Worst Defender: Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson

[Stanley Kobrick]

who do you think is the worst defender

[dbugz]

AI might not be a good man to man defender but he's excellent when it comes on defending the passing lanes.

He once averaged almost 3 steals per game in 3 consecutive seasons.

[MrFonzworth]

Nash then Curry

AI isn't in the same category.

[Smoke117]

AI might not be a good man to man defender but he's excellent when it comes on defending the passing lanes.

He once averaged almost 3 steals per game in 3 consecutive seasons.

Actually, part of what made Iverson a poor defender is that he would constantly just jump into the passing lanes whether it was a good idea or not and was regularly putting his teams defense off balance. Iverson is definitely not a good example for steals equaling good defense.

And as far as worst defender...Nash.

[LAmbruh]

Nash + Curry neck n neck 2 of the worst defenders all time


imma give the edge to Curry as worst since he blew a 3-1 lead and Nash overcame a 3-1 lead to Kobe

[72-10]

clearly the mop top Nash

and I've got to say that despite how overblown Iverson's steals numbers were relative to his defensive impact due to tangibles such as gambling on defense like all the prolific steals artists have and baiting the offensive player to get the defensive stat, he's the better defender than Curry, and of course some of Curry's defensive shortcomings are largely attributable to his lacking in the vertical leap dept., where Iverson has him soundly beaten, which isn't quite as tangible as an approach to the game

[warriorfan]

clearly the mop top Nash

and I've got to say that despite how overblown Iverson's steals numbers were relative to his defensive impact due to tangibles such as gambling on defense like all the prolific steals artists have and baiting the offensive player to get the defensive stat, he's the better defender than Curry, and of course some of Curry's defensive shortcomings are largely attributable to his lacking in the vertical leap dept., where Iverson has him soundly beaten, which isn't quite as tangible as an approach to the game

How often are point guards exerting their max vert on defense? I don’t know if you can find any individual metric that has Iverson over Curry. Team wise Iverson has some good defensive stats due to playing on a slow paced and defensive oriented team. This has inflated some of Iversons defensive advanced stats while somewhat dampening his offensive stats. Curry is the better defender and offensive player though.

[ImKobe]

clearly the mop top Nash

and I've got to say that despite how overblown Iverson's steals numbers were relative to his defensive impact due to tangibles such as gambling on defense like all the prolific steals artists have and baiting the offensive player to get the defensive stat, he's the better defender than Curry, and of course some of Curry's defensive shortcomings are largely attributable to his lacking in the vertical leap dept., where Iverson has him soundly beaten, which isn't quite as tangible as an approach to the game

Curry has shown the ability to play some defense in the Playoffs if we're being honest, he did a great job on Westbrook in that Game 6 comeback. I think AI and Steph are pretty much a wash, though Steph has a slight edge due to him being a little bigger than Iverson. Metrics show that Curry wasn't as bad as people make him out to be, quite often he was on the better end of DRTG on those Warriors' championship teams, even ahead of Klay and Durant in 2018. He's no IT.

[Stanley Kobrick]

clearly the mop top Nash

and I've got to say that despite how overblown Iverson's steals numbers were relative to his defensive impact due to tangibles such as gambling on defense like all the prolific steals artists have and baiting the offensive player to get the defensive stat, he's the better defender than Curry, and of course some of Curry's defensive shortcomings are largely attributable to his lacking in the vertical leap dept., where Iverson has him soundly beaten, which isn't quite as tangible as an approach to the game
i agree with you 72-10

[Axe]

Nash + Curry neck n neck 2 of the worst defenders all time


imma give the edge to Curry as worst since he blew a 3-1 lead and Nash overcame a 3-1 lead to Kobe
I thought this has more to do with their teams rather than their defensive capabilities

[Jasper]

all three players were not necessarily weak , but used their footwork to accomplish disruption or steals.
man on man Curry looks absolutely horrible , but he is a 'A type' of the above.
Iverson was hands down a harder worker than the above 2 on the defensive end. However when he was posted up - he was toast.
How many of you remember Iverson coming from weak side and blocking a shoot ???? Dude had tons of lift.
Steals :
Nash career less than 1
Curry career 1.7 best 2 (2015)
Iverson career 2.2 best 3 (2001)

[Jasper]

Curry has shown the ability to play some defense in the Playoffs if we're being honest, he did a great job on Westbrook in that Game 6 comeback. I think AI and Steph are pretty much a wash, though Steph has a slight edge due to him being a little bigger than Iverson. Metrics show that Curry wasn't as bad as people make him out to be, quite often he was on the better end of DRTG on those Warriors' championship teams, even ahead of Klay and Durant in 2018. He's no IT.
what the fvck

[Phoenix]

I don't see how you can vote for anyone but Nash here. Even with something like steals, while not necessarily an indication of great defense, at least you're getting possessions for your team to counteract the chance of a gamble not working out. Nash averaged less than a steal a game over his career. Wasn't a man defender or much of a team one. .1 blocks a game. I don't see a metric that shows that he had any defensive presence.

[Shogon]

Nash < Iverson < Curry

[GreatHILL]

Currywurst plays in the Era with zero defense

[ImKobe]

what the fvck

What? Defensively, they are in a similar class. Both decent team defenders but obviously not great in isolation, both had great defenses around them in their primes which masked their weaknesses on that end.

[Wally450]

Crazy when Curry is the best defender in a trio of players. :lol

[tpols]

Worst to Best


Nash

Iverson



Curry

[tpols]

and of course some of Curry's defensive shortcomings are largely attributable to his lacking in the vertical leap dept., where Iverson has him soundly beaten

What lmao... what defense did iverson play leaping?

[Smoke117]

What? Defensively, they are in a similar class. Both decent team defenders but obviously not great in isolation, both had great defenses around them in their primes which masked their weaknesses on that end.

Curry is. Iverson isn't. As I pointed out before...Iverson was constantly putting his teams defense's off balance.

Curry in general isn't even particularly bad. We only get that narrative because of Lebron stans.

[tpols]

Iverson was retarded on both ends... is what it comes down to.

[Smoke117]

What lmao... what defense did iverson play leaping?

This is a guy who thinks Payton was the 6th best defensive player of all time...so what do you expect? :confusedshrug:

[72-10]

well to be frank I overstated any impact Iverson's superior leaping ability gave him defensively, but on a separate point I think anyone could see Iverson tried harder defensively than Curry

[dankok8]

Nash actually led the league in charges drawn at one point and was always near the top. He wasn't nearly as bad on defense as people are insinuating.

With that being said, Iverson is clearly the best of the three and then it's a wash between Curry and Nash. Curry also isn't as bad as people are suggesting.

[Pitbull]

While there is an argument over which player is trashier as defender. As a coach , at least its 100% Steve Nash.

[fantasy]

Point guards usually are terrible defenders. But AI was a bad defender while playing shooting guard, it must be him.

[Phoenix]

Curry being a bad defender has always been a bit overblown to me. He's no worse than solid for the most part over the past few years. Hell, with how much this dude runs around on offense the fact that he has any energy to even play average defense is amazing in and of itself.

[fantasy]

Curry being a bad defender has always been a bit overblown to me. He's no worse than solid for the most part over the past few years. Hell, with how much this dude runs around on offense the fact that he has any energy to even play average defense is amazing in and of itself.

HE IS a Point guard, you don't expect him to be good defensively like center or rim protectors.

[Phoenix]

HE IS a Point guard, you don't expect him to be good defensively like center or rim protectors.

Not sure what any of that has to do with what I said.

[fantasy]

Not sure what any of that has to do with what I said.

Backing up, on curry being bad defender is overblown.

[fantasy]

That's why I pick Iverson because Iverson requires a point guard next to him. Unless your point guard is Lebron James, Magic Johnson.Someone with height.

[Phoenix]

Backing up, on curry being bad defender is overblown.

He's not a bad defender, at least to where I would consider him a liabiilty. Not sure what you're trying to argue here.