In this reaction video, former Warriors players Baron Davis and Draymond Green dissect why Stephen Curry is fouled more than any other NBA superstar, especially when he is off the ball. They argue that defenders fear Curry’s off‑ball impact, leading them to grab, hold, and impede his movement, which often results in missed calls or offensive fouls on screen‑setters. Green points out that Curry’s lack of protest and refusal to flop further reduces the likelihood of calls, as the league tends to reward players who sell contact. The duo also discusses Curry’s recent “locked‑in” performances—highlighting high‑scoring games against the Grizzlies, Lakers, and Nuggets—and how his focus on meaningful basketball fuels his playoff push. Davis sets a goal of Curry averaging ten free‑throw attempts per game, noting that the current officiating climate sometimes lets defensive infractions slide. Finally, they connect Curry’s consistency and end‑of‑season surge to his All‑NBA First Team prospects, emphasizing the importance of finishing strong as the Warriors vie for playoff positioning.
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After the game, Jimmy Butler mentioned Steph Curry, that I've never seen an individual get fouled more than he gets fouled. And one thing I found interesting was most of it is off the ball. Please break that down and why is that true?
Well, it's definitely true because I think they fear Steph just as much off the ball, if not more, than they do on the ball. Because off the ball is where he causes so much havoc. And Jimmy, what, what, what the statement that he made is very true. I think he's always being grabbed and held off the ball because you don't want to get a step behind. So everybody just grab and hold him.
Right.
And you know, it's interesting because Loon got an offensive foul tonight. Where he was going in for the screen and Loon said something to the ref and the ref said something back. I said, yeah. I said, the problem is it is an offensive foul. I said, but you're just letting the guy hold him. So in order for him to get a screen, he actually have to go try to wedge in between this guy grabbing him.
Right.
And Steph, he has to go try to wedge in between that because he's just being held. So yeah, you can call the offensive foul every time, but if he's just gonna hold him, then what is he to do as a screener? You know what I'm saying? Like, you really can't get a clean screen because he's just grabbing ahold of him and you're not gonna call the first foul.
Right.
So no, Jimmy's is 1000% true. Like, Steph gets fouled more than anybody. And it is oftentimes off the ball because, you know, as soon as he take off, If you're a half a step off his body, it creates a domino effect because all he need is a half an inch to get the shot off and it's a great look.
So—
Right. They just grab and hold him and he just keep moving and keep moving and they just grab him and hold him and hold him. It's interesting. It's definitely interesting to say the least.
Yeah, my goal for Steph in the playoffs is 10 free throws a game.
He should get 10 free throws a game.
Yeah.
He earns them, that's for sure.
He definitely, but he, I want him to average 10 free throws a game just because he does get fouled a lot. And I think, you know, a lot of times the referees just kind of let it slide, right? The grabbing, the holding, you know, jumping under him when he's shooting. Like people do whatever they can and Sometimes they let that go because your greatness for capacity outside of, you know, no contact, you can't hit a shooter, you can't have contact with a shooter, you can't grab somebody coming around the screen. And when I watch the game, he get bumped, held, grabbed, pushed off his mark more than any shooter that I've ever seen in the league not get those fouls. The next 4 games—
Yo, one second. One second.
What happened?
You know, I think Steph also gets punished for two things. One is he don't talk to the referees.
Right.
Like, so they know they not gonna get cussed out. They know he ain't gonna say much. He may say something every now and then, but he don't say anything. And I think that actually he gets penalized for that. I also think he gets penalized because he's not a flopper.
Right.
So he don't flop to sell calls. And so it's almost as if, oh, he not getting fouled, or it don't matter because he ain't showing that he getting fouled. And I think in this league, we reward flopping.
Mm-hmm.
Like, and we put a flopping rule in that you never see get called.
Right.
Like the flop never gets called ever. It does not get called all year, but it's actually a rule, you know what I'm saying? But we reward flopping and flailing in this league and Steph does neither. And so I actually think it ultimately, it doesn't really hurt him because he still do what he do, but it hurts him as far as, getting the call and getting to the free throw line because he don't flop and he don't sell the calls.
Yeah, speaking of Steph, you know, y'all been locked in, Steph been locked in before this Rockets game, of course, you know, 52 points versus the Grizzlies, 12 threes, 37 points against the Lakers, 36 against the Nuggets, 7 threes. He got an edge right now, right? You know, you see Steph locked in. What does that mean? Like, what are you seeing on a daily basis that's keeping— that's getting him hyped up for these games, um, especially on y'all run? What's changed in Steph?
I think he said it early on. I think number one, um, you know, him having— being forced to take that week off, he'll, uh, just to kind of get your legs back underneath you. But number 2, we right in the thick of things. Like, we right in the hunt.
Right.
We kind of, we control our own destiny. Like, to guarantee ourselves a playoff spot. He said it a few months ago, "I just wanna play meaningful basketball." And after every game, he'd be like, he'd look at a couple of coaches and he'd say, "Meaningful basketball." Yeah. And so, I don't think it's necessarily something that's hyping him up, per se. More so than the opportunity to play meaningful basketball. Basketball games that really mean something. And you know, like us going to the playoffs is a very realistic thing. Like, so let's, you know, you start to ramp up to that, you know, getting to that level of where you know you need to be in a couple weeks. And so I think, you know, it's just kind of that time.
Right.
Like, he definitely been locked in. And he, you know, he, Steph also, we all do, I don't with the pod, but you get to a point to where you put everything else down and it's just like, all right, it's just this now. And you know, that's, it's around that time. So—
It's that time.
He definitely locked in, playing with that edge and, focus, you know, of just—
Yeah.
Like what matters is the games and it's showing. I think he making an argument to snatch that last spot on that, on that All-NBA team, first team, making a, putting up a real case.
So— Absolutely. Especially just the year he been having and the consistency. You know how we talk about, you know, the importance of consistency. And how much we value consistency throughout the year and also the growth. And so finish the year, finishing the year strong is gonna be super important. And this last week of the season is even more important 'cause you got the Suns, the Spurs, the Blazers, and the Clippers. You know, everything that's happening with you on the floor, when you guys play, when you don't play, is really gonna determine who's gonna be 4'8", 10", right?
