Was Stephen Curry Ever the Best Player in the NBA?

Stephen Curry returned from a prolonged absence on Sunday against the Houston Rockets. He put up 29 points and nearly dragged the Golden State Warriors to victory in what has been a really tough season for the franchise.

Curry dazzled with his usual display of long-distance shots and tricky ball handling, reminding the fans who love him of how long he's been dominating the NBA.

Famous commentator Bill Simmons brought an interesting discussion to the table, though: was Stephen Curry ever the best player in the NBA?

Simmons wasn't so sure that Curry ever surpassed LeBron James, but the numbers and the cultural phenomenon during his leap to greatness in 2016 solidified his spot as the top athlete in the NBA during that season.

Golden State was coming off an NBA championship the previous season, capping 2015 with its first title in 40 years. Curry had won the NBA MVP that season in what was his first as a true superstar.

Many pundits believed he would devolve in 2016, but instead Steph catapulted himself, and the game itself, to a new stratosphere. He made a record 402 three-point shots that season, a record that still stands a decade later.

That number didn't just demoralize his opponents, but it also shifted the geometry of the basketball court. Gone were the days of getting the ball as close to the basket as possible. Curry changed the type of shots players were taking, but the imitators were never as good as the original. He still holds five of the top six total three-point shooting seasons in basketball history.

Curry didn't cap the season with the championship, which is usually the indicator of the best player in the league. That went to LeBron James. Still, revisionist history shouldn't erase the fact that people felt Curry had surpassed James at the time.

He won the MVP award for the regular season unanimously. All 130 media members voted Curry as the league's best player that season. That should shut down all arguments as to whether Curry was ever the best. He absolutely was.

Kevin Durant joined the Warriors the following year, and Curry sacrificed his shot count to win two more championships. It should be argued that Curry's individual greatness would have continued to expand had he never shared the court with KD.

Fast forward to the present, and Stephen Curry is a living legend. Just don't forget the accomplishments and fun times that made him the icon we all know and love. And that includes being the best player in the game in 2016!