Most influential player of the 21st century

[elementally morale]

Who is it? Post 2000.
It's not a GOAT debate, not even close. The question is three-fold.



1) Which player had the biggest impact on how the game is played and going to be played the next 20-25 years?

2) Which player touched the most people watching the sport? As in: yes, this is what I want to see in basketball or in sports in general.

3) Which player was/is the best inspiration to players? As in: the way in which they approach the game (be it working on your game, effort on the floor or anything else you van think of)

[j3lademaster]

1) Curry

2) Kobe

3) Lebron

[elementally morale]

1) Curry

2) Kobe

3) Lebron

You may have just nailed it with the first answer. I'm not sure myself but for question #1 I had Curry and Jokic in mind. Question #2 is tough because it's the most subjective... you are most likely to go with the player that touched you most. (Yes, it's Kobe for me too.) I don't have the answer for Question #3. I mean I'm sure most wannabe stars want to achieve what LeBron has but I'm not sure his approach works for most people. LeBron's and Shaq's are born.

[RRR3]

Curry for strictly on court stuff. Followed by Harden.

LeBron as a personality and celebrity.

[Manny98]

1. Kobe
2. Allen Iverson
3. LeBron
4. Curry

[AlternativeAcc.]

1 - Nash

2 - LeBron

3. - LeBron



People that give credit to the rise of 3's to Curry are morons. The rise of 3's is what gave rise to a one-dimesnional player like Curry... not the other way around. The shift started with dudes like D'antoni and Morey. Nash on the Suns with D'antoni in the mid 2000's has been by far the most influential player in regards to how the game is played today. Curry would literally be a walmart manager in any prior era that didn't priortize this style of play.

[tpols]

Curry, Kobe and Lebron pretty clear cut.

[Wally450]

AI, Kobe, LeBron, Curry

[SATAN]

I feel like James Harden while undeserving of "most influential" status should get a mention. Completely mastered the art of seeing how much he could get away with without being called for a travel.

[bladefd]

Post-2000?

By your questions:
1) Curry - Between him, Klay, and Harden/D'Antoni, the game has completely changed where now centers like Jokic/Embiid work heavily on their 3s. Curry is by far the biggest of those 3.
2) LeBron - Longevity and global platform means he has touched others more than any American athlete not named Jordan. I would say he has touched even more people than Jordan due to those 2 factors I mentioned.
3) Kobe - Kobe's work ethic and electric personality is still a buzz from youngsters. He wasn't the most gifted or talent, but you knew he was probably the ĥardest worker from the top 20 all-time greats list. Without that work ethic, drive, and dedication, I don't think Kobe becomes the top 50 player of all time on most people's lists (pretty much everyone has him in top 12 all-time). He worked his ass off and became legendary that people will be talking about him 50 years later, much like Lou Gehrig is still talked about today.

Overall, it's LeBron if we have no qualifiers. He had a great career but more importantly, he was a model player through his entire career. Worked hard, longevity, legendary all-around ability, one of the greatest winners in history, and no trouble with the law. The only thing I can think of was the Hummer scandal before he was drafted, and The Decision. I would add his comments concerning Hong Kong, which was ignorant. None of it illegal tho.

[Axe]

1) Curry

2) Kobe

3) Lebron

Pretty much this for obvious reasons. Some retards here would hate lebron tho for being too dramatic, as well as supposedly 'trademarking' taco tuesday.

1 - Nash

2 - LeBron

3. - LeBron



People that give credit to the rise of 3's to Curry are morons. The rise of 3's is what gave rise to a one-dimesnional player like Curry... not the other way around. The shift started with dudes like D'antoni and Morey. Nash on the Suns with D'antoni in the mid 2000's has been by far the most influential player in regards to how the game is played today. Curry would literally be a walmart manager in any prior era that didn't priortize this style of play.

He gets the most credit out of it due to how very successful his team and peers dominated the league. And steve kerr also worked with the suns before so he instilled a lot of the offensive stuff he knew that greatly worked for them.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Pretty much this for obvious reasons.


He gets the most credit out of it due to how very successful his team and peers dominated the league. And steve kerr also worked with the suns before so he instilled a lot of the offensive stuff he knew that greatly worked for them.

The league had already shifted to a heavier 3pt assault before Curry ever had his breakout season. He didn't change the game, the game changed and he was the main beneficiary. He would be a UPS driver in any other era...

And yes, Kerrs experience with the Suns was pivotal. He implemented the offensive style and with the help of Dray actually coupled that with elite defenses. Shame they never actually won a legit title though.

[bladefd]

1 - Nash

2 - LeBron

3. - LeBron



People that give credit to the rise of 3's to Curry are morons. The rise of 3's is what gave rise to a one-dimesnional player like Curry... not the other way around. The shift started with dudes like D'antoni and Morey. Nash on the Suns with D'antoni in the mid 2000's has been by far the most influential player in regards to how the game is played today. Curry would literally be a walmart manager in any prior era that didn't priortize this style of play.

Yes, Nash/D'Antoni together in Phoenix were the first, but that combo was a failure until Curry/Warriors came along. People were saying that D'Antoni style would never win championships and was openly mocked as a gimmick for several years after Suns broke apart. Curry took it to another level beyond anything Suns, and proved that it works by winning multiple championships using that style. You can't forget that point.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Yes, Nash/D'Antoni together in Phoenix were the first, but that combo was a failure until Curry/Warriors came along. People were saying that D'Antoni style would never win championships and was openly mocked as a gimmick after Suns broke apart. Curry took it to another level beyond anything Suns, and proved that it works by winning multiple championships using that style. You can't forget that point.

Warriors had the number 1 defense in 15 in large part due to Dray/Iggy. They also never actually won a legit title. in 15 they "won", barely dragging across the finish line because Cavs were without 2 of their best 3 players. Then they begged Durant to form the most loaded team ever after choking in '16. But DEFENSE was a huge part of the success, and had nothing to do with Curry, actually it was in spite of currys atrocious defense. 3 point prevelence was up massively by the time the Warriors were even contenders.

So no, Curry didn't change the game, that is a massive misconception that casuals throw around.

[bladefd]

Warriors had the number 1 defense in 15 in large part due to Dray/Iggy. They also never actually won a legit title. in 15 they "won", barely dragging across the finish line because Cavs were without 2 of their best 3 players. Then they begged Durant to form the most loaded team ever after choking in '16. But DEFENSE was a huge part of the success, and had nothing to do with Curry, actually it was in spite of currys atrocious defense. 3 point prevelence was up massively by the time the Warriors were even contenders.

So no, Curry didn't change the game, that is a massive misconception that casuals throw around.

I stopped reading there.

It's obvious to me it's emotion-driven for you. So, we stop there.