Stephen Curry ended last week being crowned the most-watched athlete on YouTube, amassing more than 140 million views on the video-streaming website in only the past six months.
Well, we have another honor to bestow on the reigning NBA MVP and league's leading scorer — he's flat-out the most GIF-able athlete on the planet today, and it's not even close.
Sure, the superstar likes of LeBron James, Cam Newton and Lionel Messi often generate highlights that are worthy of the GIF treatment, but none of them do it as regularly as Curry. As a matter of fact, none of their respective games translate to being a GIF more than Curry, either.
Whether it's the three-pointers that he launches well beyond the arc or the way he regularly breaks defenders' ankles with his slick handles or his skilled passing ability ... Stephen Curry is just a walking, breathing GIF.
Use this record-setting season, for example, as Curry looks every bit primed to repeat as the league's MVP — averaging 29.8 points per game — with his defending champion Golden State Warriors (50-5) threatening to break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' all-time regular season record of 72-10.
Check a video recap from any Warriors game and Curry will have at least two scintillating plays that are seemingly tailor-made for GIFs. At least two every game.
Let's take a look at the Warriors' 102-92 road win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Within the first five minutes of the game, Curry delivered an electric play that we made into a GIF. In the blink of an eye, he takes Hawks point guard Jeff Teague off the dribble, drives and spins into the lane, pump fakes to get a Hawks defender in the air and passes to an open teammate for a three-pointer. Ridiculous.
Need more proof of Curry being the most GIF-able athlete in the world? During the waning seconds of the first half of the same game, Teague is pressuring Curry to the point where the Warriors three-time All-Star momentarily loses his own dribble, only to pick it back up, launch and drain a long-distance shot — which was ruled two points.
It's almost unfair at this point, and the look on Teague's face says as much. It's almost as if the entire league is wondering — and almost giving up — about how to stop Curry. Turning 28 next month, he's hands-down the best player in the league right now and already widely regarded as the best shooter in the game's history.
Curry and his Warriors will be in Miami to face the Heat on Wednesday night, and you can probably cue him up for at least two more GIFs. Sorry, Dwyane Wade.
