Stephen Curry lulls defenders to sleep before casually tossing a brilliant no-look lob to Golden State teammate Gary Payton II for an easy reverse dunk: ‘Greatest point guard of all time’

“Nonchalant” doesn’t describe Stephen Curry’s lob pass to Gary Payton II in Golden State’s dramatic 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

The highly competitive match was part of the NBA’s inaugural regular season tournament, potentially giving the match added significance. But instead of tenacious professionalism, Curry casually executed an effortless alley-oop pass — the kind of maneuver that might get a player on the bench in the likely event that it would lead to a turnover.

Instead, Curry’s one-handed, no-look lob from beyond the three-point arc caught the Thunder’s entire frontcourt by surprise.

Unaware of Payton’s backdoor to the basket, Oklahoma City’s 7-foot rookie Chet Holmgren responded late on the pass. As a result, he had a front-row seat to witness Payton float to the rim, catch the ball with two hands on his chest and throw down an easy reverse jam to push the Warriors’ lead to 50-44. Push.

“And Steph Curry’s showmanship – the no-look hook pass,” an announcer said.

After catching Holmgren (near left) napping, Curry (far left) swapped jerseys with the rookie. Payton (right), meanwhile, had nine points in 22 minutes on Friday in Oklahoma City

For Curry, a future Hall of Famer known more for his shooting than his passing, the lob was one of seven assists on the night. He also added a game-high 30 points, including the game-winning layup at the final buzzer.

“Greatest point guard of all time,” one fan wrote on X in response to the highlight.

“Steph is an underrated passer,” another added.

One fan argued that Curry is now a better point guard than Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson: “I think we can all agree that Curry has surpassed Magic at this point.”

Curry’s game-winning layup was initially waived due to offensive goaltending. However, the decision was overturned and the Warriors claimed their second straight victory in the final second.

On Wednesday, Klay Thompson scored with less than a second left to seal a victory over Sacramento.

Dario Saric scored 20 points and Chris Paul had 13 assists for Golden State, which improved to 5-1.

Lu Dort scored 29 points, Chet Holmgren scored 24 and Josh Giddey scored 14 of 18 in the fourth quarter for the Thunder.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City’s leading scorer this season, was out with a sprained left knee.

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, left, and Stephen Curry celebrate the victory

Golden State hit seven threes in the first quarter to take a 38–33 lead. Saric scored 11 points in that period as a reserve.

Golden State hit six more three-pointers in the second quarter and led 69-67 at halftime. Thompson’s leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer was ruled no good on the floor, and that ruling stood after review.

Dort scored 11 points in just over four minutes early in the third quarter to give the Thunder an 85-80 lead.

The Warriors rallied and the game was tied at 106 heading into the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Joe hit a 3-pointer and was fouled with 9:15 to go. He made the free throw to give the Thunder a 118-115 lead, and the game remained close the rest of the way.