I hate Stephen Curry.

I hate how he can make a shot from basically anywhere on the floor. I hate how perfect his jump shot looks. I hate how well he runs his team.

Being a Los Angeles native, I especially hate how he and the Golden State Warriors rarely lose a game.

Though I dislike him and his team, I can’t deny that both are unlike anything I have seen before. Over the past few weeks there have been a number of former players and coaches that have found reasons to downplay the Warriors and their most valuable player.

Oscar Robertson, an NBA Hall-of-Famer, said that Curry is only as good as he is because of the league’s style of play. He believes that the coaches don’t coach like they used to and the players aren’t as tough.

Phil Jackson, arguably the greatest head coach the NBA has ever seen, said that Curry is comparable to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who averaged 14.6 points per game in his 11-year career. In Abdul-Rauf’s best season, he averaged 19.2 points per game.

Stephen Jackson, a recently retired NBA journeyman, also had some words. He played on the 2007 Warriors team that knocked out the No. 1 seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. This was one of the biggest upsets in NBA history and Jackson was a key player in the series. He recently said he believes his 2007 team would be able to beat today’s Warriors because his squad had “more heart.”

Curry is averaging 30.7 points, 6.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. His team is currently 54-5 on the season, on pace for the best record in NBA history. He shoots almost 50 percent from the field, 46 percent from beyond the 3-point line and makes 90 percent of his free throws.

He shares the record for most 3-pointers in a game and recently broke his own record for most 3-pointers in a season. He did this in 58 games and now has 23 more games in the regular season to add to it. Without a doubt he is the best player in the NBA right now.

He also has a great supporting cast around him. Klay Thompson may very well be the second-best shooter in the NBA behind Curry. Draymond Green is a triple-double machine, and the rest of the Warriors know how to play their roles. The record shows that they are a team unlike any other and watching them play proves it.

Retired players and coaches need to stop hating.

Yes, the rules were different when you played in the league. Yes, you were great at what you did back in your time. However, you’re finished. Your career is over. Let someone else shine without trying to bring them down.

Stephen Curry belongs in this league, and I believe he would have prospered as a player “back in the day” as well. He is a very special player, on a very special team. Give him his credit.

Patrick Pace can be reached at [email protected] or @PatPaceSports on Twitter.