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Topics: NBA, Basketball, Steph Curry , Lebron James, Michael Jordan, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls
Ryan Baldi
Topics: NBA, Basketball, Steph Curry , Lebron James, Michael Jordan, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls
The debate over who should be considered the greatest basketball player of all time usually centres around two players: Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
But one NBA expert believes Steph Curry is in the running to be the GOAT, and that the Golden State Warriors icon should be ranked above James in the all-time stakes.
James, who at 39 years old is now in his 22nd NBA season, is the league's highest-ever scorer and has won four championships and four Most Valuable Player awards.
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Curry boasts the same number of championship rings – having led the Warriors to glory in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022 – but has just two MVP awards to his name and has only once been named Finals MVP, whereas James was named Finals MVP in each of his title-winning campaigns.
But Curry is widely considering to be the player who influenced modern basketball more than any other. Regarded as the greatest shooter of all time, his prowess from behind the three-point line led to teams around the league emulating his style and attempting a greater number of three-pointers per game.
And after his most recent championship success – a 2022 victory over the Boston Celtics that saw the Warriors No.30 named Finals MVP for the first time – Bobby Marks of ESPN hailed Curry as the second-best player in NBA history, ahead of James and behind only Jordan.
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"I actually think Steph Curry is the second-best player of all-time, right behind Michael Jordan," said Marks, the former Brooklyn Nets general manager who now works as an analyst for ESPN.
"Curry has this instinct, what I saw with Jordan, where any time he has the ball, you think it's going to go in. He is a threat offensively, I think we have three or four more years of Curry in his prime right now.
"I would put Curry ahead of LeBron James right now, as far as the number two guy behind Michael Jordan."