Stephen Curry has seen just about every kind of defender the NBA can throw at him, but when asked to pick the toughest one he’s ever gone against, he didn’t hesitate to split the honor.
“It’s a tie for me between Avery Bradley and Jrue Holiday. Yeah. Those are the guys.”
That was Curry’s answer in a recent interview with ABC7 News, and it says plenty about the kind of defensive pressure that has followed him throughout his career. Since entering the NBA in 2009, Curry has squared off with a long list of elite perimeter stoppers - names like Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo, and Patrick Beverley among them - yet Bradley and Holiday stood out above the rest.
Bradley made his mark with the Boston Celtics from 2010-2017, where he built a reputation as a steady point-of-attack defender. At 6’3″, he brought athleticism, sharp instincts, and the kind of quickness that made life difficult for opposing guards. He even pushed his way into DPOY conversations as a sophomore, eventually peaking with a sixth-place finish in voting.
And yet, Curry still had his way with him. According to StatMuse, the two have met 17 times, and Curry has averaged 26.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in those games while shooting 46.3% from the field and 37.6% from three-point range.
Holiday’s case is even more striking. The Warriors star and the six-time All-Defensive Team selection have faced each other 36 times, with Curry going 26-10 in those matchups. Against Holiday, Curry has put up 26.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.
That’s what makes Holiday such an interesting choice. He’s widely respected as one of the best two-way guards of the modern era, and his résumé includes consecutive top-10 finishes in DPOY voting over the last four years.
Still, Curry’s production has barely budged. Holiday’s own numbers - 1.4 steals, 0.5 blocks per game, and a defensive rating of 110 for his career - only underline how hard Curry is to contain.
Even now, at 38, Curry keeps producing at a level most players can’t touch. Last season, he averaged 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 46.8% from the field and 39.3% from deep. He has physical limitations, including a rare eye condition, but his game keeps cutting through them.
The production will eventually dip, but the Warriors are still leaning on him heavily this season. As Golden State reshapes its style and offensive approach around the roster it has now, Curry remains the center of it all.
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