#5: Allen Iverson vs. Steph Curry
Iverson: Prime from 1998/99-2007/08 (12 seasons!), 28.6 PPG, 6.3 APG, 42.4 FG%, 30.6 3P%, and a level of Swag NBA 2K would rate above 100.
Curry: Prime (so far) from 2012/13-2014/15, 23.6 PPG, 7.7 APG, 46.9 FG%, and 43.0 3P%.
Not only did Iverson invent the “ankle breaker”, but over a 12-year stretch he averaged almost 29 points per game -that’s incredible! He may not have been the biggest fan of practice but he treated games as if they were life or death situations. If this best offensive point guard debate was purely limited to stats, Iverson would at least equal Curry (and so would Westbrook), but when the debate becomes broadened to the totality of a team’s offense with that player on the court it becomes clear that Curry’s of a higher value.
Iverson’s sheer number of field goal attempts significantly decreased his team’s offensive efficiency. For comparison, this season Russell Westbrook is redefining the NBA laws of aggressiveness and shot attempts, shooting 21.2 times per game. Iverson eclipsed that mark 9 SEASONS during his career and averaged more field goal attempts throughout his career than Westbrook is averaging this season -that’s insane!
When games slowed down in the playoffs Iverson’s high volume shooting proved even more inefficient and his teams only got past the 1st round of the playoffs 4 times. While Iverson was arguably a better individual scorer than Curry, his style of scoring didn’t elevate his teammates. Curry’s mere presence spaces the floor and opens lanes for teammates to a degree Iverson never reached. Curry’s simply a better offensive point guard.