How high will Curry finish on the GOAT list?

[Ca$H]

Magic > Curry as a defender.

And I've read that Russell was actually a good offensive centre until the league's development essentially left him and his skill set behind, at which point he cut down on his offensive game in terms of shooting to focus on his strengths (he was apparently a good passer/ballhandler). I would consider someone like Ben Wallace to be a true one way player, Russell seems to have been much more than that.

[feyki]

Magic > Curry as a defender.

And I've read that Russell was actually a good offensive centre until the league's development essentially left him and his skill set behind, at which point he cut down on his offensive game in terms of shooting to focus on his strengths (he was apparently a good passer/ballhandler). I would consider someone like Ben Wallace to be a true one way player, Russell seems to have been much more than that.

Magic is underrated defender . He had solid perimeter defence . Curry is like Ivy . He has only nasty steals and quickness on half court defence .


Bill Russell had great playmaking for his position . He had boards and some buckets too . He is underrated offensive player . He wasn't on Shaq or Kareem or Wilt level but he wasn't on Ben,Mutombo level too .

[scm5]

Curry is an underrated defender, it's criminal.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/GSW/2016.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/GSW/2015.html

If you look at his stats, Curry has the lowest defensive rating of any perimeter player on his team. Watch the games, Curry's footwork allows him to stay in front of his man, and he never takes a possession off. He's consistent with his defense and he's a good defender.

Sure, he might not be a versatile defender, but he's a good defender at his possession. It seems swingmen get hyped up as defenders because they can guard multiple positions, but Curry is guarding arguably the deepest position currently in the NBA. Give the man some credit, he's a good defender!

[guy]

Problem with him is his career before last season doesn't really count for much in a GOAT argument cause he wasn't that great, and he's already 28. But he's playing at an unbelievable level. If he leads the warriors to a 90s Bulls like dynasty with this level of play, he's probably right under Jordan, Russell, and Kareem for me. If he's not that great but leads the warriors to a few more titles with some level of his current dominance, he's somewhere on the level of the consensus top 11 making it a consensus top 12.

[greatest-ever]

I'd say best case scenario is top 15, but more likely 16-20. I think he hit this level at too late in his career to go any higher, plus his d isn't anything more than average.

[redhonda76]

It all depends on what he does the next 4-5 years. There are levels to greatness. Right now, he's playing at a GOAT level. If he keeps this up, wins a few more rings, MVPs and FMVPs, he can end up in the high rent district.

One big factor in his favor is that he was unique. No one did it quite like him. So his ability to revolutionize the game carries additional weight.

I agreed. If Curry can win 3 more rings and produce this high level for the next 5 years, he would without a doubt be top 5 ever in my book. The funny thing is that I believe he can keep this up. Curry doesn't need to rely on any athleticism because he's got high bball IQ and fundamentals.

Curry's uncanny shooting is as unique as Shaq physical dominance and Jordan's fadeaway. He's a shooting guard with point guard skills or point guard with shooting guard skills. Curry is just that special.

[kshutts1]

What Curry has been doing is absolutely phenomenal, and historical. But I can't help but think that there's a large part of his success that's due to this era being a perfect match for his skills, and his team being a perfect match for his skills.

As in... More than perhaps any other player, EVER, he's in the perfect situation to succeed. The man literally takes more than half his shots from behind the arc. And that's fine, because he's the greatest to ever shoot 3s in the NBA.

I realize he has no control over the rules of the league in which he plays, nor does he realistically control with whom he plays. And perhaps I'm just biased, because I hate his overly joyous celebrations, and I really hate the hyperbole that one and a half amazing seasons creates. But those are just factors that I can't, or won't, currently look beyond.

[coin24]

One more ring and higher than lebaldo

[HylianNightmare]

2.

[Elosha]

When we are talking about GOAT players, we have to consider the entire career, both from an accolades standpoint, team success standpoint, and a statistical standpoint. If, (and that's still a big if) Curry can win several more championships, MVP's, Finals MVP's, break/tie the Bulls record, he will certainly be in the top 10, maybe in the top 5 range or even higher. But despite his incredible peak performance this year, (and last year) I hesitate to say he has a good chance of being the number one GOAT. In his first 5 years he was a very good player, a star when not injured, but clearly NOT a GOAT calibur player, nor did he have great playoff success prior to last year.

Now I know he was subject to a number of injuries in his first 5 years (which unfortunately actually penalized him in GOAT conversations) and coaching turbulence with the Mark Jackson fiasco. But every player faces huge obstacles. This is his career regular season numbers to date.

21.8 ppg, 47.5% FG 44.3% 3P, 90.2% FT, 6.9 Assists, 4.2 rpg, 1.8 spg, 0.2 bpg.


Really very good/all star numbers but not close to GOAT. Of course the caveat is that if Curry continues to play at the current/comparable level for the next 5-6 years, his career numbers, particularly scoring, will steadily increase. Perhaps he could end up averaging 25 ppg for his career.

It is a very big point in his favor that in the playoffs he elevates his scoring to 25.9 ppg and ups his assists to 7.3 ppg, albeit on a bit less offensive efficiency overall. Still he's made the playoffs in (only) three of his first 6 seasons and done extremely well overall individually and having the success of his first championship in only his third playoff run. Thus far in his career, it seems he can really elevate his game in the playoffs.

If he is the primary catalyst in establishing a dynasty in Golden State and wins multiple individual accolades, AND continues his statistical dominance/career improvement, I'd even say he has an outside chance of being all time number one GOAT. But pretty much all other truly GOAT candidates were individually dominant from the very beginning of their careers which gives them an advantage over - and sets them apart from - Curry.

No doubt he's putting on one of the best seasons of all-time thus far. The sky's the limit for him, and it will be fun watching him try to reach it.

[Duffy Pratt]

He is one injury away from being just below Bill Walton. At the end of this year, he might pass Walton.

And you can start arguing now about peak years, assuming that we are seeing his peak now. But even that is not certain. At the end of last year, how many people were saying that we should wait until this year to see how good he can get. There is still room for improvement in his overall game.

People really need to calm down about these GOAT discussions. Basketball is a team game, it's not an excuse for individuals to advance themselves on some imaginary GOAT ladder.

[tmacattack33]

What Curry has been doing is absolutely phenomenal, and historical. But I can't help but think that there's a large part of his success that's due to this era being a perfect match for his skills, and his team being a perfect match for his skills.

As in... More than perhaps any other player, EVER, he's in the perfect situation to succeed. The man literally takes more than half his shots from behind the arc. And that's fine, because he's the greatest to ever shoot 3s in the NBA.

I realize he has no control over the rules of the league in which he plays, nor does he realistically control with whom he plays. And perhaps I'm just biased, because I hate his overly joyous celebrations, and I really hate the hyperbole that one and a half amazing seasons creates. But those are just factors that I can't, or won't, currently look beyond.

If there were no 3's then nobody would guard anybody beyond like 18 feet...except for Stephen Curry.

So, he would still be unique.

[Just2McFly]

Y'all n*ggas wilding the f*ck out.... TOP 10 is a reach tbh.

[dhsilv]

This is his 3rd top tier season, despite not getting credit for that first year. Anyway, at his age and where he is...he's got a lot of do. It's going to be an interesting couple of years run. Way way too early to make guesses on this.

[RoseCity07]

If he wins enough titles and mvps he could be number 1. He's a dominant player. If he carries his team like this his whole career he could be the best.