You’ve probably seen the poll and the list, but the interesting thing about an AI-generated list of the NBA’s top 10 players of all time is that it doesn’t pretend to be one team, with specific positions. Only designate the historically greatest NBA players, period. For me, this makes it absolutely necessary to include Stephen Curry.
I’ve been mesmerized by Curry, just like the rest of us, ever since the 2015 Golden State Warriors championship breakthrough in Cleveland. But my all-time backcourt has always considered Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan to be the perfect point guard-shooting guard combination. I’m old enough to have seen a lot of Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, during their early years, at the old LA Sports Arena in the 60’s. So those have always been my backups, no need for thought.
As we now witness Curry, still an unstoppable force at 35 with plans to play for several more years, it’s time for an overhaul. It has to be on this list. Let’s just say upfront: all 10 of those players belong. The idea of kicking him out seems rude and just plain wrong. But it has to be done if the point is to end up with 10.
To begin with, in no top 10 there is no touching Magic and Michael, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or Larry Bird. Just out of principle, don’t slip Curry in front of any of those guys, no matter how much you love him.
That leaves two slots and two more centers, it seems, in Tim Duncan and Shaquille ONeal.
Duncan has been widely called the greatest forward in history, but as San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich often said, he was effectively a center. That’s how he operated, and he was that kind of threat to the opposition. How many centers do you need, even if the AI criteria ignore locations?
At some point in these arguments, emotion has to come into play. I was deeply impressed but never moved by Duncan’s performances and, for me, Curry is ahead of him on this list. In terms of entertainment value that absolutely must count, it’s like comparing a majestic bass player to a delightfully animated conductor.
It’s a slightly different story with Shaq. I saw him in person during one of his first seasons in Orlando, and he was incredibly dominant. I had never seen an NBA big man move like that, not with that kind of muscle but with astounding speed. Wilt definitely had those qualities, but he was never that much fun to watch. Shaq was a revelation, a young man who came to destroy, and there was a wickedly sharp wit about his demeanor.
Later, when he got a little too big, feuded with Bryant and failed to shoot a free throw to save his life, I turned on Shaq. He’s an all-time great, sure, but no amount of AI’s advanced metrics and historical record, based on pure data and logic, make him a better selection than Curry.
1. Michele Giordano
2. LeBron James
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Magical Johnson
5. Bill Russell
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Larry bird
8. Tim Duncan
9. Shaquille O’Neal
10.Kobe Bryant
Here’s a question for any fan with a sense of NBA history: After Curry poured 50 points to almost personally orchestrate the Warriors’ Game 7 victory in Sacramento, you asked yourself: Is this the greatest point guard of all time? If he’s like that, or if he even comes close to the legacy of Magic Johnson, that makes him worthy of any Top 10.
Magic made a fast break like no other, and was incredibly fun, not to mention a born winner. Does he get you 50 points in a victorious away Game 7 when the rest of his team-mates have cooled off? Are there any point guards among the all-time greats?
The technically magnificent Robertson was primarily a midrange shooter, and West, while technically listed at point for a number of years, was essentially a top-notch 2-guard (and the greatest clutch shooter of all time, bar none.) He remains a backup guard on my personal all-time team, but Curry moves ahead of Robertson.
Now lets go beyond the speculation and remember:
Curry is one of the very few players who has actually changed the way the game is played, joining (at the very least) BobCousy, Russell and Elgin Baylor. Telling proof: In the 2015-16 season, the year after the Warriors first title of the Curry era, there were six teams shooting at least a third of their 3-point shots. As of the 2020-21 season, 28 of 30 teams were doing so. Everyone wants to be Curry, and no one is.
Curry has been the heart of a dynasty for nine seasons and counting, and he doesn’t have much company there. Magic and Bird battled each other for most of the 1980s. Tim Duncan won his four titles in the span of 14 years. Michael Jordan has won six straight championships (with a two-year retirement in between). Celtics legend John Havlicek won two titles with Dave Cowens and six with Russell, whose staggering record of 11 in 13 years stands on a higher plane.
The best pure shooter of all time? Sure, and we’ve heard that for years. But the best highlight reels reveal a marksman, scoring on ridiculously difficult floaters and double-handed drives from every angle imaginable. A man who throws 30 feet that feel so good actually turns his back on the accomplishment and heads down with unabashed self-satisfaction, perhaps nodding or gesturing to someone in the crowd. A man who really likes to drop to the ground, as gracefully as possible, as he drives a shot through heavy traffic. What a show!
It’s quite common to see NBA stars going through the motions on defense or standing around the perimeter in an offensive set, welcoming the chance to catch their breath. For them, Curry is from some other planet. It’s funny, when he plays against other teams, the first thing they say is, “This guy never stops moving,” said Draymond Green. It’s pretty cool. No one else sounds like it.
Each season reveals more of Curry as a leader, from tales of his influence in the locker room to his actions on the pitch. Green admitted he was emotionally shaken in the wake of the punch he punched Jordan Poole in training camp, making it clear that he had a long way to go back to full acceptance by the club. Noted at the time but bears repeating: During a late November game in Minneapolis, Green drew an absurdly dumb technician for cheering on his teammates. Curry immediately leapt off the dugout and put on a clownish show, gesturing wildly, only to intentionally get a techie of his own. The message: solidarity in a crisis.
For Steph to show her back to her brother like that, longtime NBA writer Marc Spears said, is something they’ll be talking about 20 years from now.
Bruce Jenkins writes 3-Dot Lounge for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jenksurf@gmail.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1
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