An all-time great? Hold off bit on that accolade for Curry
The Warriors' star ranks fourth on one list of the all-time best point guards -- which several NBA legends say is too high a spot.
Top four?
Ahead of the likes of Isiah Thomas, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd,
Chris Paul, Clyde Frazier and a litany of other all-time great NBA point guards and some -- Tiny Archibald, Gary Payton,
Tony Parker and so many more -- who didn't even make the top 10? That's a lofty position for reigning the Kia MVP (and this season's frontrunner)
Stephen Curry, who could very well be in the early stages of a career that could see him climb that list of all-time greats one day.
But ESPN.com's ranking of the top 10 players all-time at every position,
which began with the point guard list Tuesday, has stirred things up for not only fans, pundits and casual observers, but for the men who starred at the position in the past. And that includes some of the other luminaries on the list, namely the man on top of the list, Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers' legend Magic Johnson. He immediately voiced his objection, via Twitter, to any list that has Hall of Famer John Stockton (No. 3) and Curry ahead of Thomas (No. 5).
Magic has a valid point. Curry, as great as he's been the last season and a half, remains a work in progress. And so should his status among the game's all-time greats.
"It's ridiculous, just ridiculous," TNT and NBA TV analyst Chris Webber
said on ESPN Radio Thursday. "When you talk about point guards, I'd have to say Big O (Oscar Robertson, who was No. 2 on the list), Magic and Isiah. It's that simple. Isiah's won two championships ... he's one of the best small guards ever. I don't even think it's close.
"You have to look at Isiah's college career, where he won a championship. The leadership, the ballhandling. He was
Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry. "Steph Curry, in my opinion, is the most talented guard I've ever seen, I mean skill-wise he may be the best dribbler and he may be the best shooter.
He may be the best [one day], but you can't be the best until he does it for years. Two years of doing it does not make you the best. I don't care if someone averages 40 for two years, that doesn't make you best. Longevity is what speaks for your career."
NBA TV analyst Greg Anthony, who starred at the position in both college and the NBA, agrees with Magic and his NBA TV Fan Night counterpart Webber. He cautions anyone ready to anoint Curry as an all-time great to slow down, especially since Curry has so much of his career still ahead of him.
You have to look at Isiah's college career, where he won a championship. The leadership, the ballhandling. He was Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry.– Chris Webber, on Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas
As otherworldly as Curry has been this season, Anthony said he's not even sure Curry is the Warriors' "most valuable player" this season. "In basketball, one player has more impact than in any other team sport, because you only play five at a time and you have to play both ways," Anthony said. "So any (MVP list) will typically include all of the top guys, and Steph's going to be on that list. But I've said this before, Steph Curry is probably the MVP of the league, at least to this point of the season, but
Draymond Green is the MVP of their team. Because of the way they play, he allows Steph to play the way that he does. The functionality of your team, impact on both ends, how people have to gameplan against you and a whole host of things go into it. Now the reality is, that's my criteria. Yours might be totally different."
Thomas just smiled when informed of the names on the list ahead of and behind him. He had nothing but praise for Curry and said he appreciated Magic coming to his defense. Then he paused, looked up at the ceiling and raised another valid point.
"What about Tony Parker?" he said. "He's been the best point guard of his era, the most accomplished, by far ... if he's not on the list, I don't know what to say."
NB: to all of you Curry fanatics, one thing you pretend to ignore in my posts is this: I haven't said Curry isn't the best player in the game at the moment (last 1.5 seasons), I have said couple of times, the dude is talented, VERY TALENTED. The only thing that I don't agree with you is saying he is the best in NBA history. As most of the conscious pundits, former players, fans and supporters of the game say, IT IS TOO EARLY to have such a judgement. I have been saying this a million times: Curry needs to do what has been doing in the past 1.5 seasons CONSISTENTLY. I repeat AGAIN, CONSISTENCE is what defines GREATNESS. Let him do that for over five seasons or more (though he will be 28 soon, but, he still has more than 5 seasons of playing, if nothing happens to him), and then we discuss this over again, in God's willing.
