Curry Could Be the Shortest Player to Crack the Top Ten

[Full Court]

I know a few of you already have Curry in the top ten, but I don't think he's cracked it quite yet. However, if he wins the championship this season and gets his second FMVP, that puts him in the top ten in my mind.

One interesting thing though, if that happens, he'll be the shortest player in the top ten. For reference, here are the heights of the players that most people rank in or around the top ten:

Jordan - 6'6
Russell - 6'10
Wilt - 7'1
Kareem - 7'2
Bird - 6'9
Magic - 6'9
Shaq - 7'1
Duncan - 6'11
Hakeem - 7'0
Lebron - 6'9
Mikan - 6'10
Kobe - 6'6


At 6'2, Steph would be far and away the shortest player in the top 10. Love him or hate him, that's quite an accomplishment.

[RRR3]

Who the **** ranks Mikan top 10?

Change that to Hakeem

[Full Court]

Who the **** ranks Mikan top 10?

Change that to Hakeem

Good catch. Edited and added Hakeem.

[SouBeachTalents]

Even more amazing than that, the guys resume at 26 was absolutely nothing.

One All-NBA selection
One All-Star selection
One top 10 MVP finish
Two playoff appearances
One playoff series win

How he managed to turn that into a fringe top 10 career in 8 seasons, including missing an entire year due to injury, is absolutely extraordinary.

[Spurs m8]

Op, does this knock LeBarry out of the top 10?(if you have him there at the moment)

[Axe]

The point of making this thread is absolutely none other than to rave how hating on a 'fringe top 10 player' of all-time can lead you to bandwagon for another superstar despite not having any history of cheering for him a year ago. Cringe.

1*

[FultzNationRISE]

Who the **** ranks Mikan top 10?

Change that to Hakeem


Anyone who isnt willing to factor in the competition of the era.

In other words every Lehater basically.

They should all have a top 10 that looks like Russell at number 1, Hondo number 2, KC Jones number 3, Horry number 4, Mike and Scottie tied at 5/6 etc

At least if they wanna be consistent with the criteria they use to knock Bron.

But gee, somehow they conveniently discard the necessity of making SENSE if it suits their agenda. Imagine that! :hammerhead:

Actually, their basketball views are a lot like your political views in that way.

[HoopsNY]

Steph might actually be one of the hardest players to rank all time. On the one hand, he doesn't seem like a top 10 player. He lacks defensive ability, played on a super-duper-team with KD where KD won 2 FMVPs on his watch, and he didn't win FMVP until last year's finals, giving him a grand total of 1 FMVP in 6 finals appearances.

But talk about a player who is not only the greatest shooter of all-time, but revolutionized the game. While KD did win FMVP both years playing alongside Steph, it was Steph who received the most defensive attention, which gave KD a lot more spacing and free looks.

Steph and GS developed a solid offensive system that is unmatched. He's arguably the greatest off the ball weapon you can have because of his ability to catch and shoot, catch-dribble-shoot, catch-dribble-fake-shoot, or catch-dribble-fake-pass....from anywhere on the court.

The entire basketball world has changed because of Steph. The three pointer? That's cause of Steph....not MJ, not LeBron, not even Bird, Reggie, or Allen. The three from the logo? That's 'cause of Steph. Now I'm not saying he's the greatest player of all time, but his career and playing style is so unique and it really makes you wonder where he should be placed in the rankings.

Is Magic really > Steph? Sure, Steph played on super-teams by design, but do we really know that GS wouldn't have won the title in 2017 or 2018 without KD? Intuition tells me no, but intuition also tells me that they probably could have won it, too. And what did Magic win without Kareem anyway?

Is Kobe really > Steph? How about Wilt? Or even Bird?

[Axe]

Steph might actually be one of the hardest players to rank all time. On the one hand, he doesn't seem like a top 10 player. He lacks defensive ability, played on a super-duper-team with KD where KD won 2 FMVPs on his watch, and he didn't win FMVP until last year's finals, giving him a grand total of 1 FMVP in 6 finals appearances.

But talk about a player who is not only the greatest shooter of all-time, but revolutionized the game. While KD did win FMVP both years playing alongside Steph, it was Steph who received the most defensive attention, which gave KD a lot more spacing and free looks.

Steph and GS developed a solid offensive system that is unmatched. He's arguably the greatest off the ball weapon you can have because of his ability to catch and shoot, catch-dribble-shoot, catch-dribble-fake-shoot, or catch-dribble-fake-pass....from anywhere on the court.

The entire basketball world has changed because of Steph. The three pointer? That's cause of Steph....not MJ, not LeBron, not even Bird, Reggie, or Allen. The three from the logo? That's 'cause of Steph. Now I'm not saying he's the greatest player of all time, but his career and playing style is so unique and it really makes you wonder where he should be placed in the rankings.

Is Magic really > Steph? Sure, Steph played on super-teams by design, but do we really know that GS wouldn't have won the title in 2017 or 2018 without KD? Intuition tells me no, but intuition also tells me that they probably could have won it, too. And what did Magic win without Kareem anyway?

Is Kobe really > Steph? How about Wilt? Or even Bird?
Once you really think of it, steve kerr has become a crucial part of chef's career. He just wouldn't be the same decorated player he is today without him.

[HoopsNY]

Once you really think of it, steve kerr has become a crucial part of chef's career. He just wouldn't be the same decorated player he is today without him.

That is very true. Just like Phil/Tex were to MJ, Popovich to Duncan, Rudy T to Hakeem, and Phil to Kobe.

[1987_Lakers]

I know a few of you already have Curry in the top ten, but I don't think he's cracked it quite yet. However, if he wins the championship this season and gets his second FMVP, that puts him in the top ten in my mind.

One interesting thing though, if that happens, he'll be the shortest player in the top ten. For reference, here are the heights of the players that most people rank in or around the top ten:

Jordan - 6'6
Russell - 6'10
Wilt - 7'1
Kareem - 7'2
Bird - 6'9
Magic - 6'9
Shaq - 7'1
Duncan - 6'11
Hakeem - 7'0
Lebron - 6'9
Mikan - 6'10
Kobe - 6'6


At 6'2, Steph would be far and away the shortest player in the top 10. Love him or hate him, that's quite an accomplishment.

Hakeem was not 7 feet tall, I know that is his listed height, but he was 6'10". Magic was also 2 inches shorter than his listed height, he is 6'7".

Bill Walton is one of the few players I know that is taller than his listed height. Measured at 6'11", some reports say he was 7'2".

[FultzNationRISE]

Steph might actually be one of the hardest players to rank all time. On the one hand, he doesn't seem like a top 10 player. He lacks defensive ability, played on a super-duper-team with KD where KD won 2 FMVPs on his watch, and he didn't win FMVP until last year's finals, giving him a grand total of 1 FMVP in 6 finals appearances.

But talk about a player who is not only the greatest shooter of all-time, but revolutionized the game. While KD did win FMVP both years playing alongside Steph, it was Steph who received the most defensive attention, which gave KD a lot more spacing and free looks.

Steph and GS developed a solid offensive system that is unmatched. He's arguably the greatest off the ball weapon you can have because of his ability to catch and shoot, catch-dribble-shoot, catch-dribble-fake-shoot, or catch-dribble-fake-pass....from anywhere on the court.

The entire basketball world has changed because of Steph. The three pointer? That's cause of Steph....not MJ, not LeBron, not even Bird, Reggie, or Allen. The three from the logo? That's 'cause of Steph. Now I'm not saying he's the greatest player of all time, but his career and playing style is so unique and it really makes you wonder where he should be placed in the rankings.

Is Magic really > Steph? Sure, Steph played on super-teams by design, but do we really know that GS wouldn't have won the title in 2017 or 2018 without KD? Intuition tells me no, but intuition tells me that they probably could have won it, too. And what did Magic win without Kareem anyway?

Is Kobe really > Steph? How about Wilt? Or even Bird?

I think jump shooters tend to see more drop off in the playoffs than other guys. You can see this in Larry Bird's numbers too I believe, and Kobe's (Kobe lit up the defensively poor west but struggled against hard nosed eastern conference finals teams). Dirk also had his struggles in between finals appearances. In general games are more physical, and theres more scheming, so that a guy who's used to going off from outside in the regular season isnt getting the same quality of looks as before and his effectiveness dips. In the regular season Matthew Delavadova isnt dehydrating himself hounding you all over the court. In the playoffs, he is. Shane Battier hasnt been studying film of all your tendencies for four hours before tip off, but in the playoffs he is.

Whereas guys you can just hand the ball to and they really cant be stopped regardless, like Shaq, Duncan, Lebron etc dont see as much drop off.

So from the perspective of guys youd want in a playoff series (which is how I rank players)... is Curry top 10? Definitely no.

If you strictly compare "resumes," is he top 10? I dunno. Youd have to ask the less analytically inclined people who use such measures.

Is Lebron the GOAT no matter which way you slice it?

Absolutely.

[Round Mound]

MJ and Kobe also are not 6´6 ft they are 6'4 and 3/4 ft.

[Full Court]

Op, does this knock LeBarry out of the top 10?(if you have him there at the moment)

If Curry wins another FMVP, that'll put him over Bronie in my book. I don't have him there quite yet though.

[Stephonit]

The inferior player surpassed by a midget! D'oh!

[Round Mound]

Magic did play on superteams but lets remember that he had 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in game 6 of the 1980 nba finals vs the Sixers without Kareem. And Magic was only a 20 year old rookie.

[LeGoat4Life]

Op, does this knock LeBarry out of the top 10?(if you have him there at the moment)

I have curry above Lebron since 2018

The general consensus has chef dingo higher than Lebron

[Full Court]

The point of making this thread is absolutely none other than to rave how hating on a 'fringe top 10 player' of all-time can lead you to bandwagon for another superstar despite not having any history of cheering for him a year ago. Cringe.

1*

Imagine being so emotionally fragile that you take a thread about Curry as threatening to your hero. :lol

I N S E C U R E

[Axe]

. (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTamwC_vJaD3PaVre0nCkFrIy79HS5Vl ieMDw&usqp=CAU)

[Full Court]

I have curry above Lebron since 2018

The general consensus has chef dingo higher than Lebron

That's a fair assessment. And probably why the Bronies are so insecure about Curry.

[Hey Yo]

Magic did play on superteams but lets remember that he had 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in game 6 of the 1980 nba finals vs the Sixers without Kareem. And Magic was only a 20 year old rookie.

Remember also.....teammate, Jamaal Wilkes put up 37-10 in that game 6. Magic definitely wasn't a one man band that night.

[Hey Yo]

Who the **** ranks Mikan top 10?

Someone who copy and pasted that list from a different site and has no idea who George Mikan is.

[Sulico]

Steph's resume will be stronger and stronger with every year. Right now the media underrates him to highlight how great Lebron is, because Lebron brings money.
You ask any media talking head, who's been greater from 2014 to 2022, most of them would answer Lebron. You ask them for another example in history, player A being better than player B, player A having 0 MVPs and 2 chips, player B - 2 MVPs and 4 chips, they would change the subject.
Lebron brings money, Jordan too, nothing wrong with constantly sucking up to them to feed your family. But in 20 years, when that's not the case, Curry might be higher in the ratings.

[WhiteKyrie]

I think jump shooters tend to see more drop off in the playoffs than other guys. You can see this in Larry Bird's numbers too I believe, and Kobe's (Kobe lit up the defensively poor west but struggled against hard nosed eastern conference finals teams). Dirk also had his struggles in between finals appearances. In general games are more physical, and theres more scheming, so that a guy who's used to going off from outside in the regular season isnt getting the same quality of looks as before and his effectiveness dips. In the regular season Matthew Delavadova isnt dehydrating himself hounding you all over the court. In the playoffs, he is. Shane Battier hasnt been studying film of all your tendencies for four hours before tip off, but in the playoffs he is.
This, this is actually pretty accurate. It’s also why Wade torched the same Pistons team Kobe struggled with. Kobe settled for jumpers with long arm Prince contesting, meanwhile Flash said eff this and got to the rim and destroyed the defense from the inside - out.

[Stephonit]

Steph's resume will be stronger and stronger with every year. Right now the media underrates him to highlight how great Lebron is, because Lebron brings money.
You ask any media talking head, who's been greater from 2014 to 2022, most of them would answer Lebron. You ask them for another example in history, player A being better than player B, player A having 0 MVPs and 2 chips, player B - 2 MVPs and 4 chips, they would change the subject.
Lebron brings money, Jordan too, nothing wrong with constantly sucking up to them to feed your family. But in 20 years, when that's not the case, Curry might be higher in the ratings.

At this point it's more to protect the reputations of their biggest advertisers' marquee brands. Curry should already be well within the top 10. A dynastic team like the Warriors without a representative is anomalous. It's probably one of the clearest signs of media manipulation in popular culture. If Curry leads his team to another championship he should be clear top 5. Curry's achievements would be stronger than anyone else at 5 rings. At 6 rings it appears most people on this site will be faced with an existential question.

[Full Court]

Someone who copy and pasted that list from a different site and has no idea who George Mikan is.

You should stop making a fool out of yourself. If it was a copy and pasted list, I wouldn't have originally forgotten Hakeem.

Mikan arguably changed the game more than anyone else who's ever played. All time rankings are subjective, but you can make a case for Mikan.

[hold this L]

Steph might actually be one of the hardest players to rank all time. On the one hand, he doesn't seem like a top 10 player. He lacks defensive ability, played on a super-duper-team with KD where KD won 2 FMVPs on his watch, and he didn't win FMVP until last year's finals, giving him a grand total of 1 FMVP in 6 finals appearances.

But talk about a player who is not only the greatest shooter of all-time, but revolutionized the game. While KD did win FMVP both years playing alongside Steph, it was Steph who received the most defensive attention, which gave KD a lot more spacing and free looks.

Steph and GS developed a solid offensive system that is unmatched. He's arguably the greatest off the ball weapon you can have because of his ability to catch and shoot, catch-dribble-shoot, catch-dribble-fake-shoot, or catch-dribble-fake-pass....from anywhere on the court.

The entire basketball world has changed because of Steph. The three pointer? That's cause of Steph....not MJ, not LeBron, not even Bird, Reggie, or Allen. The three from the logo? That's 'cause of Steph. Now I'm not saying he's the greatest player of all time, but his career and playing style is so unique and it really makes you wonder where he should be placed in the rankings.

Is Magic really > Steph? Sure, Steph played on super-teams by design, but do we really know that GS wouldn't have won the title in 2017 or 2018 without KD? Intuition tells me no, but intuition also tells me that they probably could have won it, too. And what did Magic win without Kareem anyway?

Is Kobe really > Steph? How about Wilt? Or even Bird?
Steph playing with KD for 2 full post seasons is one of the most bizarre negatives I've seen. 2 of the top 4 GOAT players literally won 10/11 titles playing together. If someone wants to bring up the fact that it bothers people that KD joined and it shouldn't count as much, I better see Magic and Kareem as 9-10th best each. Keep that same energy.

At this point it's more to protect the reputations of their biggest advertisers' marquee brands. Curry should already be well within the top 10. A dynastic team like the Warriors without a representative is anomalous. It's probably one of the clearest signs of media manipulation in popular culture. If Curry leads his team to another championship he should be clear top 5. Curry's achievements would be stronger than anyone else at 5 rings. At 6 rings it appears most people on this site will be faced with an existential question.
Steph is 100% top 10, it's ridiculous it's even an argument at this point. Esp when I see Hakeem and Wilt as the main obstacles. Most of his main history gold from his resume are things noone else has done or 3-4 in NBA history:
- GOAT regular season (2016)
- GOAT post season (2017, tied with KD, Kobe, Shaq)
- 1 of 3-4 players who changed the game and some of the biggest impact
- GOAT shooter
- GOAT off ball player
- only unanimous MVP
- top 3 leaders with Bill & Duncan


If Steph was 6 6, used physicality/athleticism and worked with Nike, noone would even have this conversation.

[hold this L]

Magic did play on superteams but lets remember that he had 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in game 6 of the 1980 nba finals vs the Sixers without Kareem. And Magic was only a 20 year old rookie.
That's a retarded logic. Having one incredible game doesn't equate to an entire career.

[TheGoatest]

I guess... He will need a couple of more All-NBA 1st teams or either 1 more MVP or Finals MVP to enter the top 10.
But Ja Morant COULD also be the even shorter player to enter the top 10 if he theoretically accomplishes a shitload, so WTF is the point of this thread?

[Stephonit]

I guess... He will need a couple of more All-NBA 1st teams or either 1 more MVP or Finals MVP to enter the top 10.
But Ja Morant COULD also be the even shorter player to enter the top 10 if he theoretically accomplishes a shitload, so WTF is the point of this thread?

Any other guys you know lead an NBA team to 73 wins or given an unanimous MVP?

[HoopsNY]

Steph playing with KD for 2 full post seasons is one of the most bizarre negatives I've seen. 2 of the top 4 GOAT players literally won 10/11 titles playing together. If someone wants to bring up the fact that it bothers people that KD joined and it shouldn't count as much, I better see Magic and Kareem as 9-10th best each. Keep that same energy.

You do have a point, not that it's a complete parallel, but that in the case of someone like Kareem, he needed a GOAT level player in their prime to win a title. The same could be said for Oscar and Magic as neither did anything really without Kareem.

In Magic's case, he did lead his team to the '88 finals where Kareem was a shell of himself, and won it. For that I do believe he deserves some more credit, in addition to leading his team to the finals in 1989 and 1991, respectively. Magic was injured for the 1989 series and his team was up against an all-time great Pistons team, so I don't think it would have made a difference if he played.

In '91, Scott was injured but again I don't think it matters. The Bulls still win even if he's 100%. The problem here is Magic was drafted and it wasn't some artificial addition. Also, while the argument could be made that the Lakers were stacked, so were other teams like the Sixers and Celtics throughout the 1980s, and eventually the Pistons.

There was no countering Golden State's roster, really. Best we saw was the Cavs who had Love-LeBron-Kyrie, but that still doesn't compare IMO.


Steph is 100% top 10, it's ridiculous it's even an argument at this point. Esp when I see Hakeem and Wilt as the main obstacles. Most of his main history gold from his resume are things noone else has done or 3-4 in NBA history:

I understand your reservations, especially when Wilt ended up on a superteam himself with Baylor-West-Wilt being an all-time great trio. The pushback to that is that Steph can't do what guys like Wilt and Hakeem defensively, and couldn't have the impact being a small guard on the defensive end.

As for Hakeem, then I 100% have him over Steph. 3 finals appearances with no need for stacking the deck. If his team doesn't have the unfortunate demise of virtually all of their best players (outside of Hakeem), then they likely win 2 more titles.


- GOAT regular season (2016)
- GOAT post season (2017, tied with KD, Kobe, Shaq)
- 1 of 3-4 players who changed the game and some of the biggest impact
- GOAT shooter
- GOAT off ball player
- only unanimous MVP
- top 3 leaders with Bill & Duncan

2016 was far from the GOAT regular reason. Definitely wouldn't put it over - say - LeBron's 2013.

GOAT postseason in terms of team record? Yea sure. But again, KD joining a 73 win team was stacking the deck like never seen before.

No argument where shooting is concerned. He's the greatest shooter ever. Unanimous MVP sure, but who cares about that?

GOAT off the ball player I disagree with. I actually think MJ and Ray Allen were slightly better off the ball. Steph's off the ball play looks greater than it really is because the entire team did it well.


If Steph was 6 6, used physicality/athleticism and worked with Nike, noone would even have this conversation.

But he's not 6/6 and has no physicality, let alone a high defensive IQ.

[hold this L]

You do have a point, not that it's a complete parallel, but that in the case of someone like Kareem, he needed a GOAT level player in their prime to win a title. The same could be said for Oscar and Magic as neither did anything really without Kareem.

In Magic's case, he did lead his team to the '88 finals where Kareem was a shell of himself, and won it. For that I do believe he deserves some more credit, in addition to leading his team to the finals in 1989 and 1991, respectively. Magic was injured for the 1989 series and his team was up against an all-time great Pistons team, so I don't think it would have made a difference if he played.

In '91, Scott was injured but again I don't think it matters. The Bulls still win even if he's 100%. The problem here is Magic was drafted and it wasn't some artificial addition. Also, while the argument could be made that the Lakers were stacked, so were other teams like the Sixers and Celtics throughout the 1980s, and eventually the Pistons.

There was no countering Golden State's roster, really. Best we saw was the Cavs who had Love-LeBron-Kyrie, but that still doesn't compare IMO.
This isn't a math formula though, where you need x and y in attack and defense to fit the criteria. And if you did, why is Magic mostly 4th on many people's GOAT list? Mediocre defender. It's not an argument could be made that Lakers were stacked, it's a fact that they absolutely were. And with Magic, he elevated them. Having Magic, Worthy, Kareem is far and away the best trio in NBA history. At the end it's about overall impact, and his offense is so overwhelming that it has a bigger impact than others who are great offensively and defensively.

And stop with the roster, everybody that leaves outside of Javale has been mediocre, to the 15th man to out of the league. This shows even more when he plays/doesn't.


I understand your reservations, especially when Wilt ended up on a superteam himself with Baylor-West-Wilt being an all-time great trio. The pushback to that is that Steph can't do what guys like Wilt and Hakeem defensively, and couldn't have the impact being a small guard on the defensive end.

As for Hakeem, then I 100% have him over Steph. 3 finals appearances with no need for stacking the deck. If his team doesn't have the unfortunate demise of virtually all of their best players (outside of Hakeem), then they likely win 2 more titles.
Hakeem has no case for Steph. The only time he ever won anything was when they had to retire Jordan for two whole seasons. Again, you keep complaining about stacking the deck but there's no deck without Steph. It falls down. People whine about Curry having it easy (ridiculous when they gas up Lebron whose built super teams for 1/2 of his career, Magic, Kareem, MJ when he left his team won 55 games, Kobe, Shaq that played together). The idea that these guys all didn't have great teams is ridiculous or ignored as if Steph is cheating the system. :facepalm

This stacking the deck argument is just dumb when you look at how incredibly dominant most top 10 guys's teams were throughout large periods of time in the NBA. And the funny thing is that when Steph is out, he has a a bigger impact on the team falling apart than.. Jordan. Magic. Kareem. Wilt (lol), Hakeem (11%), Shaq, Kobe, Bird, Bill, Duncan, Lebron. All of the greatest players of all time.


https://youtu.be/4zxq70PjnC8?t=635
10:36

32% drop off in winning when he plays/doesn't. Even if you remove the shitty injury season from 2-3 years ago to make you feel better, you get him behind Lebron and above everyone else.



2016 was far from the GOAT regular reason. Definitely wouldn't put it over - say - LeBron's 2013.
2016 is the GOAT season. Unparalleled play that changed the game and dominated everybody. He rested like 20% of the games in the 4th quarter because he blew teams out by the 3rd, Lebron isn't there. And it shows because he could never elevate his team during the RS to ever come across high RS seasons even when he was super dominant or played with super dominant teams. There's been five 67W seasons since MJ hit 72 thirty years ago, Steph has 3 of them. Lebron, has none. In the regular season, Steph is absolutely a more dominant and impactful player.


But he's not 6/6 and has no physicality, let alone a high defensive IQ.
And yet he has a 73 win season, which nobody in NBA history ever had. And he has 16-1, which his teammate and 2 others who played together ever had. Sounds like the 6 6 guys should have done more during NBA history to get walked on history wise by the little guy. Shame that high defensive IQ didn't help them enough.

GOAT postseason in terms of team record? Yea sure. But again, KD joining a 73 win team was stacking the deck like never seen before.
Ok and? This doesn't change reality. Yeah the world is not fair, and that is absolutely the GOAT postseason.


GOAT off the ball player I disagree with. I actually think MJ and Ray Allen were slightly better off the ball. Steph's off the ball play looks greater than it really is because the entire team did it well.
Please stop with MJ lol.. Ray I can see some argument, but MJ is not in that tier. Kerr's entire coaching methodology falls to shit when Curry is off the floor both from a spacing and teamplay perspective. Nobody got wide open dunks or 3s for his teammates without touching the ball at the level that Steph does. Even last season when his shot went to shit (relative to his career), ThinkingBasketball was following his statistics and still found that he was having nearly the same level of impact that he does when he shoots well.

[Stephonit]

Curry has played on such stacked teams that no teammate of his was on a championship team before playing with him (Donte DiVincenzo this year will be the first), no former starting teammate of his has of yet won a championship after parting from him and no teammate of his aside from KD was selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.

Why don't we compare that with some of the other top 10 guys?

Russell had Havlicek, Jones, Cousy
Jordan had Pippen, Rodman, Harper, Grant
Duncan had Robinson and Kawhi
LeBron had Wade, Davis, Westbrook, Howard
Bird had McHale, Parish, DJ, Walton
Hakeem had Drexler, Barkley, Pippen

Who in the top 10 has teammates with less championship or finals pedigree apart from him than Steph? The only teammate Steph has had who made a finals before teaming up with Steph is KD who had one finals appearance. All the other guys bandied about as top 10 had teammates who made more finals or won championships independently.

[WhiteKyrie]

When Rodman, Horace Grant and Ron Harper are being touted as if they were perennial all stars and HOFers … and not obvious role players? Umm, ok.

[SATAN]

Why would anyone take issue with someone having Steph in their top 10? It's completely understandable. There might never be another player like him again. Not in my top 10 personally but he's a great player.

[SATAN]

When Rodman, Horace Grant and Ron Harper are being touted as if they were perennial all stars and HOFers … and not obvious role players? Umm, ok.

:facepalm

[Stephonit]

When Rodman, Horace Grant and Ron Harper are being touted as if they were perennial all stars and HOFers … and not obvious role players? Umm, ok.

It's simply a fact that Dennis Rodman already won rings with the Pistons before he joined Jordan and the Bulls and is on the 75th Anniversary Team. Harper and Grant were top 4 and 5 in minutes played with the 2000 and 2001 Lakers respectively aside from their rings with the Bulls. They've shown they can win on another team playing starting minutes with another star. Which of Curry's starting teammates have done that?

[Stephonit]

My apologies it appears that Curry did play with a former champion before. Shout out to Stephen Jackson.

[HoopsNY]

This isn't a math formula though, where you need x and y in attack and defense to fit the criteria. And if you did, why is Magic mostly 4th on many people's GOAT list? Mediocre defender. It's not an argument could be made that Lakers were stacked, it's a fact that they absolutely were. And with Magic, he elevated them. Having Magic, Worthy, Kareem is far and away the best trio in NBA history. At the end it's about overall impact, and his offense is so overwhelming that it has a bigger impact than others who are great offensively and defensively

I can't really speak for those that have Magic 4th. I certainly don't. I'm perplexed by those who have him above Bird when Bird was known as being the best player in the 1980s.

You skipped my point which addresses what you're saying. The difference between GSW and LAL is that the Lakers had other stacked teams (one of them being the superteam Sixers of 1983) in their decade. You couldn't guarantee a championship for the Lakers in the 80s. Heck, even the Rockets knocked them off in '86. But the Warriors were a lock to win it all. The only reason they lost in 2019 was because KD didn't play all but one quarter.


And stop with the roster, everybody that leaves outside of Javale has been mediocre, to the 15th man to out of the league. This shows even more when he plays/doesn't.

What does that have to do with the roster at the time they played with GS?


Hakeem has no case for Steph. The only time he ever won anything was when they had to retire Jordan for two whole seasons. Again, you keep complaining about stacking the deck but there's no deck without Steph. It falls down. People whine about Curry having it easy (ridiculous when they gas up Lebron whose built super teams for 1/2 of his career, Magic, Kareem, MJ when he left his team won 55 games, Kobe, Shaq that played together). The idea that these guys all didn't have great teams is ridiculous or ignored as if Steph is cheating the system. :facepalm


I'm incredibly biased when it comes to Hakeem. He's my favorite all-time player, so you'll have to excuse me. Hakeem had a nightmare situation where the dynasty that would have been fell apart due to injuries and drug addictions. It's very conceivable that Houston would have won a couple chips if that core remains in tact, added to their '94 and '95 titles.

Between '86-'95, Hakeem in the playoffs put up 29/12/3/2/4 on 53%. Steph's success is somewhat attributed to rule changes and freedom of movement initiatives from the NBA.

Steph's first 6 seasons in the league, he put up 21 PPG on 6.5 3PA. Since then, 28 PPG on 11 3PA. With less freedom of movement, more hand-checking, and a slightly slower pace, Steph's numbers don't look as good. This doesn't mean he wouldn't have been a great player of course, but context has to be factored.


This stacking the deck argument is just dumb when you look at how incredibly dominant most top 10 guys's teams were throughout large periods of time in the NBA. And the funny thing is that when Steph is out, he has a a bigger impact on the team falling apart than.. Jordan. Magic. Kareem. Wilt (lol), Hakeem (11%), Shaq, Kobe, Bird, Bill, Duncan, Lebron. All of the greatest players of all time.

That's not exactly a fair context.

'16 w/o Steph: 2-1
'17 w/o Steph: 2-1
'18 w/o Steph: 17-14
'19 w/o Steph: 5-8
'20 w/o Steph: 14-46 (no Klay or KD, and were 1-4 with Steph)

The data is a bit misleading here. 2018 Steph missed 31 games, but in those 14 losses, another star player was not playing 50% of the time. So in those losses, GS either had Steph/Klay, Steph/Dray, Steph/KD, Steph/Klay/KD/Dray, Steph/Klay/KD, Steph/Klay/Dray out of the lineup.

2019 is a little similar. In those 8 losses, Draymond missed 4 of the games.

2021 the team only made the play-in and lost with Steph, though they were 2-7 during the regular season without him (no Klay or KD).


2016 is the GOAT season. Unparalleled play that changed the game and dominated everybody. He rested like 20% of the games in the 4th quarter because he blew teams out by the 3rd, Lebron isn't there. And it shows because he could never elevate his team during the RS to ever come across high RS seasons even when he was super dominant or played with super dominant teams. There's been five 67W seasons since MJ hit 72 thirty years ago, Steph has 3 of them. Lebron, has none. In the regular season, Steph is absolutely a more dominant and impactful player.


This is beginning to sound like how MJ fans give no credit to guys like Bj, Pippen, Paxson, Grant, Kukoc, Kerr, etc. 2016 had guys like Iguodala, Barbosa, Klay, Dray, Barnes, Livingston, etc. I'm not denying Steph's impact, but let's not get carried away here and pretend as if that isn't the perfect group of perimeter style players in the modern era.


And yet he has a 73 win season, which nobody in NBA history ever had. And he has 16-1, which his teammate and 2 others who played together ever had. Sounds like the 6 6 guys should have done more during NBA history to get walked on history wise by the little guy. Shame that high defensive IQ didn't help them enough.

If MJ and Scottie added Shaq, then they would have probably went 15-0. And GS was always a great defensive team, but not because of Steph. Check their DRTGs by year, they're usually amongst the elite. But that wasn't because of Steph lol.


Ok and? This doesn't change reality. Yeah the world is not fair, and that is absolutely the GOAT postseason.

Of course the world isn't fair. But that doesn't mean people don't understand that the deck was stacked. No one respects those rings, sorry.


Please stop with MJ lol.. Ray I can see some argument, but MJ is not in that tier. Kerr's entire coaching methodology falls to shit when Curry is off the floor both from a spacing and teamplay perspective. Nobody got wide open dunks or 3s for his teammates without touching the ball at the level that Steph does. Even last season when his shot went to shit (relative to his career), ThinkingBasketball was following his statistics and still found that he was having nearly the same level of impact that he does when he shoots well.

We can agree to disagree here.

[HoopsNY]

Curry has played on such stacked teams that no teammate of his was on a championship team before playing with him (Donte DiVincenzo this year will be the first), no former starting teammate of his has of yet won a championship after parting from him and no teammate of his aside from KD was selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.

Why don't we compare that with some of the other top 10 guys?

Russell had Havlicek, Jones, Cousy
Jordan had Pippen, Rodman, Harper, Grant
Duncan had Robinson and Kawhi
LeBron had Wade, Davis, Westbrook, Howard
Bird had McHale, Parish, DJ, Walton
Hakeem had Drexler, Barkley, Pippen

Who in the top 10 has teammates with less championship or finals pedigree apart from him than Steph? The only teammate Steph has had who made a finals before teaming up with Steph is KD who had one finals appearance. All the other guys bandied about as top 10 had teammates who made more finals or won championships independently.

Revisionist history regarding Kawhi and Robinson. Robinson was over the hill by 1999 and a role player by 2003. Kawhi doesn't win All-NBA honors until after the 2014 season. He won DPOY after 2014 as well. Let's not get carried away and act like Kawhi was in his prime when he played with Duncan.

Heck, Duncan was over the hill by 2014 as well. That wasn't prime Tim Duncan anymore than Kareem in 1988 winning a championship being considered as being in his "prime".

Hakeem played alongside Drexler while he was still in his prime, though at the tail end. Barkley and Pippen had both fallen off considerably and had bad backs.

LeBron played with prime Kyrie, Wade, and AD, but Westbrook and Howard weren't really in their primes.

Jordan played with Pippen and Rodman, but Rodman wasn't the same player by 1998 and Pippen had a bad bad, and they still somehow won. Harper was nowhere near prime Ron Harper either.

You can't tell me players who were 32-35 years old and past their primes are comparable to prime Draymond, KD, and Klay, all of whom were below the age of 30 when their prime years began playing alongside Steph.

[Stephonit]

Revisionist history regarding Kawhi and Robinson. Robinson was over the hill by 1999 and a role player by 2003. Kawhi doesn't win All-NBA honors until after the 2014 season. He won DPOY after 2014 as well. Let's not get carried away and act like Kawhi was in his prime when he played with Duncan.

Heck, Duncan was over the hill by 2014 as well. That wasn't prime Tim Duncan anymore than Kareem in 1988 winning a championship being considered as being in his "prime".

Hakeem played alongside Drexler while he was still in his prime, though at the tail end. Barkley and Pippen had both fallen off considerably and had bad backs.

LeBron played with prime Kyrie, Wade, and AD, but Westbrook and Howard weren't really in their primes.

Jordan played with Pippen and Rodman, but Rodman wasn't the same player by 1998 and Pippen had a bad bad, and they still somehow won. Harper was nowhere near prime Ron Harper either.

You can't tell me players who were 32-35 years old and past their primes are comparable to prime Draymond, KD, and Klay, all of whom were below the age of 30 when their prime years began playing alongside Steph.

Having two great players together in their prime may theoretically make them a stronger duo but also concentrates their chances over a shorter period. As it happened Steph only played with KD 3 years and in the third year KD got injured late in the playoffs. For comparison one could say Duncan probably got two good years from Robinson and two good years from Kawhi so Duncan actually ended up having more playing time with a high level player.

While I would agree that the pair of Steph and KD was exceptionally strong they haven't formally been given credit the way they should be if people were honest and consistent. In the years they were together their highest MVP vote placements were 5th and 8th in 2019. For comparison in 1998 Duncan placed 5th and Robinson 7th in MVP votes.

You suggest in another post there weren't any comparable superteams like there were in the 80s for example. But in the 2010s there was the Heatles, there was the Thunder with three future MVPs or even the version with two MVPs, there was the defending champion Cavaliers that had a 12-1 playoffs record and the highest offensive rating in a playoffs ever heading into the finals, there was the Rockets whose two best players had fans saying each was a better player than Curry—and we haven't even mentioned the more recent Nets, Lakers, and Clippers. If the Warriors overshadow these other teams some of which also have KD on them it is mainly because of Curry. It is Curry that makes the Warriors stacked and if that's the effect he has on a team then he is an easy top 10 player.

[HoopsNY]

Having two great players together in their prime may theoretically make them a stronger duo but also concentrates their chances over a shorter period. As it happened Steph only played with KD 3 years and in the third year KD got injured late in the playoffs. For comparison one could say Duncan probably got two good years from Robinson and two good years from Kawhi so Duncan actually ended up having more playing time with a high level player.

I don't understand how anyone can make these claims? Robinson was on the back end of his career, and certainly wasn't in his prime, let alone peak. If by "two years", you're including 1998, then Duncan was a rookie then. Kawhi came into the league in 2011-12. You can make the argument that Kawhi hit his stride playing alongside Duncan in 2015 and 2016, but Duncan was not in his prime at that time.

Steph was a unanimous MVP, together with Klay and Dray, right before KD joined them. KD was in his peak, as were the rest of GSW's best players. It's just not a fair comparison.


While I would agree that the pair of Steph and KD was exceptionally strong they haven't formally been given credit the way they should be if people were honest and consistent. In the years they were together their highest MVP vote placements were 5th and 8th in 2019. For comparison in 1998 Duncan placed 5th and Robinson 7th in MVP votes.

I don't think that's fair, either. KD missed 20 games in 2017, Steph missed 31 games in 2018, and then Steph missed 23 games in 2019. Duncan and Robinson were health in 1998, where Duncan played 82 games and Robinson 73 games. The injuries to Steph and KD impacted their MVP voting, together with the fact that their injuries were less impactful given the strength of the roster.


You suggest in another post there weren't any comparable superteams like there were in the 80s for example. But in the 2010s there was the Heatles, there was the Thunder with three future MVPs or even the version with two MVPs, there was the defending champion Cavaliers that had a 12-1 playoffs record and the highest offensive rating in a playoffs ever heading into the finals, there was the Rockets whose two best players had fans saying each was a better player than Curry—and we haven't even mentioned the more recent Nets, Lakers, and Clippers. If the Warriors overshadow these other teams some of which also have KD on them it is mainly because of Curry. It is Curry that makes the Warriors stacked and if that's the effect he has on a team then he is an easy top 10 player.

The Heat were a super-team. Fair point. They still weren't stacked like GS.

Claiming OKC was a super-team or even comparable is revisionist history. You're doing what LeBron stans do when they claim the Thunder had 3 "future" MVPs. What matters is who they were as a team at the time. Everything else that happened is pretty irrelevant.

The Cavs were pretty close to a super-team, but using their Eastern Conference run is a pretty bad way of proving it given how weak the conference had become.

Rockets fans saying their players are better than Curry is absurd. It certainly doesn't validate their team being considered as a super-team.

I agree about the Nets, but injuries derailed their season(s). A healthy Nets squad with no internal issues with Kyrie or Harden is a likely finals contender and eventual winner.

None of these comparisons really add up.

[Gohan]

Curry fans bodying haters

Nothing to see here