Oct 1, 2026 · 1 hr 18 min · 17 segments
**Bookum Author Talks Podcast** In this conversation, **Marcus Thompson II**, Senior Columnist at The Athletic and author of Game Changers: The GOATs Who Revolutionized Basketball, for a wide-ranging…
Marcus Thompson IIGuestKyle ColleyHostBut speaking of that and, like, game changers and Curry's impact on basketball, because now when you play pickup, you have to guard 90 feet because you don't know who can really shoot and who can't.
And his ability to expand the game, can you talk about how that is a thing? Because even coaching in basketball back in the day, if your name wasn't Kyle Cover or Paige Astoriakovich, you weren't allowed to take those shots, like, at all.
How many people would have got benched if Steph, at the Steph, Steph do? It's like coaches like, sup, man, get out of here.
Moments that show Steph impact and what you're talking about, how he literally changed the dynamics of the court.
The court didn't change, but he changed how much of it you got to cover.
Was that shot in Oklahoma City? You know, Roberson was a really good defender.
So that's back when you could have a terrible offensive player on the court.
And his natural instinct in that moment, instead of drilling up the court, is to backpedal and get his feet on the three-point line.
So even the fact that he's out to the three-point line, like get your foot on the three-point line, is showing how the three-point is having this impact, right? So normally it's like, hey, man, get to the elbows, protect the paint.
We had, by 2016, we got to the point where, all right, you at least got to guard the three-point line, right? Popovich was saying, I hated the three-point shot, but he used it and they won a championship as one of the better three-point shooting teams.
And you could see Anthony Morrow, who played with Steph, on the sidelines telling Roberson, get up.
But speaking of that and, like, game changers and Curry's impact on basketball, because now when you play pickup, you have to guard 90 feet because you don't know who can really shoot and who can't.
And his ability to expand the game, can you talk about how that is a thing? Because even coaching in basketball back in the day, if your name wasn't Kyle Cover or Paige Astoriakovich, you weren't allowed to take those shots, like, at all.
How many people would have got benched if Steph, at the Steph, Steph do? It's like coaches like, sup, man, get out of here.
Moments that show Steph impact and what you're talking about, how he literally changed the dynamics of the court.
The court didn't change, but he changed how much of it you got to cover.
Was that shot in Oklahoma City? You know, Roberson was a really good defender.
So that's back when you could have a terrible offensive player on the court.
And his natural instinct in that moment, instead of drilling up the court, is to backpedal and get his feet on the three-point line.
So even the fact that he's out to the three-point line, like get your foot on the three-point line, is showing how the three-point is having this impact, right? So normally it's like, hey, man, get to the elbows, protect the paint.
We had, by 2016, we got to the point where, all right, you at least got to guard the three-point line, right? Popovich was saying, I hated the three-point shot, but he used it and they won a championship as one of the better three-point shooting teams.
And you could see Anthony Morrow, who played with Steph, on the sidelines telling Roberson, get up.
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