For an NBA team to go 73-9 the year after winning the NBA Championship, you would presume they are on the fast track to repeating that success in this year’s playoffs. Their 2012 draft of Harrison Barnes at the seventh pick, Festus Ezeli at 30th and Draymond Green at 35 is exactly the type of successful drafting that gives NBA teams young, relatively inexpensive talented players.
The problem with success in a salary cap sport though is ultimately tough decisions have to be made on who you can keep given the strong likelihood that most championship teams have more talent than the salary cap can afford.
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The Warriors were no exception to this as Draymond Green hit free agency (albeit restricted) after the championship run last season. The team already boasted league MVP Stephen Curry, fellow backcourt star Klay Thompson (who himself signed a four year, $70M extension the year before) as well as high- priced players such as Andre Igoudala (12.2M) and Andrew Bogut (12.9M). So it seemed destined the Warriors were going to be the latest victim of their own success and have to split up the star-studded team due to financial restrictions.
But then something strange happened. It wasn’t that Draymond Green wanted to leave the Warriors, in fact it was the complete opposite. It was strange because the Warriors signed Green to another high-value contract of 5 years and $82M guaranteed dollars, even with all of the soon-to-be-expensive players on the roster.
It wasn’t that Green didn’t deserve this type of contract; he was a triple-double machine this year and once again fell just short of Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year to Kawhi Leonard.
It begged the question, how do the Warriors have all this money to spend and aren’t up to their ears in luxury tax?
The simple answer is that soon-to-be two-time MVP Stephen Curry presently ranks fifth on the Warriors in salary, and makes $11M per year which is good work if you can get it but very underpaid for one of the (if not the) best player in the NBA right now.
Which further begs the question: How does Stephen Curry make $11M in his seventh season in the NBA?
While it is tough to even believe with how he is playing now, Curry was no guarantee to be the NBA megastar he has become. Before Stephen Curry became just Steph, he was struggling through the 2011-2012 NBA season by playing in just 26 games that included five ankle sprains. This also came less than a year after Curry had already previously gone under ankle surgery and was suddenly facing a second surgery just a few months before his rookie contract was set to expire.
The result? A 4 year, $44M contract, that doesn’t even expire for another season, that has the Warriors thinking back-to-back titles and perhaps even Kevin Durant next year?
But how did Curry eventually shake those nasty ankle injuries and play in all but 9 regular season games since the fateful 2011-12 season?
He set out to solve his ankle issues and began using the form-fitting Zamst A2-DX ankle brace, which he has used on both ankles. The brace is designed for a precise fit and prevents the ankle from rolling and his foot from sliding forward. With Curry’s unique brand of basketball, his numerous sharp cuts throughout a given game proved taxing and the use of the anatomically precise brace has shifted the pressure from the ankle to the brace’s resistance technology,
In our coverage of his ankle remedies in 2014, Curry had said:
“I’ve used a lot of different braces to help reinforce my right ankle, but since my surgery I have only been wearing the Zamst A2-DX, it has provided the support I need to keep me on the court” Curry said. “The ZAMST A2-DX is the only product that has given me the full confidence to play without the fear of re-injuring my ankle.”
The braces also use the ZAMST X-straps that enhance the anterior, lateral and medial stability of the ankle all the while utilizing their individual “i-Fit technology” that enables each athlete that uses the product with a personalized fit.
“Stephen is showing everyone what he can do when healthy, and is an amazing talent to watch on the court,” said General Manager of ZAMST U.S., Bryan Smeltzer. “Our performance driven product line was founded through innovative products created to help players like Stephen stabilize their injury, and provide them with both the physical and mental confidence to play without limitations.”
While the ankle injuries have seemingly gone away during Curry’s now four-year run of sustained excellence, the Warriors went unusually hard during the end of the regular season for a top seed in their efforts to break the (then) 72 win record by the Chicago Bulls.
While there is no correlation to the 73 win effort to Curry’s ankle issues that forced him to sit out last Saturday’s Game 2 against the Rockets, the brace will likely have a large role in Curry’s overall effectiveness the rest of this current series as well as potentially the rest of the Warriors 2016 title bid.
It is no secret that the Warriors have relied on technology during their incredible two-year run under Head Coach Steve Kerr, and it looks like they will need one more piece of technology and some good old-fashioned luck if they want to capture their second straight NBA title that squarely hinges on the health of Steph’s ankles.