National Basketball Association

Was Steph Curry the best player on the floor in Wednesday's loss to the Lakers?

Published May. 20, 2021 7:53 p.m. ET

The Golden State Warriors may have lost to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday, but Stephen Curry was the superstar who had the NBA world talking.

Heading into the play-in round, the Lakers had been riding a streak of solid defensive performances against Curry, holding him to fewer than 30 points in each of their last 10 meetings.

But that changed on Wednesday.

The best shooter in the NBA put on quite a show, outperforming the Lakers' top-rated defense early on and connecting on one of his signature step-back 3s from distance as the buzzer sounded at the end of the second quarter, giving the Warriors a 55-42 halftime advantage and striking fear in Lakers fans' hearts.

And despite being consistently double-teamed, Curry ended up with an impressive line: 37 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The Warriors ended up losing the game 103-100, however, and Curry did commit six turnovers on the night.

Overall, however, it was a continuation of his great play down the stretch run of the regular season.

Since returning from a tailbone injury in March, Curry has averaged 36.9 points per game, scoring at least 30 points in all but two of his 24 games.

He scored 885 points in that span to close out the 2020-21 regular season.

Curry's performance set Twitter ablaze, prompting reactions from the likes of Lakers legend Magic Johnson and NFL star Russell Wilson.

But like always, the performance also prompted debate on Thursday: Was Curry the best player on the floor, or had the seven-time NBA All-Star disappointed due to his team's loss?

On "Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless graded the two-time NBA MVP on his performance, but the duo didn't see eye to eye, with Sharpe giving Curry an A+.

"[The Lakers] blitzed him, they trapped him with doubles, they tripled him, and he was still able to … [shoot] 50% from the floor. He was 6-and-9 from 3 after they threw everything [at him]," Sharpe said. "Everybody tried to trap him, and he was still doing it. … He was spectacular. … Big 3 after big 3 after big 3.

"I gave him an A+ because I don’t really know what else he could have done to help the Warriors win. … Steph Curry did all he possibly could to get this win, but he just didn’t have enough horses to run along with him."

Bayless wasn’t as effusive, but still gave Curry a B+.

"The reason I’m going to give him a B+, because he did rise and shine in every other capacity, … he had six turnovers and only three assists," Bayless said. "That shocked me. … six turnovers to only three assists is no good."

Over on "First Things First," Chris Broussard broke down why Curry was hands-down the best player on the court Wednesday night.

"The Lakers defend Steph better than any team in the league," Broussard said. "The Lakers are arguably the best defensive team in the league, and he still lit them up. With all due respect to LeBron, Steph was the best player on the court last night. He is just playing phenomenal basketball."

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went as far as to call Curry the best player in the world on "First Take" and praised the Warriors point guard for getting his team to this point.

"I think this season, Steph Curry, especially over the last three months, he’s played like the best player in the world," Smith said. "He’s been absolutely sensational. Really reminding us that he’s the best shooter on planet Earth. The greatest shooter that has ever been created.

"Bottom line is this, Steph Curry, what he has done, and the load that he has carried by himself, to have the Golden State Warriors, as far as I’m concerned right now, he looks like the best player in the world."

Curry has another chance to prove he's worth the acclaim when the Warriors take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday to determine which team gets the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

During the regular season, the Warriors took two out of three games from the Grizzlies, but Curry only played in one of those contests – four days ago on May 16.

He torched them.

Buckle up for Friday, NBA fans – the chef will be back in the kitchen.

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