Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is commonly included in the conversation regarding the greatest point-guard to ever grace an NBA court. The two-time MVP has elevated himself into that discussion, now often compared to Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson.
As of right now, Johnson probably leads this race, but Curry still has plenty of room to grow his résumé. Following the 2022 championship, led by Curry’s stellar scoring, many fans started including the shooting phenom in their top ten players of all-time. This ties him much closer to Johnson than perhaps any other point-guard has ever gotten throughout NBA history.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is already nearing Magic Johnson, and here’s how he can edge closer in the point-guard debate.
Curry is averaging 24.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game across his career, while Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game with the Lakers. As we know, simple statistics don’t mean everything, particular when comparing two vastly different eras.
With his ridiculously hot start to the season, Curry has a chance to become the second oldest player in NBA history to win an MVP honor — Karl Malone won the award at age 35 in 1999. Winning MVP would be an incredible feat given his age, along with the vast array of talent around the league.
With the Warriors moving to a 4-7 record, Curry is currently leading the team in points, assists, rebounds, field-goals made, three-pointers made, free-throws made, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage.
Following his outrageous 47-point, eight-assist, eight-rebound game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday, Curry is now averaging 32.6 points, 6.9 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals and only 2.6 turnovers per game. On top of this, he’s in the 50/40/90 club at 51.2% from the field, 43.5% from three-point range, and 93.4% from the free-throw line.
If the Warriors can manage to get better minutes out of their younger players, and the team procures a better record as a result, then it may leave no argument as to who the MVP should be. The Warriors still hold the talent and coaching to be a championship team this season, even if the record and form doesn’t suggest so at this stage.
If Curry can continue this level of play, win a third MVP, and lead this Warriors team to his fifth championship, most might begin to favor him over Johnson. Curry would tie him in championships and MVPs, while pushing ever closer to the same number of All-Star game selections. There would be nothing really separating the two, and it might come down to a personal preference between Curry’s shooting/scoring and Johnson’s exquisite playmaking.
You could even make the argument that Curry has played in a more competitive and talented era — LeBron James challenges Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all-time, Curry debuted towards the end of Kobe Bryant’s prime, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic have each won two MVPs, and his former teammate, Kevin Durant, might go down as the best pure scorer of all-time.
If Curry does secure another MVP and championship, then we’ll be sure to revisit this debate with even more ammunition on his side of the argument.