Steph Curry
Wardell Stephen Curry II is the greatest player on planet Earth right now.
Sorry, LeBron James, but your time as the best is over.
This is a debate that has raged in basketball circles throughout the season and is coming to head as the Golden State Warriors battle the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Who else but Curry can score 17 points in a critical overtime game in the second round? Who else scores 38 points on 7-of-13 3-point shooting in an absolutely back-breaking Game 4 the Warriors desperately needed to win?
The answer is the same it has been since he won the first of two-straight league MVP awards a year ago — Curry. No other player is a mix of the incredible skills he possesses. The shooting. The ball-handling. The passing.
Oh, and did I mention he’s doing all this on a sore knee, hurt ankle, and injuries in both shoulders that could lead to surgery this summer? That’s elite.
Even without Draymond Green, it’s hard to imagine the Warriors won’t hold up the Larry O’Brien Trophy tonight in Oracle Arena. Curry will have beaten LeBron in the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, and even with all the issues the Cavaliers have, it’s still an impressive feat.
And I get it. There are people who say Curry is soft, overrated, and everything else you can possibly think of. It’s true the Warriors would not be nearly as good without Klay Thompson, Green, and all the rest, but not saying Curry is the greatest player alive is doing him a disservice.
The NBA is changing, and Curry is the player who will continue to lead the league for years to come.
Or at least until Anthony Davis changes into his final, terrifying form.
— Jordan Hansen
LeBron James
I hear you, Steph Curry fans. It is pretty fun to watch him run around and shoot. And he really is one of the best shooters of all time already. His 3-point numbers are ridiculous.
But he’s not the best player in the world. That spot is reserved for a king.
LeBron does things on the basketball court that people didn’t think were possible before he got into the league. He has the size of Magic and vision like Nash, he rebounds like Duncan and scores like the Mailman, and he runs the floor like a gazelle.
Curry is a better shooter, hands down. Russell Westbrook is a better athlete. Anthony Davis blocks more shots, and Tony Allen is a better defender. But with his whole skillset combined, none are better than LeBron right now, and no one has been for about six or seven years (Kobe fans, don’t raise your voice at me.)
The run LeBron is on is crazy. Getting to the Finals for six-straight seasons is absolutely insane, matched only by Bill Russell’s Celtics (and James Jones, who has things figured out by just following LeBron around.)
Look at what he did in the Finals last year with absolutely no help. He practically averaged a triple-double and single-handedly got Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead over Golden State. It was the one time in history when a player on the losing team should have been the Finals MVP, and four of the 11 media members who vote on the award agreed with me.
LeBron does absolutely everything for his team, and that is why he tops Curry. Curry is way more electric, and of course, young kids will gravitate toward him because he launches from 35 feet and likes to dance. LeBron has taken a back seat to the Warriors this season, but he doesn’t take a back seat to anybody when it comes to the best player.
— Blake Dowson