The Stephen Curry debate about whether he belongs in NBA's Top 5 of all-time not a debate
He fell to seventh in the 2009 draft, the lowest draft slot for any all-timer outside of some high school kid named Kobe Bryant. He was selected after players like Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio and -- dear God -- Jonny Flynn.
But even the team that drafted him didn't see it right away. The Warriors didn't know what they had, and within the organization there were arguments over Curry's true value, his ability to succeed and -- wait for it -- whether he could even play point guard. In some alternate universe, Curry weaves his magic elsewhere because Golden State chose to build around Monta Ellis.
There was the idea you couldn't win championships shooting three-point shots (translation: with Steph), until he did it, and then The Association shifted on its axis. There was the unanimous MVP he earned, a mark of history and his rare greatness. How did his fellow players around the league respond? By starting their own version -- the "Players Choice Awards" -- and promptly handing that "honor" to James Harden. They should have called it "The Anyone But Steph Awards."
There were the people around the league, attached to other, jealous stars, trying to push stories about how Steph was good but not great. There was Durant arriving, and attaching himself to Curry and what Curry had built, and so many people missing the obvious fact that Durant needed Curry -- not, as we now know, the other way around.
You'd think the architect of a championship team and then a 73-win squad would be seen clearly when Durant tagged along to be part of that story. Nope.
And now we have the latest version of the Curry's-awesome-sure-but-not-that-awesome silliness, and the inevitable delayed comprehension of just how exceptional this basketball player truly is. He's not just suddenly a top all-time player. He's one of the absolute best. Period.
"Without him, none of this happens," Kerr said.
Andre Iguodala said it more directly.
"I think he solidified himself today -- not even today, just his career -- as the best point guard of all time."
Iguodala's right. And that places Curry ahead of Magic, ahead of the Big O, ahead of Nash and Stockton and Isiah and CP3.
Curry, like Jordan and LeBron and Kareem, both forged greatness and redefined the sport. Curry's place in the game's history
is not just what he's done. It's what he's created.
The debate isn't whether he's a Top 10 all-time player. It's whether he's a Top 5 all-time player.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/the- ... -a-debate/
