Now let me preface this by saying that I'm an unabashed Golden State fan. I'm from Oakland and grew up with the team. Though, admittedly, I only started following them closely after the We Believe era. That said, I've been around since the dawn of Steph Curry's NBA career—and loved every bit of it. But that doesn't stop me from fearing the Anakin-Darth Vader jump that just might be happening to our baby-faced super star.And sure enough—in keeping with the power-so-big-it's-evil theme—now Curry's gone and compared himself to THE Lionel Messi. Bold.Here's what the man told the BBC today:
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To be fair, this Steph dude is unreal. Lately, Curry has been compared to a ballet dancer, credited with being a model for economic success for entrepreneurs, and has been seen as a rift in the fabric of all things basketball. He is destroying records—be it personally, or as a team.But Lionel Messi? I'm also a Barcelona fan, and I mean, Messi has been absolutely destroying the game for around seven years (when Curry was just arriving on the scene). Leo inspires bards to sing tomes of Messianic proportions. He scissors through defenses with his awe-inspired cuts, dribbling with a relationship to the ball like it's an electron orbiting his person, obliterating the annals of history and the legends therein.Ok, so maybe there's some traction to this comparison here.But let the pundits make that comparison. Don't go running with it yourself, despite being prompted by a reporter. Curry called the relationship a "chicken or the egg" relationship, when he should have gone for "apples and oranges." The true difference we see now, though, is that Messi shies away from interviews, and it seems Curry is stepping into them more and more brazenly.In a time when the Warriors are poised to be the league's greatest villains, it'll take an extra dose of humility to even their keel. And taking the bait for comparisons to perhaps the greatest footballer ever to touch a pitch? Well, let's just wait to see how this NBA season closes out.(And bring us home another championship, please?)"We both have a creative style, where it's just about a feel when you're out on the pitch or the court," said Curry. "I try to do some fancy things out there with both hands, making crossover moves and kind of having a certain creativity and flair to my game. And that's definitely the style that Messi has when he's out there in his matches. I love watching him play. I'm a big fan."