By: Jared Williams
I can already feel the “What a homer” comments raining from the internet! One request: allow me to explain. That is unless you’re a Clippers fan, David Khan (AKA the guy who drafted Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn over one Steph Curry), or the entire Sacramento Kings front office, then I expect nothing less than irrational behavior from you -so just leave your comment already.
To clarify, I’m referring exclusively to the offensive side of the ball. Although, if you’re a skeptic of Curry’s defense, I point you to four facts: Curry defends the NBA’s most talented position every night, of players playing more than 25 minutes per game Curry’s 8th in Defensive Rating, the Baby-Faced Assassin is tied for 1st in steals per game, and he plays the most minutes on the league’s best defense. Still doubting? Check out Yama Hazheer’s superb article dedicated to Curry’s underrated defense.
Due to its individualized nature, basketball’s a sport conducive to player comparisons. This is what makes the NBA so unique -it’s constantly sparking “who’s better” debates. It makes for moments when millennials try to compare anybody (and by anybody I mean Kobe or Lebron) to Jordan, and their Dads reject them out of the notion that nobody belongs in MJ’s stratosphere.
Much like every kid at the park counts from 5 to 1 in their imaginary shot clock when they know it’s their final shot before they must go in for the night, we’ll count down the NBA’s Top 5 Offensive Point Guards from 5 to 1 and compare each of them to Steph Curry. But first, two rules…
- No point guards whose careers ended before 1980. Games from the 70s are incomparable to the modern game -sorry Bob Cousy fans.
- All stats are only from a player’s prime. For Curry this means the last three seasons or as some call it, the ATM era (After Trading Monta).
Before beginning with #5, a couple Honorable Mentions (remember, this is about offense): Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, and a perennial 1st Teamer on the NBA’s All Complaining Team Chris Paul.
In honor of youth soccer league’s across America, Participation Awards for guys who participated in my internal discussion for best offensive point guard but never actually got close to making the list (in no particular order because this is a Participation Award!): Kevin Johnson, Joe Dumars, Tony Parker, Latrell Sprewell (kidding, just wanted to make sure you were paying attention), and Dennis Johnson.
Finally, an obligatory Russell Westbrook acknowledgment. Two facts: Westbrook’s stats are insane and OKC’s offense is surprisingly not elite. Westbrook’s the NBA’s biggest enigma and thus I feel it’s fitting to just dedicate a title-less category to him.