Fan Reactions

Fans react to Steph Curry’s benching in clutch

Published

April 14, 2025

Feb 5, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) sits on the bench during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

Steph Curry is one of the greatest players in NBA history. He’s certainly the greatest shooter, and his style of play has influenced every player and every team in the league.

Despite his greatness, Curry was shockingly benched in the clutch against the Los Angeles Clippers. Curry’s defense was a liability, causing head coach Steve Kerr to sit his star in a critical game where the Golden State Warriors needed a win to avoid the Play-In tournament.

Related: LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry All-Time Head-to-Head Comparison

The game was tied at 111-111 with 17.5 seconds remaining. Kerr decided to sit Curry to have a stronger defensive team on the floor. This idea isn’t far-fetched, since Curry’s defense is the weakest part of his game.

Still, to sit one of the best players of all-time in the clutch was certainly going to cause fans to react.

Steph Curry getting benched in the clutch because he’s a defensive liability is one of many reasons why he will never be in the GOAT conversation. pic.twitter.com/2UVqhLAVXy

— HiNote. ???? (@HiNoteee) April 13, 2025

Kobe and MJ and LeBron and Magic and Bird and Kareem never got benched when the game was on the line .

— Wehosrm Think (@wehosrm) April 13, 2025

Great on offense and a cone that gets aggressively targeted on defense

— Bro Flacco (@BroFlacco1738) April 14, 2025

Getting benched ≠ putting your best defensive lineup on the court and immediately calling a timeout to put Steph in the game when the ball is secured by GS

mf really thought he cooked ????????

— Joe-W Embiid (@LockCity_USA) April 14, 2025

As you can see, not all fans were against the decision to bench Curry in the clutch, but most were. The game went into overtime where Curry returned to the floor to score three points on 1-3 shooting.

The Clippers walked away with the 124-119 victory, securing their place in this year’s postseason. As for the Warriors, they will now have to battle the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In.

Did the benching mess with Curry’s psyche? Curry scored 36 for the entire game on 10-20 shooting, including 7-12 from three. There certainly was a drop off after being benched.

Share on Facebook

Post on X

Save

About the Author Published Apr 14, 2025

TITAN FREY

Titan Frey is a dedicated father to three wonderful children, whom he takes immense pride in. His passions include reading, writing, basketball, both playing and watching, and playing chess. Titan spent five years working as a journalist for the basketball website fadeawayworld.net, where he served as editor-in-chief for four and a half years. One of his most notable achievements was interviewing Chuck Cooper III, the son of Chuck Cooper, the first African American ever drafted by an NBA team, and writing a biography that has been praised as the most definitive article about Cooper’s legacy. Titan is the author of more than ten novels and the screenwriter of three produced short films. His newest young adult novel, Echoes of the Hardwood: Braxton Foxworthy’s Time‑Travelling Book Report, blends basketball history with heartfelt storytelling and is now available. Order here: https://a.co/d/bo7BYz1