the league’s best when accounting for his supporting cast.

6. Leadership and Flexibility

[29:46]

• Curry’s presence enables the Warriors to build lineups prioritizing defense and IQ over shooting, as Curry “inverts spacing.”
• His leadership, experience, and stability are cited as additional intangibles giving him an edge within his ranking tier.

7. The Debate Over Curry’s 'Real Value'

[27:19]

• Jason challenges critics who downgrade Curry due to modest box score numbers, tracing a history of misunderstanding Curry’s gravity and impact.
  • "Time and time again, year after year, people saw the Warriors play basketball and they couldn’t see what he was doing to make things work for their offense." (Jason, 28:40)
• Cites Finals MVP voting in 2015 and the KD years as cases where observers missed Curry’s value.
• Ranks Curry as the fifth best perimeter player ever and second best offensive engine after Nikola Jokic.
  • "I think he’s the fifth best perimeter player of all time. I think he’s the second best offensive engine I’ve ever seen behind Nikola Jokic." (Jason, 29:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the illusion of Curry’s declining impact:
  "I just view Steph as a player that is far more valuable than his box score production would lead you to believe. Just the sheer threat of his shooting ability turned an incredibly limited offensive roster last year into a 120 offensive rating unit when he was on the floor." [31:45]

• On Curry’s availability:
  "These guys all missed more games than Steph Curry did over the last couple of years…these guys are actually underrated in terms of their availability." [05:37]

• On the public’s historical misunderstanding:
  "People literally watched Steph draw two to the ball over and over again at the end of the 2015 Finals. But because Andre Iguodala was the beneficiary with wide open corner threes and cutting dunks, he won Finals MVP. That’s how much it broke people’s brains." [27:37]

• On Curry’s transcendent offensive impact:
  "Just the threat of Steph's shooting, even when he’s not producing at a super high level individually, is enough to make a mediocre group of offensive players an elite offense in the NBA." [25:07]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:11] – Jason introduces Curry’s ranking and compares to Anthony Edwards
• [05:30] – Discussion on availability/health criteria
• [09:03] – Curry’s 2024–25 statline, steals, and defensive impact
• [12:20] – Statistical comparison of pre- and post-Butler Warriors
• [21:32] – Explaining 'gravity' & specific on/off-ball stats
• [25:07] – Discussion of offensive impact with Curry-captained lineups
• [27:19] – Addressing historical mis-evaluations (Finals MVP, KD era, “gravity”)
• [29:46] – Leadership, team-building, and closing reflections on ranking

Summary Table: Why Curry is #6 for 2025

| Attribute | Curry 2024–25 Notes | |-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | Scoring/Stats | 25 PPG, 4 RPG, 6 APG, 45/40/93 shooting splits | | Defensive Value | Smart, anticipatory, impactful as off-ball defender | | Offensive ‘Gravity’ | Singlehandedly creates advantages, inverts spacing, forces elite defenses to bend | | Durability | More available than most superstar peers in recent years | | Leadership/Experience | Among NBA’s best; enables flexible roster construction | | Playoff Ceiling | Can still reach superstar level when best supported |

Final Reflection

Jason ranks Steph Curry #6 for the 2025 NBA season, contending that even as Curry ages and his raw box score stats slightly dip, his unparalleled shooting, offensive gravity, leadership, and consistency keep him firmly in the league’s elite. The episode offers a strong, nuanced case for why Curry remains one of basketball’s most valuable—and perhaps, still undervalued—superstars.