After winning back-to-back MVPs in 2015 and 2016, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has remained one of the dominant forces and biggest superstars in the NBA.
Despite entering his 16th season and turning 37-years-old in March, Curry continues to play at an incredible level in large part thanks to his incredible work ethic and his unmatched three-point shooting ability.
Where does Stephen Curry rank among current NBA players?
Curry may not be vying for regular season MVPs anymore, but there's little doubt that he still remains one of the top 10 players in the league. As the Warriors prepare for their regular season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers next week, a number of media outlets have released rankings of their top 100 players across the NBA.
There's a reasonable consensus on Curry among four of the publications -- ESPN, The Ringer, CBS Sports and Action Network. Here is how Curry was ranked and who was directly before and after him.
ESPN | The Ringer | CBS Sports | Action Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
Ranked Behind | Jayson Tatum | Jayson Tatum | Joel Embiid | Victor Wembanyama |
Ranked in Front of | LeBron James | Kevin Durant | Jayson Tatum | Jayson Tatum |
Action Network was clearly the outlier of the four, albeit only slightly with Curry still in the top 10. Their decision to rank Victor Wembanyama ahead of the 10x All-Star surely raises some eyebrows, even if it's almost inevitable that the San Antonio Spurs big man passes Curry and maybe everyone else as the league's best player.
Even more unusual is the fact that Action Network ranked Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sixth overall. That's a huge outlier compared to the other three publications who had the 2x All-Star ranked 16th, 17th and 17th respectively.
If there's one player who stands alongside Curry in terms of current stature, it's Boston Celtics star and recently minted NBA champion Jayson Tatum. The 5x All-Star is placed directly in front or behind Curry in all four rankings, though Tatum is still arguably trending up while Curry may be every so slightly trending down.
Curry averaged 26.4 points on 40.8% three-point shooting last season, helping him to another All-Star berth and a place on the All-NBA Third Team, while he also won the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year award. The 4x NBA champion also won his first Olympic Gold Medal this summer in Paris, producing back-to-back extraordinary performances in the semi-final and final.
Golden State will be hoping these rankings hold true and that Curry can remain a top 10 player in the league this season. Anything less and it's unlikely that the Warriors will be able to make too much of an impression in a loaded Western Conference.