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CBS Sports updated their top 50 NBA players list...

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Fjordson

Member
Doesn't Curry have only 3 good offensive years under his belt?

Personally, I just see Leonard as a better basketball player than Curry.
Curry has four all-star years and was good even before that. Even as a rookie on a shit team he was averaging 17 and a half and shooting 44% from 3. He's always been good offensively (and now he's all-time great offensively).

Kawhi's great, just nowhere near Curry.
 

jman2050

Member
Man basketball debate online is always a dumpster fire lol. Some of the takes in here smh.

Not a bad list, though. The two best players today (Lebron and Curry) are properly placed, so that's good to see.

Durant has far and away had a better career than Curry thus far.
 
Curry has four all-star years and was good even before that. Even as a rookie on a shit team he was averaging 17 and a half and shooting 44% from 3. He's always been good offensively (and now he's all-time great offensively).

Kawhi's great, just nowhere near Curry.

nowhere near Curry? lol. Dude has been overall better this year and actually won a finals mvp. Curry choked 2 years in a row in the finals. Kawhi hasn't quite had a regular season year like Curry last year but the guy is insanely consistent and elite on both defense and offense.

I think it's fair to put Curry higher all time right now as Kawhi has had to grow into his current status the last 3-4 years, but I see Kawhi being the more talented player right now and moving forward
 

Fjordson

Member
Durant has far and away had a better career than Curry thus far.
Maybe? I mean Curry is coming off two MVP's and a ring. And is having another great season.

Longevity is certainly in Durant's favor if that's what you mean. But as far as peak Curry compares quite easily.

nowhere near Curry? lol. Dude has been overall better this year and actually won a finals mvp. Curry choked 2 years in a row in the finals. Kawhi hasn't quite had a regular season year like Curry last year but the guy is insanely consistent and elite on both defense and offense.
Right now, on February 18th, 2017, Kawhi is obviously comparable to anyone. He's been great. But overall? Nah, not close.

Also lol @ choked 2 years in a row and Kawhi "not quite" having a regular season like Curry last year. "Not quite" is an insane understatement.
 

jman2050

Member
Maybe? I mean Curry is coming off two MVP's and a ring. And is having another great season.

Longevity is certainly in Durant's favor if that's what you mean. But as far as peak Curry compares quite easily.

Of course I am. It makes no sense to judge players only by their best seasons.
 

Fjordson

Member
Of course I am. It makes no sense to judge players only by their best seasons.
Sure, but what a player does in his peak matters and you're taking away any and all context (injuries, coaching, teammates, etc.). Longevity is great, but it's definitely not the only thing that matters.
 
Maybe? I mean Curry is coming off two MVP's and a ring. And is having another great season.

Longevity is certainly in Durant's favor if that's what you mean. But as far as peak Curry compares quite easily.


Right now, on February 18th, 2017, Kawhi is obviously comparable to anyone. He's been great. But overall? Nah, not close.

Also lol @ choked 2 years in a row and Kawhi "not quite" having a regular season like Curry last year. "Not quite" is an insane understatement.

I wouldn't say so. Kawhi was runner up last year in MVP votes if I remember correctly, was on a 67 win team and won DPOY for the second year in the row. What Curry did was amazing but I don't think the gap was that large last year, and it's completely closed and moving the other way this year.

Andre Iguodala took finals mvp and what would have been Draymond Green last year had they won

To add some clarity, in the overall list, I think Kawhi is fine where he is at, at number 50. I think CBS Sports is overestimating Curry's career to this point.
 

Fjordson

Member
I wouldn't say so. Kawhi was runner up last year in MVP votes if I remember correctly, was on a 67 win team and won DPOY for the second year in the row. What Curry did was amazing but I don't think the gap was that large last year, and it's completely closed and moving the other way this year.

Andre Iguodala took finals mvp and what would have been Draymond Green last year had they won
Curry had one of the greatest offensive seasons ever. Wasn't even comparable.

As for the finals MVP, it's the media. Being wrong is kinda their shtick (for most of them).
 

jman2050

Member
Sure, but what a player does in his peak matters and you're taking away any and all context (injuries, coaching, teammates, etc.). Longevity is great, but it's definitely not the only thing that matters.

You act like Durant's peak isn't comparable to Curry's or something.

What Curry did last year was incredible but it was hardly untouchable. Lebron alone has had at least four seasons that match or exceed Curry's 2015-16 in terms of production.
 

Fjordson

Member
You act like Durant's peak isn't comparable to Curry's or something.

What Curry did last year was incredible but it was hardly untouchable. Lebron alone has had at least four seasons that match or exceed Curry's 2015-16 in terms of production.
Huh? You're the one who said they don't compare lol.

And untouchable? Not sure if you're quoting the wrong person here, but never said that.

As for Lebron, I think he's the second greatest player ever so that's not surprising.
 

jman2050

Member
Huh? You're the one who said they don't compare lol.

And untouchable? Not sure if you're quoting the wrong person here, but never said that.

As for Lebron, I think he's the second greatest player ever so that's not surprising.

Ultimately my point is that Curry's season last year was not so unbelievably better than any of Durant's seasons that we should just discount Durant playing at a superelite level for much, much longer than Curry has.
 

Fjordson

Member
Ultimately my point is that Curry's season last year was not so unbelievably better than any of Durant's seasons that we should just discount Durant playing at a superelite level for much, much longer than Curry has.
I agree. I love Durant. Dude was averaging 30 ppg when he was 21.

My initial response was merely "maybe". I think the circumstances surrounding Curry's early years (injuries, historically incompetent coaches, a worthless front office, terrible rosters, etc.) and his recent four year stretch make the two comparable. I don't place him way higher than Durant by any means. And if someone else puts Durant ahead of Curry because of the longevity I don't think that's crazy. Durant is one of the greatest scorers ever.
 

jmizzal

Member
Doesn't Curry have only 3 good offensive years under his belt?

Personally, I just see Leonard as a better basketball player than Curry.

Curry has avg over 20 ppg for 5 years, and as a rookie avg 17 ppg

His first 2 years was 17 ppg and then 18 ppg, then missed most of his 3rd year and came back strong.

Leonard may be a better overall player but his time is limited, if he wasnt on the Spurs he would be looked at like a Paul George. Curry turned the Warriors into a legit top teir team after being one of the joke NBA Franchises for years.
 

diehard

Fleer
You act like Durant's peak isn't comparable to Curry's or something.

What Curry did last year was incredible but it was hardly untouchable. Lebron alone has had at least four seasons that match or exceed Curry's 2015-16 in terms of production.

It isn't.

Lebron has never had the offensive season that Curry just had.
 
LeBron is the second best player of all-time, the only other argument is Magic. Kareem's legacy is much better than we remember; he's top five but he's not as good as LeBron.

Wilt, who was my favorite player growing up, is absolutely not better than Kareem, Magic, Russell, or even Bird. His playstyle led him to bend the game at his will but not as much overall success as the aforementioned players.

Edit: also prime Shaq is the greatest player of all time. Get at me.

Extra edit: holy shit at the lack of LeBron love in this thread. You guys are nuts. Doesn't matter what you think of him personally or however many rings you want to toss his way, dude is on Mt Rushmore in this league. He would have dominated and won in any era.

Fuck, I rode Kobe's fandom forever, and as a player he's vastly more enjoyable to watch when hot, but he's not nearly the well rounded juggernaut LeBron is.
 
He's a good player. Heck he was a great player at one point.

We aren't talking great players. Hell Billups is a finals MVP and won a championship. He's not on the list. It isn't ever great player list.

It's top 50 of all time.
Just tossing this in there, Billups was the best point guard of his era. Better two way player than anyone at his position and he sacrificed a lot of individual success for team success. The dude's not top 50 in terms of sheer talent alone, but he knew the game much better than anyone in his day.

Am a Pistons fan, so I'll shill a bit too.
 

diehard

Fleer
You mean scoring?

Lebron has easily had two seasons on par or better than what Curry just had.

Curry put up 31.7PPG per 36 on 66.9 TS%, Lebron has never had the combination of raw numbers and efficiency that Curry had last season.

His 2 season of comparable PPG (never had comparable PPG/36mins) both came from shooting 55.6 TS%.
 
LeBron is the second best player of all-time, the only other argument is Magic. Kareem's legacy is much better than we remember; he's top five but he's not as good as LeBron.

Sigh...

Even Magic wouldn't put himself in any arguments of him being better than Cap.

But here we are on the internet.
 
Dude are you serious? The whole point is that he's getting cramps to begin with. I've never heard of any other super star players getting cramps repeatedly in different years of their career.

Jordan once missed like half a season with a broken foot. What kind of loser breaks his foot? His bones must be pretty weak, this disqualifying him from GOAT status. And don't get me started on the flu game. Why is he getting the flu to begin with? Even Magic didn't get the flu during a game and he had HIV!
 

rambis

Banned
Curry put up 31.7PPG per 36 on 66.9 TS%, Lebron has never had the combination of raw numbers and efficiency that Curry had last season.

His 2 season of comparable PPG (never had comparable PPG/36mins) both came from shooting 55.6 TS%.
Production is far more than scoring.

Lebron in 09 had
28pts on 49% shooting, 7.5 assists and 7 boards a game

In 10
30pts on 50% shooting, 8.5 assists and 7 boards a game

Curry
30 pts on 50% shooting, 6.5 assists and 5 boards


If I was arguing I would take Lebron season in 10 over Curry but they are all close. Curry certainly had the greatest scoring season though.
 
LeBron is the second best player of all-time, the only other argument is Magic. Kareem's legacy is much better than we remember; he's top five but he's not as good as LeBron.

Wilt, who was my favorite player growing up, is absolutely not better than Kareem, Magic, Russell, or even Bird. His playstyle led him to bend the game at his will but not as much overall success as the aforementioned players.

Edit: also prime Shaq is the greatest player of all time. Get at me.


Extra edit: holy shit at the lack of LeBron love in this thread. You guys are nuts. Doesn't matter what you think of him personally or however many rings you want to toss his way, dude is on Mt Rushmore in this league. He would have dominated and won in any era.

Fuck, I rode Kobe's fandom forever, and as a player he's vastly more enjoyable to watch when hot, but he's not nearly the well rounded juggernaut LeBron is.

Russell's Celtics beat everyone else to. The only teams that beat them during their time were Wilt teams.

Wilt is clearly better than Magic or Bird. Wilt was a much better defender and rebounder than KAJ (who I give the edge in offense over Wilt). Wilt even as an older guy was able to wreck KAJ's efficiency in shooting, outrebound him consistently, and shut him down in some key playoff games.

KAJ had one title before Magic and the Lakers.
 
Have you guys ever actually watched some Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem footage? Slow, plodding centers like that wouldn't even be on the court in today's NBA that's why lists like this are stupid.

Put LeBron, Jordan, or Shaq in their era they would average 50 a game, put Wilt and Kareem in today's league and they wouldn't even see the court they literally barely get off the ground for rebounds...shit simply wouldn't cut it.

You apparently haven't. Go watch some vids of Kareem and Wilt on the Wilt Chamberlain Archives YouTube channel to educate yourself.

A quick Google search of Wilt or Kareem's vertical will show plenty of shots of their heads at or near the rim while going up for a block or rebound.

You can also find a clip of Bill Russell snatching a rebound, dribbling down court and casually leaping over a guy from about 13ft out and laying it n (no dunking then) and landing past the backboard. Russ could dunk from the free throw line with ease, as could Wilt (at KU Wilt had a long jump best of 22 ft 9 inches.)
 
Yeah Kobe should be higher how quickly people forget. Curry should not be on the list he needs to put more time in.

How does Curry not deserve to be on the list?

The only players two win at least 2 MVPs and 1 NBA Championship are:
Stephen Curry
LeBron James
Michael Jordan
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Bob Pettit
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Tim Duncan

It puts him in very elite company.


Apart from that:
1. He has been in MVP voting for 4 years now, and will likely be in for a 5th straight this year.
2. His team had the greatest ever regular season record (73-9)
3. He is regarded as the greatest shooter of all time.
4. He is one of 7 players to be in the 50/40/90 club

With all these achievements, it's borderline inarguable that he is not at least top 30 of all time.
 
20-40 in particular is all kinds of fucked up.

The names I see ahead of Isaiah, Clyde, Patrick, Walt, and Elgin are questionable as hell.

Top 5 is fine, though.
 
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