Looking back, Stephen Curry clearly tops 2009 NBA Draft class

The 2009 NBA Draft looks a whole lot different with the benefit of hindsight.

Not that anyone should be surprised.

In a recent re-draft exercise, HoopsHype reshuffled one of the most talent-rich draft classes of the modern era and made a change many would probably make today: Moving Stephen Curry to No. 1 overall.

That distinction originally belonged to Blake Griffin, who was selected first by the Clippers after a standout career at Oklahoma.

Nobody questioned the pick at the time. Griffin became a six-time All-Star, one of the NBA’s most exciting players and the face of the Clippers for years.

But Curry changed basketball.

The former Davidson star slipped to No. 7 overall in the actual draft before becoming a four-time NBA champion, two-time MVP and the greatest shooter the sport has ever seen.

HoopsHype’s re-draft has Curry going first, followed by James Harden at No. 2 and DeMar DeRozan at No. 3, with Griffin sliding to fourth.

The interesting part isn’t whether Curry belongs at the top.

It’s wondering whether any of this would have happened if he had landed somewhere else.

Would Curry have become Curry without the Warriors? Would another franchise have built around him the same way? Would his game have been unleashed quite like it was in Golden State?

We’ll never know. What we do know is that 17 years later, passing on Curry looks a lot different than it did in 2009.

And if the Clippers got a do-over, they’d probably sprint that card to the podium.