Curry & AD: March Madness Edition 🏆

In advance of their games tonight, let's look back at Anthony Davis and Steph Curry's legendary NCAA Tournament runs. With both the Warriors and Lakers locked in a tight-knit playoff race, can these superstars rise to the occasion like they did back in their college glory days? 🏀 (3 min read)

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Blast From the Past

With March Madness officially kicking off yesterday, it only feels right to take a look back at the college glory days of two veteran NBA superstars playing tonight. Easily the biggest stage in college basketball, the NCAA Tournament has served as the launchpad for many illustrious hoops careers. No star enjoyed more hype in college than Anthony Davis, who was the prohibitive favorite for the top selection in the 2012 NBA Draft 💪

  • Davis was one of the most impactful two way players in recent college basketball history, spearheading the Kentucky offense while averaging a remarkable 4.7 blocks per game

  • AD lived up to all of the hype, dominating on both ends of the floor and leading Kentucky to its eighth national championship. He actually set the record for the fewest championship game points scored by a MOP, stuffing the stat sheet with 6 points, 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists and 3 steals 🔥

Another college superstar who impacted the game very differently was Steph Curry, who led the unheralded Davidson Wildcats on a Cinderella run. Curry was the Wildcat offense, dropped 128 points in only 4 games, as Davidson stormed all the way to a surprise appearance in the Elite 8 🔥

  • Curry introduced himself to the national stage, becoming arguably college basketball's biggest star and skyrocketing his draft stock. The future NBA legend received no major Division I offers coming out of high school, largely due to his size

  • March Madness gave Steph the opportunity to show the world the supernatural marksmanship that we've come to expect from the greatest shooter of all time 🎯

With the Warriors playing tonight, I wanted to find more college basketball anecdotes of Golden State players. I'll keep it short and sweet - this shot from then-freshman Jordan Poole definitely put him on the map as well ⚡️

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Back to the Present

Let's jump back to the current day, where both stars have won NBA championships and solidified their place among the league's elite. AD has endured a complicated past couple of years, beset by injuries and roster confusion ever since the Lakers' 2020 title. This reimagined LA squad actually holds a tremendous amount of promise, but Davis will have to carry them for a few more games, with LeBron is set to return on Friday 👀

  • The Lakers are one of an astounding eight Western Conference teams with between 33 and 36 losses. They clearly need every win vs. bad competition, making tonight's matchup vs. the Houston Rockets a must-win for LA

  • Davis has been up to the task of leading LA in LeBron's absence, and will need to stay healthy and mega-productive to get the Lakers back out of the play-in 🍿

The Warriors have experienced quite the championship hangover this season, and have really struggled on the road. Seriously, 7-26 away from home is horrible. However, Golden State has come alive of late, rattling off impressive wins vs. the Bucks and Suns in their past two contests 📈

  • Tonight's matchup vs. the Clippers comes on the road, which does not bode well for the Dubs' chances. In order to win a title you have to win away from home, but luckily the Splash Brothers seem to be rounding into form at the right time 💦

Plus, Steph is at the point where he's trash talking CP3, which really fires me up. Season winding down and the Warriors are getting healthy...watch out 😮‍💨

  • Spread: Clippers -3

  • Moneyline: Clippers -154 (bet $154, win $100), Warriors +130 (bet $100, win $130)

  • O/U: 234.5

Trivia Question: Was Davidson's 2008 trip to the Elite 8 their deepest all-time March Madness run?

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

For My Parlay Gurus

I like both Davis and Curry to recapture their March magic, leading their squads to critical wins. The Lakers should make short work of the league-bottom Rockets, while the Warriors will face a tougher battle vs. Kawhi and the Clippers — look for another vintage Splash Bros performance to take them over the top 👇

  • Lakers -2.5 @ Rockets: -110

  • Warriors +3 vs. Clippers: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: Surprisingly no, Davidson made back-to-back Elite 8 appearances in 1968 and 1969 👀

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