Photo: Peter Baba

Kenny Smith believes Mark Jackson played a pivotal role in keeping Steph Curry with the Golden State Warriors and unlocking the career that ultimately changed the NBA.

Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, Smith said Curry was not initially trusted to close games because of defensive concerns and that the Warriors were considering moving him before Jackson became head coach. “He was going to be traded until Mark Jackson got there,” Smith said. “He saved not only the franchise, he saved the league.”

Smith pointed specifically to Curry’s role late in games before Jackson’s arrival. According to Smith, the Warriors often relied on Monta Ellis in fourth quarters because Curry was viewed as a defensive liability, limiting his opportunities to establish himself as the team’s primary offensive creator.

Jackson took over Golden State in 2011, after Curry’s first two NBA seasons. In his first season under Jackson, Curry averaged 14.7 points and 5.3 assists in only 26 games because of ankle problems, but he returned healthy in 2012-13 and produced 22.9 points and 6.9 assists per game.

That 2012-13 season became the first major statistical jump of Curry’s career. He shot 45.3% from three-point range while attempting 7.7 threes per game, setting the NBA single-season record for made three-pointers at the time with 272.

Curry continued to expand his role under Jackson in 2013-14, averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 assists while shooting 42.4% from three-point range. He earned his first All-Star selection and finished sixth in MVP voting as Golden State went 51-31 and reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Jackson’s three-year tenure ended after the 2013-14 season, with Steve Kerr replacing him. Curry then became the centerpiece of Golden State’s championship era, winning the 2015 and 2016 MVP awards and helping the Warriors capture four championships between 2015 and 2022.

The statistical trajectory illustrates how quickly Curry developed after Jackson gave him a larger offensive role. Curry went from 17.5 points and 2.1 made threes per game as a rookie to 30.1 points and 5.1 made threes per game in 2015-16, when he became the first unanimous MVP in NBA history.

Curry has since become a 17-time NBA veteran with career averages of 24.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 made three-pointers per game while shooting 42.2% from three-point range. At age 37 in 2025-26, he averaged 26.6 points and 4.4 made threes in 43 games.

Smith credited Jackson not only with giving Curry an opportunity but also with recognizing that his unusual offensive skill set could become the foundation of an NBA offense.

“You think of Steph Curry, he saved basketball by making this dude what he is and allowing him to be who he was,” Smith said. “Someone had to have the vision to allow that to happen. He was the vision.”

Curry’s subsequent career included two MVP awards, four championships, 13 All-Star selections and a transformation of three-point shooting from a specialized skill into a central feature of modern NBA offense.