Stop sleeping on Stephen Curry

To say that we Charlotteans knew Stephen Curry would become a two-time NBA MVP would not be true, but we knew he’d be special.

We knew major-college programs were sleeping on him and that Davidson had a gem.

We knew a team like Minnesota was sleeping on him when the Timberwolves took Johnny Flynn over him in the 2009 NBA draft.

So why is it that, with all we know about Curry, we continue to actually go to sleep on him?

Curry announced figuratively and literally that he’s back with his 40-point performance Monday night. He scored 17 points in a 5-minute overtime period—something no player has ever done in NBA history in the regular season or postseason.

Game 4 between the Blazers and Warriors started at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Monday and wasn’t over until about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday. Did you see it live? Or did you wake up this morning, check your phone and realize you shouldn’t have turned off the TV and gone to sleep at halftime?

I’m in the latter group. I don’t plan to do that again.

What Curry has done this year is nothing short of remarkable, as my colleague Scott Fowler pointed out in Tuesday’s paper. What he did Monday night/Tuesday morning, on a bum knee, adds to his legend.

It reminded me of a similar feat that I also missed. When Curry posted 54 points on the Knicks in the Garden in 2013, I was at The Crunkleton in Chapel Hill. I love that bar, but there were no TVs and I had to follow along on my phone as Curry rained 3s.

Ever since then, when Curry has had a big-time game at a reasonable time, I’ve been in a position to watch.

In all honesty, I was saving up my late bedtimes for the Western Conference Finals. I will watch every minute of the Warriors-Spurs games no matter what time they start. I hope they go seven games, and I don’t care what time they start.

But after last night I can’t go to sleep on him anymore. I’ve learned my lesson.

Game 5 is slated to tip at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, and I’ll have a cup of black coffee in my hand.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Stop sleeping on Stephen Curry."