2016, 2021, and maybe 2017 and 2019 are the versions of Steph that immediately come to mind as peak Steph years.
Even though Steph got his Finals MVP in 2022, he had his worst regular season since like 2013, and his overall playoff numbers weren’t quite as good as some of his other years so I probably wouldn’t say this was peak Steph.
It’s also important to look at the way he has been guarded since 2016, especially after KD left. In 2016, he was doing stuff the league had no idea how to guard. Since then, the league has evolved quite a bit, especially defensively. And yet, he’s still at worst a top 5 player in the league. What he did in the 2021 regular season and 2022 playoffs isnt too far off from his 2016 regular season, despite everyone trying to shape their squad to stop teams like the Warriors.
A little while ago I made a comment comparing his stats from 2016 to some more recent years - think it was on a post asking if he’d be viewed as better or worse if KD never came to GS; as in, he’d likely have 1 or 2 fewer rings, but better individual stats/accolades.
The difference in efficiency between the peak 2016 season and his subsequent seasons mostly seemed to be about 1 made 3pt shot a game. Which on the one hand is pretty big - 27ppg Vs 30ppg isn’t nothing, and even taking 10+ a game, 1 make or miss either way makes a noticeable difference to your 3pt% (and then overall ts%) - but on the other hand, given how the league defends him now compared to his superstar breakout, 1 fewer 3pter is nothing.
2016 was obviously a peak, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as much ahead of his average season (since 2015) as people think.
This is the key - go back and look at some of those highlights from 2016, he’s got nobody within 10 feet of him for some of those shots. The fact that he’s putting up damn near the same numbers in ‘21 & ‘22 with someone all but inside his jersey is unbelievable.