While discussing the best players of the 21st century, LeBron James and Stephen Curry are two names that always come to mind. Yes, James also falls into the GOAT conversations far more often than Curry, but who made a bigger impact on the league? Steve Kerr, Curry’s coach, has a nuanced answer to that question.
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Curry carries the “greatest shooter of all time” tag with him, and even that would do injustice to what he’s done to the art of shooting in the NBA. Maybe he’s the best point guard ever too, but there are those who doubt that. James, meanwhile, is compared to Michael Jordan and regarded by many to be the best baller the league has ever seen.
Kerr feels that James and Curry, rightly, have been carrying the torch of the NBA for their entire careers. He gave his flowers to both men in a recent interview in Bay Area.
“They’ve been the torchbearers for the league throughout their careers. Both guys are just amazing symbols, players, and voices for our league,” Kerr told 95.7 The Game.
The Golden State Warriors head coach went on to talk about coaching James in the Olympics and how much of a thrill the experience was. Watching how he prepares and how hard he trains for every game was a treat for the coach, who holds a great deal of respect for the athlete. However, when it comes to changing the game, Kerr thinks that Curry has done it more than James.
“I think Steph has changed the game dramatically with the shooting, for all the reasons we know. I don’t know that LeBron has changed the game as much as Steph,” Kerr stated.
It may sound like a dig at James, but Kerr did not mean it that way at all. He simply felt that we have never seen a player as good at shooting as Curry in the NBA. When it comes to James, however, the league has seen two other players put together GOAT-level careers comparable to his.
“He sort of took the mantle from Kobe and Michael Jordan. That guy who is just head and shoulders above everybody athletically, but he’s taken it to a new level with the versatility,” Kerr said.
“I don’t know that LeBron has changed the game as much as Steph…He took the mantle from Kobe and Michael Jordan. That guy who is just head and shoulders above everybody athletically, but he’s taken it to a new level with the versatility.”
– Steve Kerr on @WillardAndDibs. pic.twitter.com/KtkEMEsLw5
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) February 28, 2026
It was all meant out of respect for LeBron. After all, Kerr compared him to two of the greatest players of all time while also noting his versatility. All of it was true.
At the end of the day, it may upset some fans of LeBron, but Kerr is right. There is a reason three pointers are ever present in the modern game. It is because Curry shoots and makes them at a rate we have never seen before. That does not mean LeBron is not the greatest player of all time. It simply means he has played the game in a way that is far more common.
