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Steph Curry said he was “humbled” to honour the late, great Kobe Bryant by setting new ground in Sunday’s NBA All-Star game.
The Golden State Warriors superstar nailed 16 three-pointers as Team LeBron defeated Team Durant 163-160 – a new benchmark for the annual exhibition contest.
Curry broke barriers in other areas too. Regarded as one of the greatest shooters of all time, Curry set records for threes made in a quarter (six) and half (eight), while overtaking James Harden for total threes made (39) in the midseason contest.
The guard was a natural choice for MVP. His six threes record came in the second quarter but it was in the third where he had the Cleveland crowd rocking, as Curry nailed five from downtown in the space of 128 seconds.
The Ohio-born Curry’s performance also proved hugely beneficial for charity. He had vowed to donate $1,000 for every point he scored, $3,000 for every three he made, and $10,000 if he won All-Star MVP recognition to the Cleveland Metro School District.
The 2022 MVP award was named in tribute to Los Angeles Lakers great Bryant, who tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
“This trophy has a very special meaning, honouring Kobe and Gigi, everybody that was lost two years ago,” said Curry, who finished with a game-high 50 points, after his sensational homecoming performance.
“I’m very humbled, very blessed and I really appreciate it.”
Home favourite James, who is now 5-0 as a captain in the All-Star game, fittingly hit the game-winning shot after receiving a rousing reception from the fans in attendance.
But James paid tribute to Curry, a man who was for so long his rival while representing the Cleveland Cavaliers in their battles with the Warriors for the NBA title.
“Steph, I mean, come on, man. This guy is from a different planet,” James said.
“He literally has an automatic sniper connected to his arm and, when he lets it go, not only himself but everybody on the floor, in the stands, on TV, on their phones, whatever you’re watching on, you think it’s going in every time.
“And nine times out of 10, sometimes 10 times out of 10, it does go in. So, to be out there and watch that kid from Akron as well shoot the ball the way he shot it, it was unbelievable. It was pretty cool.”
