We throw the word GOAT around a lot these days to describe any outstanding athlete. Do we always mean that he or she is the actual greatest of all time at what they do? Not necessarily. In the case of Stephen Curry, though, there really can be no debate that he’s the greatest shooter of all time, the undisputed GOAT.
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Steph has completely revolutionized the game, and there are very few athletes who can make that claim. He brought about the 3-point revolution with his ability to expand the court, and though imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there’s still no beating the original.
Part 2 of Steph’s Mind the Game appearance came out this morning, and in it, LeBron James spoke about what makes Steph unlike any shooter that has come before him, and he did it by using a cross-sport comparison to someone else with a legitimate claim to being the GOAT.
“Me and a few of our friends, we’ve got a group chat, and we were talking about [Shohei] Ohtani the other night,” LeBron said. “And one of our friends, he said, ‘If I sent y’all a message and said that a guy struck out 10 batters in an NLCS,’ you guys would be like, ‘Oh, that was a hell of a game by that pitcher, wow.'”
“‘And then if I sent a separate text and said in that same game, another guy came in and had three home runs in that same game. No, the same guy did that. He did both of those. What makes Steph one of the most dangerous players of all time is the fact that you’re gonna get it in so many different ways.
LeBron then described the myriad ways Steph could beat you, from getting down the court in transition, to taking advantage of a defense sagging off him, to using screens to find a crease that he can exploit. What really sets the Warriors’ sharpshooter apart, though, is his ability to make things happen off the ball. His motor never stops.
Putting himself in Steph’s shoes, LeBron said, “I’m getting off the ball, and it’s gonna find me because the energy that I’m gonna drag out for our team and for the fear of our opponent, it makes him the greatest shooter of all time and one of the greatest threats in NBA history.” Earlier in the discussion, he paid him the highest praise by saying that every time Steph shoots it, no matter where he is or how difficult the shot is, LeBron believes it’s going in.
LeBron and Steph have had so many legendary battles over the years, and without a doubt, they’re our greatest modern basketball rivalry, just as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were in the ’80s. In many ways, LeBron is like a modern version of Magic, while Steph is the modern version of Bird. Just like those two, they finally got to team up to win Olympic gold later in their careers.
We hear the old guard griping often about how today’s players are too friendly with each other and that there’s not enough competitiveness and even hostility in this generation. LeBron and Steph are proof that we can have our cake and eat it too, as they’ve waged some epic wars on the court, yet still have the ultimate respect for one another that they can sit down and have an incredibly nuanced and honest discussion about the game. Every basketball fan would be wise to check out their conversation.
