Steph Curry has been on an absolute heater ever since landing Jimmy Butler as a teammate at the trade deadline. Last night, he hung 52 points on the Grizzlies in a big road win, giving everyone a reminder that not only is he one of the best to ever play, he’s still at the peak of his powers. Steph’s big night vaulted the Warriors into 5th in the Western Conference playoff race and gave them the season tiebreaker over Memphis, effectively putting them 1.5 games up with seven to play in the regular season.
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Steph’s latest explosion got some people talking about his place among the all-time greats, including the Run It Back podcast, who had a spirited debate this morning about where Steph ranks.
Chandler Parsons acknowledged that Steph has had an incredible impact on the game with his transcendent shooting ability, but he still wouldn’t put him at the top of the mountain.
“When you’re talking about the greatest of all-time, usually it comes down to Michael Jordan and LeBron James, not Steph Curry, as great as he is.”
Parsons and his cohost Lou Williams both chose LeBron as the player whose career they’d rather have because he’s fulfilled and even surpassed the enormous expectations that have been placed on him since being dubbed “The Chosen One” as a teenager on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
As the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, who is now in his 22nd season, LeBron certainly has the edge in sheer statistical dominance. He also has the famous 2016 comeback against Steph’s Warriors from being down 3-1, but Steph won the other three Finals matchups decisively.
Steph versus LeBron is the NBA’s greatest modern rivalry
Today’s NBA fans have been lucky to experience such an incredible rivalry that might be second only to Magic versus Bird in NBA history. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that LeBron was watching Steph shake up March Madness as a phenomenon at Davidson. The two have had countless battles, often with everything at stake, throughout their careers.
Steph’s small stature and revolutionary game has made him the perfect foil to LeBron’s physical dominance and Thanos-like inevitability, a kind of new-age David vs. Goliath story where both sides have claimed victories.
Parsons and Williams think there’s a wide chasm between LeBron and Steph, but ESPN’s Tim Legler isn’t so sure. He said on Get Up three weeks ago, “I don’t think it’s crazy” to include Steph in the GOAT conversation, because he’s such a revolutionary player who makes his teammates so much better, even when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands.
Steph and LeBron have already accomplished so much, and they may be on a collision course for another playoff matchup this year. Whatever happens, it should only solidify them as the two best players of their generation.
