There are many in the Bay Area who don’t believe that Stephen Curry gets the same treatment that many of the other superstars in the NBA receive. Some feel that it’s due to the fact that Curry doesn’t attempt to sell contact, as opposed to the likes of James Harden or Russell Westbrook, who often drive into the lane with the sole purpose of getting fouled .
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy has a different theory, however, telling The Audible on Friday that he believes Curry’s laid-back temperament does not push the officials.
“I think Steph’s problem is that he’s too much of a nice guy,” Donaghy said. “I think he needs to be a little bit more of a jerk-off and go after these referees a little bit to let them know that he’s not going to stand for the fact that he’s not getting the calls that some of these other super stars are getting, and until he does that, I think he’s not going to get the benefit of those marginal calls that all these other guys — like (James) Harden flops and baits the referees into calling them — and I think he needs to do a little bit more of that, in order to get the respect from the referees so that he gets those marginals calls that the other super stars are getting.”
Listen to the full interview below.