African Sports Monthly Mar, 2015 | Page 21

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors Two years ago we were talking about the big three of the Miami Heat franchise in LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and prior to that it was that of the Boston Celtics in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen but that was eons ago and at the rate at which the NBA has been transformed, we already in a new era of the emergence of new stars and contenders that loom large in the horizon. The league with its crop of new stars in the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and James Harden of the Houston Rockets is so much more different than it was a year ago. Currently led with the best record by the Atlanta Hawks a team that was not even in the conversation of contenders in the league a year ago followed closely by the Golden State Warriors bodes well for the league, as it transitions from its aging stars of yesteryears to a new generation of fans. A few weeks ago before going to press with this March Issue of African Sports Monthly Magazine, the Atlanta Hawks went undefeated for the entire month of January finishing with a 17 – 0 record and as indicated above currently leads the entire league with the best record led by the likes of Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague. They have played so well that the entire team garnered the Eastern Conference Player of the month award for January 2015 which is the first time the NBA as a league has ever bestowed such an honor on an entire team for an award that usually goes to an individual. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is now but a honorable mention in basketball circles