At this point, I’m willing to bet even if you asked Bob Myers–the esteemed and fortunate GM of the hottest team in America–if he expected this level of dominance, he would probably say something along the lines of “not to this extent.”

Let’s be real: the obstinate Jordan-heads who are still stuck in the 90’s overtook the idea that no player, let alone a team, could never be as dominant as “His Airness” and his team were. Not ever in the history of the NBA did they think a 6’3, 185 lb. shooter with a history of ankle problems out of Charlotte, NC and his perfectly constructed team could eclipse that dominance.

But here they are, in the midst of becoming one of the greatest teams to ever play the sport. Yet, they’re somehow STILL receiving criticism, and in my humble opinion, these critics are worse for the ever-evolving game of basketball than Steph is (but is he really that bad for the game, Mark Jackson?).

This tweet is the first tweet that came up in my search on Twitter after typing in “Steph Curry advanced stats.” Sure, the reason it’s at the top of my search is because of who I follow, and of course the time it was tweeted, but it’s just a prime example of the over-nostalgic, discrediting hate that circulates quietly amidst the whirlwind of praise for this Warriors’ team.

I’m not gonna sit here and parade through this article, linking you to Steph highlight after Steph highlight in hopes that maybe you’ll become a believer. But frankly, if you want an idea of how good this Warriors team will be moving forward, you’ve got to take a look at just how seriously this team takes winning and losing by the numbers.

Sorry @PrinceOTS, but I’ve got a lot of advanced stats for you.

In games following a loss this year, the Warriors are an obvious 5-0, averaging a 17 point margin of victory, and boasting an average True-Shooting Percentage (OR TS%, combining the percentages of 2s, 3,s and free throws) of 62.8%.

It’s pretty safe to say that come playoff time, even if you do beat this team once in a 7 game series, they’re not just going to fight back, but they’ll embarrass you.

In those five games following a loss, the Warriors held opponents to just 31% from behind the arc, and had a defensive rating of 103.6 points per 100 possessions.

Long story short, do not get into a 3-shootout with this team, because they will always win, and they will dance on you afterwards, too.

As for Steph, he had a phenomenal week of February 22-28th, earning Western Conference Player of the Week Honors, averaging about 44 ppg, 7 apg, 6 rpg, and shooting a ridiculous 61% percent from three as well as 61% overall. And the three point shot shown above lifted him past his own single-season record.

The baby faced assassin and his squad have 23 games left, and all they need to do is go 19-4 to close out the season as the best of all time. If Steph continues these performances, whether he misses a game or not, it is very, very possible.

Mind you, Steph’s 4-0 week of February 22nd came in the wake of a 30-point loss to the Blazers, and much criticism from the likes of NBA greats like Oscar Robertson and Isaiah Thomas.

Still think he’s not that good, guys?

Okay, I’m almost done.

According to Basketball Statistician John Hollinger, the very technical studies of “Per-Minute Statistics” have become  the advanced stats that ultimately determine how great a player is just by how much he does per minute. Steph seems to be drawing a lot of attention to these numbers, and the statisticians are salivating at the opportunity to calculate his efficiency.

I hate to talk you to death with numbers here, especially if you’re just as jaded a Neo-NBA fan as Prince up there, but here’s what Hollinger had to say about Per-Minute Stats:

“It’s a pretty simple concept, but one that has largely escaped most NBA front offices: the idea that what a player does on a per-minute basis is far more important than his per-game stats. The latter tend to be influenced more by playing time than by quality of play, yet remain the most common metric of player performance.”

Pretty cool right? No? Okay, well check this out.

Michael Jordan, “the G.O.A.T.,” averaged a career 0.79 points-per-minute. His best scoring season, where he averaged 37.1 ppg in 40 minutes played, amounted to a ridiculous 0.93 points per minute. If you got up to go to the bathroom during a Bulls game, chances are you might’ve missed 3 very special plays from His Airness.

In the historic 72-10 season, Jordan averaged 0.81 ppm. Steph Curry this season? 0.91 points per minute. Steph’s average of 23.8 ppg (in roughly the same amount of minutes per game last season) makes us wonder:

“What if he shot more?”  

He heard the critics. He answered the doubters. The Warriors are no fluke, and all these stats contribute to Steph’s 32.9 Player-Efficiency rating; he’s on track to have one of the most efficient offensive seasons ever, and whether you like it or not, you kind of have  to pay attention to these advanced stats.

Oh yeah, one quick note for @PrinceOTS…

Don’t get me wrong, 05-06 Kobe was nothing short of captivating to watch, averaging 35.4 ppg in 41 minutes played. But when we factor in the concept of efficiency, it’s pretty clear that Kobe was just not hitting the bottom of the net as frequently as 2016 Steph is, meaning the volume of shots went waaaaaaay up.

I mean, c’mon, he is the all time leading shot-taker.

Anyway, Basketball-Reference.com has a measurement of a player efficiency named “Per 36 minutes,” the 36-minute splits for a player if, hypothetically, you were to judge him specifically on this window of time.

Why do I bring this up, you ask? Because Steph doesn’t even play 36 minutes per game in the 2015-2016 season.

Keep in mind that while Steph’s overall stats this year don’t scale up to Kobe’s that year, we have 23 games left, including playoffs. So Prince, I want to show you just how much better Steph Curry is than 2006 Kobe, whether you want advanced stats or not.

Rk Player Season Age G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
1 Kobe Bryant 2005-06 27 80 80 3277 10.7 23.9 .450 2.0 5.7 .347 8.8 18.2 .482 7.6 9.0 .850 0.8 3.9 4.7 4.0 1.6 0.3 2.7 2.6 31.1
2 Stephen Curry 2015-16 27 56 56 1897 10.9 21.3 .515 5.5 11.7 .468 5.5 9.6 .571 5.2 5.8 .908 0.9 4.7 5.6 7.1 2.2 0.2 3.6 2.1 32.6
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/2/2016.

The numbers don’t lie. 😉

(All stats provided by Sports Reference LLC  Basketball-Reference.com– Basketball Statistics and History. 3/2/16)