Man, prime Jkidd is up there too though. One of the best passers and defenders at the 1 spot for like 10-12 years... If we're basing it on the new NBA (last 10-15 years) and using assists as a way to measure a PG I would take Lebron in my top 10 pg's. I would build a team with him as my PG over a lot of dudes.
Oh look, it's Harden2Capela's other account. The only tard that is consistently unable to spell DraymonD.
I think he will usurp Stockton eventually, maybe very shortly Magic and IT depends on how long he can keep his prime going. Eventually I think he ends up after Magic and number 2/3 between him and IT. Not considering big O as I can't judge him since he played primarily in the 60's Anyway point is we are witnessing greatness and a potential all time great.
Because Golden State's reserves are better than other team's reserves? And they usually don't extend leads when he's on the bench...just because it sometimes happens doesn't mean that's the norm. Curry leads the league in net rating...the team is far better when he's on the court than when he's off. That's cool. Virtually no one would agree with you, but Green is very valuable even if not nearly in Curry's stratosphere. Green's gigantic assist rate and three-point shooting percentage are in part a testament to Green, but also a testament to how Curry gets Green wide open shots and the ability to make plays 4-on-3.
This is why it's hard to compare across eras. Steph is an undeniably great shooter , but i cant help but think if he would have played in the time of hand checking and more physical play he wouldn't be anywhere near as good. His skillet came into the league at a perfect time. This may just be sour grapes, but i feel as if he is also protected more than other superstars have been. Players like Lebron and Howard. You could give those guys a hard foul and not fear suspension and ejection. The guy is good, but its sad that the NBA seems to have an agenda to help him. Our own J Harden hasn't been getting crap called for him this year due to the perception that he sells contact. Meanwhile if you breathe on Curry its a foul. Back in the day , I bet dudes would take offense to curry pulling up from 40 and doing that mouth-guard ****. He would be put on his ass and would have to reconsider his play style.
Currys been doing this for like 100 games if you even count last season and he's already better than the #1 all time assists, #1 all time steals player in John Stockton who played elite for nearly 20 years? John Stockton is also responsible for the most points ever. His own points and his assists totals blows anyone away in the history of the game. No one comes close to how many points John Stockton has been responsible for. I'm not even going to talk about defense compared to Curry. Flashy style always wins out i guess AND I love it too. Were all on a high from this in a "what has he done for me lately" world, but let Steph do this or near this for at least 3 more seasons before you start to rank him with Magic, Stockton, Oscar, West, Isiah, Kidd, GP, Nash, and Cousy. Nate Tiny Archibald realm as of now. 2 amazing seasons. 28ppg, 9apg, and the next season where he got even better and led the league in scoring and assists 34ppg, 11.4apg. From there he had some good seasons, but not all time great seasons and injuries(stephs ankle's). No one considers him in contention for GOAT PG. Curry might end up with the same career stats of 18 and 7. In the end, people remember raw stats and those are not GOAT PG numbers. It's safe to call him GOAT shooter though lol.. So like i said, i think we need to give Curry a few more seasons. In the meantime, let's sit back and enjoy one of the funnest players and teams ever to watch.
Steph would still get his buckets though. How long would he hold up and could he play full seasons taking a pounding? I dont know. His style is also flashy with his dribbles and passing and if guys like Penny and AI are any indication, Curry would have been a hugely marketed player then too. Though you wonder how his game would have opened up if he was afraid to drive it in and finish or pass out after getting his ass handed to him a few times. He might have ended up strictly a 3pt specialist and off screen shooter and never developed his passing and handles like he has the past 2 seasons. Who knows. I am convinced though that the Warriors would be destroyed playing champions of other eras in their era. I don't think they'd have chance even.
Every era romanticizes previous eras. Sure, the rules are different and benefit the GSW style of play - but that's because teams build their style of play to the rules. If there were different rules, the GSW would probably be run completely differently. Same with previous generations - if they had today's rules, they would have been run differently. For example, Hakeem was often neutralized by Seattle's "illegal" zone defense that is now legal. How do other previous players translate into the modern era where you can run a wider array of defense? A lot of who would win depends on who's rules you play by and how much experience the team has playing with those rules. In addition, everything from nutrition and training to sports science and analytics has evolved as well. No one has any idea how different eras would mix together.
He definitely will be. His last two seasons are easily better than any of Stockton's or Nash's or Isiah's, and better than the best of Kidd or Payton (who is massively underrated on any top PG list). But people forget how good Chris Paul has been; look at some of those forgotten years toiling in New Orleans. Also he's still nowhere near Magic or Oscar Robertson (metrics from Big O's day are hard to come by except a rough estimate of WS and WS/48). Big O is also massively underrated. People always overrate players like Bob Cousy because of a slavish devotion to history and legacy, and Curry makes Cousy look like a middle of the road backup. Top 5 sounds about right, probably right at 5.
Obviously no one is (or should be, at least) saying that Curry's career has surpassed Stockton's. But Curry for the past 100+ games has been playing at a much higher level than even Stockton in his prime. Saying "let me know when he's done it for 10-15 years" is both fair and missing the point. Implying that we can't even start considering a player's place in history until his career is over would bypass a lot of interesting discussions. Let's take it for granted that Curry doesn't rank with anyone yet when it comes to full careers...the interesting question is, with the way he's playing, who does he compare with in terms of ability? We can already judge his talent level, even if we don't yet know how much career value he'll rack up.
It's interesting to note that people constantly complained that Michael Jordan was protected by the league and officials, during his playing days and that he traveled constantly, etc, etc. As much as people complain that the "new hotness" is overrated, as many or more people underrate what's happening now and view past players with nostalgia goggles. Players of the past are legends! How dare you compare current punks with legends! Completely missing the fact that today's legends were existing, flawed players who were claimed to be overrated at the time (how many people claimed Jordan was an overrated scorer who couldn't compare with winners like Magic and Bird, let alone past legends like Russell, until finally it was impossible to avoid recognizing his greatness?). The way Curry is playing right now (and, to a lesser extent, going back to last season), he's up there with many of the greatest players in history. People will disparage him as they disparaged previous greats and then twenty years from now, he'll be a name-check when people want to put down the latest and greatest.
If Curry is healthy he will be top 5. He has a decade left to cement his place. Stockton may be the best passer/assister ever, but even he can't match the all around carnage that Curry has been inflicting offensively in the past two years. If only Harden were as interested in being the best of the best.
