If you’re going to average in a season where Curry played 5 games, might as well average in every season Magic missed with HIv before his comeback. See what that does to his stats.
I did witness Magic's legacy. But no one can deny that Curry's impact is more than Michael Jordan's ever will be. He changed the game. I don't think any accolades or team success gonna top that achievement.
game has evolved. playmaking as a pg is not just about passing anymore. it is about manipulating defenses to make it easier for the team to score . nobody changes opposing team's defensive schemes more than curry. he can stir opponent's defense from half court and make multiple defenders scramble at will. he changed the dimensions of the basketball court. a literal floor general.
they only care about positions when it means belittling steph. theres a reason no other point guard in the league has done what magic has and its cause he was not a traditional 6'3- 6'4 guard its weird.... he was 7 inches taller then everyone in his position but being glorified like he was a 6'4 guard lol
Other allstars steph played against in the playoffs in his career not listed: Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love. Vince Carter. Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown, Shai (SGA), Danny Granger, Kyle Lowry.
I think he meant they were all-stars when they faced each other, calling Dwight an all-star isn't accurate if he didn't make the all-star team that specific year steph played against him in the playoffs.
Not to mention, Curry’s career isn’t close to over. He’ll likely play many more all stars before his career is over. Imagine what Curry would be doing with a good roster? He has zero all stars by his side and it’s not even close. I’d say the second best player on the warriors is Kuminga, a third year player that averages 16 points a game. Lebron has AD who is a top 10 player, arguably the best defensive player in the nba(if not the best absolutely top 3 defensive players), a stacked roster which the media all summer said was amazing and praised the lakers for winning the offseason and yet their records are almost identical. Give Curry the lakers roster and they’d be a top team in the west
@@Fear999. nah, He didnt include scottie, dennis rodman, joe dumars, bill laimbeer , horace grant and i think there are more... He meant when they faced up each other in the playoff if they were an all star or not.
it's very true... but you act like Curry didn't have to go headhunt one of the best players in his era just to stay competitive... which he absolutely did... so that's kind of a wash
Nah curry has completely changed the game. I know lots argue that this league is softer, but I’d argue it’s more competitive and way more skilled than it used to be
@@UnconventionalReasoninghe included the stats from the year curry played 5 games. That’s just absurd. We all know a sample size of 5 games shouldn’t be used as part of your overall averages for statistics
Magic won MVP in ‘87. Jordan won in ‘88. Magic in ‘89 & ‘90. Jordan ’91. Magic retired in ‘91. At age 32! In his prime! Talking potential numbers if Curry plays until he’s 40 is irrelevant. Edit: Oh, yeah. Magic also won 3 finals MVPs. (More than Kareem. And obviously Curry’s one.)
I honestly agre with this. Even as a curry fan I still think Magic still has a higher edge on this debate but it's close. 1 championship and FMVP for curry and he would be the GOAT pointguard.
Why do people value finals MVP’s so much when it’s decided by a group of 10 media members who clearly have their own biases. Everyone knows curry should have gotten the FMVP in 2015 over Iggy. Iggy himself says that. They didn’t want Curry to shine over Lebron as that ruins their “GOAT” narrative. Same way Lebron got finals MVP in the bubble when it was clearly Davis
@@Romanus- I actually calculated that fmvp to my view. Magic would still has more accolades. Even if Steph wins a championship and FMVP Magic would still have other accolades but I would consider Curry the GOAT then just cause of the level of competition he was competing against
Nah people judge popularity contests too heavily because they cant simply analyze the TAPE. Both Curry and CP3 clear Magic hes #3 right about J Kidd and Nash TAPE. DONT. LIE. Its just that most people dont actually know basketball so they have to rely on other !diots to make their decisions.
With less help overall. Yes KD was overpowered but they got 2 rings tigether. Kareem was great for 3/5 rings with magic. Also the showtime lakers had 4 all stars and a dpoy. Never forget that the same night magic had 42 his teamate had 37 If any player today played with a 6x mvp that was already a proven champion, and the best player in the history of the sport at the time, plus a dpoy, and a great roster, wed call every ring "micky"
Technically, they are tied in Finals MVP's, Magic didnt deserve his first, and Curry deserved the Iguodola MVP. If you want to argue otherwise then you didnt watch. Kareem was great until he was injured compared to Magic's 1 great closeout game. Iggy was getting cooked every which way by LeBron, but they voted for him because LeBron couldnt win a finals MVP as a loser. That aside, I personally tax Magic more than others for how much help he had. Like you said, no one else in NBA history has had that much help for an ENTIRE career, let alone playing with a goat contender in Kareem.
it;s almost like having a goat contender on your team will do that... imagine curry started his career playing with lebron lmao. nevermind 2 of those misses was due to injuries, 2 was because he was a rookie and another a sophmore coming back from an injury@@onlyfacts3178
The only time Steph was ever arguably the best player in the league was the same season he blew a 3-1 lead in the finals with a championship roster while his legacy was saved all throughout by Klay Thompson especially against the Russ/KD led OKC in the WCF. He isn't the passer/distributor, rebounder, finisher, clutch assassin, not even the defender Magic was. Magic was a versatile rebounder at 6'9 while being a 4x assists champ, (averaged 10.9apg for career - NBA record) who led the league in stls twice ('80 and '81), and who played all 5 positions. He did this all while being a 20ppg scorer while yall wanna act like Magic didn't get buckets😂 Him winning 5 championships/3FMVPs/3MVPs (2 against a *PRIME* Michael Jordan) in just a 10yr span carrying a dynasty speaks to how much Magic contributed to winning in such a short period of time. The largest factor being he won the championship and FMVP in his 1st season dropping 45-15-7 with 3slts on 60TS% in a finals close-out game while Kareem was out with injury. More than what Steph did individually in 15 years, try again Steph doesn't even come close to touching Magic when it comes to running an offense. Magic ran actual rotations dishing inside the paint, drive to the baseline and dish to the far right wing/left wing, driving inside and kicking it out to the corner 3s, and did while being one of the flashiest passers in NBA History. And on the fastbreak he was even better. Magic did things on the regular that the opposition never saw coming. You dont average 10.9apg (NBA record) for a career as a 4x asts champ for not knowing how to run an offense. The man had eyes in the back of his head. Knew where the defense was located at all times, who was sagging off, who was playing too close, who was about to double etc. and did this all while averaging 20ppg... Steph can't do that and doesn't. Never has Steph isn't the on-court general, have the IQ, awareness, or skill to run an offense like Magic did. He doesn't even run the offense on his own team. Constantly calling for screens to shoot 30ft isn't running an offense😴
All bron goaters should have stockton as their pg goat, so their logic stays consistent. Longevity + leading stat categories = best ever. Curry is an all time great but magic still takes the pg crown
Curry has played longer than Magic while still trailing him in MVP, FMVP, first team all NBA, stat titles (Magic 4 assists and 2 steals titles are more than Curry 2 scoring and 1 steals tiles), also trails in the accumulated advanced stats of Win Shares, and VORP. Curry also trails Magic in every per game stats outside of points. He also trails Magic in the per unit advanced metrics like PER. BPM, and WSP48. Curry has a little higher raw TS but their TS relative to era is Magic 113 and Curry 114 (league average is 100) so he is only 1% better adjusted for era. He may be close than some people think but it's not as close as Curry fans want it to be either.
Because Steph is the ONLY playmaking PG that doesn't need assists to be impactful. Because his presence creates opportunities for others and promotes true playmaking with team ball movement. The warriors have led the league in assists for the last decade by historic margins. If the NBA logged "hockey assists" (the moment where an extra pass leads to a bucket) Steph would lead the league every year. The problem is people gatekeep what it means to be a playmaker strictly based on assist numbers. You have to handle the ball, run PnR's, burden mitigating turnovers, and directly pass to a shooter in order to be validated. But that only means you either don't watch basketball, or don't care about anything other than stats. What other player directly forces all 15 people to become playmakers in their own right? Promotes ball movement, what every coach preaches? And does all of that while being as lethal of an offensive weapon as Kevin freaking Durant?
That was a solid take... especially the last sentence. That said... if I am building a starting 5 for a championship series i'm taking Stockton over both of them
@@KxngKUDAYou wrote a whole long ass essay just to say that Curry is not a natural PG with natural passing skills because regardless of how you slice it less than 5 apg is atrocious for an all star PG. That’s like being a PF/C and only averaging 6 rpg, “because the way you box out creates space for his teammates to grab the boards.” Lol gimme a break he just is not good at playmaking for others which is strange because he’s likely the 2nd best ball handler in history of league behind Kyrie.
Steve Nash deserves atleast honorable mention along with Jason Kidd. And I would have an easier time putting Curry in top 5 player of all time before calling a guy who averages less than 5 apg for his career the GOAT PG. Less than 5 apg for a PG is wild.
Well there are other stats for a PG than assists..... Stockton has the record....0 rings Nash is close behind.....0 rings J Kidd thats my dude.....1 ring All 4 of Stephs rings were bc of Steph. You wanna dispute the 2 with KD? Fine but he aint won without SC....SC got 2 without him. And finally....GAME 4 IN BOSTON. Give me a comparsion for not only a better PG but the ENTIRE finals on his back and said Im him. Thats Mamba and MJ level madness! Bro woke up and said NOT TODAY. Nash and Stockton dont have that on their resume and i ❤ JKidd so impress me.
Magic never won a chip without Kareem and a loaded team. Steph’s supporting cast in 2022 is really really bad without him. Magic is his own kind of unicorn. They’re not really very comparable kinds of players.
Great video!! Comparing Steph Curry to Magic Johnson is like comparing a Lamborgini to a Bentley. Both excellence players with extraordinary capabilities and different strengths.
The idol worship is strong here. Curry clears Magic easily and to say otherwise is just silly Simply switch Magic and Curry and there is absolutely no way magic has more than 1 ring. Give Curry a team full of HoFers like Magic had and boom Curry would have 8 rings
Well duh, but it’s still impressive. Even more so, saying it’s pointless is ridiculous. What are they supposed to do? Stop playing the minute their team sucks?
Especially now. It’s less physical and sports medicine is leaps and bounds more advanced now than then. I’m more impressed by Kareem’s ‘longevity’ and even Jordan’s Wizards years than I am with Bron’s or Curry’s.
Curry revolutionized the entire SPORT. Magic is an elite example of the Pre-Curry position of PG. But Curry has almost destroyed the whole idea of positions. It's a non-parallel comparison.
I'm not a Lakers fan, but you should get your hands on a couple of 80s Lakers games and watch them. Nobody will ever come close. He's not that good of a shooter, and maybe even a liability on defense. But the spectacle, man. Listen to the crowd for another of those double fake no look passes. Sending the defense to the parking lot twice in one move and make them look stupid for an easy layup. And pretty successful. I'm that one guy, so my man is Dennis Johnson!
Not sure I can call Curry as PG... Magic is tall but play role of PG, Curry PG height but doesn't play typical PG role... He is one of its kind and he is GOAT at something definitely. I see 90s and prior periods as few very skilled players among under skilled players compared to today's NBA skill level
Magic Assist leader- 4x 10 or more apg 11x 2x steal leader 1x FT leader 3x MVP 9x top 3 MVP 3x FMVP All-NBA 1st team 9x All time apg leader career and playoffs career 5x champion Finals in 9 years he retired after 12 Came back and played PF for like 30 games in 95-96. Magic is a winner almost his entire career he was in the finals, high school state champ, college champ, NBA champ some people are just winners that’s Magic he legit makes everyone better.
Earvin Johnson led his Michigan team to the NCAA Championship beating an undefeated Larry Bird Indiana St team As a rookie Earvin Johnson became MVP of the NBA Finals by playing center and point guard beating Ervin and Sixers. Earvin Johnson was 19. He scored 42 points 16 rebound 13 assists. No three point shot needed. It's why Johnson best point guard ever.
Clarity, Bird br8ng undefeated with a mid college team is more impressive than magics stacked Michigan state squad. Also, Magic played great, but Kareem got robbed out of that mvp because he missed game 6 due to injury. Not to mention how loaded that Lakers team was from his rook8e season and on. So comparing Stephs' journey to get to where he is and is the greatest shooter ever, the debate is close.
Curry is easily the GOAT point guard. Imagine how many assists, win percentage, and championships he’d have if he was drafted to Lebron’s team? Then he’d prolly have like 8 championships. Also, Curry plays in a much more competitive era. Not to mention that Steph is the guy that changed the NBA and the way the game is played more than any other player (arguably) except maybe Wilt
I think when we talk greatness, competitiveness of an era shouldn't hold as much weight. Because you're looking at what that person achieved against the other greats of that time. People like to say Magic played against plumbers and firemen but any person with a brain knows that's not true... he played against amazing players, hall of famers, all stars and all time greats. If we're talking about whom is the better/more skillful player then it's a no brainer that it goes to the players of today but if we're talking about greatness then it's a different story. For example, everyone knows and generally agrees that Muhammad Ali is the GOAT of boxing but if we compare his competition to the boxers of today then we would have to say that someone like Tyson Fury is the GOAT since he fought in a more competitive era. Same thing with UFC fighters like GSP, Kamaru Usman fought against better welterweights; skillwise, but everyone generally agrees that GSP is still one of the GOATS and THE best welterweight to ever do it. In terms of him being drafted to LBJs team, I honestly believe Steph wouldn't have any FMVP, Regular Season MVPs or any other significant accolades for that matter if he had been on the same team as LBJ. LBJ's star power by the time Steph came into the league was mad and everyone would've just seen Steph as Bron's sidekick for the majority of his career. Furthermore, he would not have been given the chance to 'change' the game since the team would've revolved around LBJ as the system. Would he even have the chance to show what he could do? On your last point, although Steph did change the game, Magic also had significant impact in essentially saving the NBA from bankruptcy, him and Bird's rivalry resulted in playoff games finally being broadcasted live on television and broadcasted on national television. Before their rivalry, even the NBA finals weren't televised live.
@@bryanchan8888 bro, you got my respect to write that whole essay into a comment. 😂 Anyways, I agree with what you sayin to an extent but Steph would have still changed the NBA even if he’d been on Lebron’s team. He’d have way more scoring titles too though with LBJ giving him assists. At the end of the day, it’s all subjective.
Today's game is more about positionless basketball. In that way Curry can be considered close to Magic. Curry is more like a SG. As a PG/floor general it is not close. Magic Stockton Thomas Kidd are better PG
Makes no sense cause Steph can average 25 and 10, if dominated the ball more. That is the difference. Ball dominance not who’s the better PG. Magic, Stockton, Nash, Kidd and Zeke DOMINATED the ball. Steph does not dominate the ball.
stephs gravity alone with the assist he averages per game literally debuks this flawed logic LOL no one double teams magic at halfcourt forcing wide open teammates to score like they have been doing steph since LITERAL COLLEGE LOL.
@Sf75178 He's a PG. He can do what Magic and them did but they couldn't have done what Steph do that's just FACT. Take the ball out of those guys' hands, and they're TRASH. A lot of standing at the top of the key is what we'd see.
Humble Steph would tell you that his 6 APG and his assist to turnover of 2:1 puts him out of any conversations of GOAT point guards. He would tell you he don't facilitate or protect the ball enough to be considered...
I mean when you play vs weaker comp and have an arguable goat as your teammate I would hope you would do better, I would love to see Curry’s career if he had KD as a teammate from the beginning.
I watched both Magic, and Steph, and Magic has a better resume. Steph, I believe, will have the greater career when it said, and done. Steph should have three finals, MVP, he was overlooked because of who he is. Steph makes his team better, much like Magic, but without Steph, the Warrior's fall hard. Longevity doesn't mean you're better, but played longer; Labrick vs the greats. Steph changed the game forever.
I’m not about to detract from Magic’s greatness, but I will always ask people this question: how hard do you think it is to get an assist when you get to pass to the second highest scorer ever who had the most unstoppable shot of all time and was over 7 feet tall? Any random point guard could average like 9 assists or more with that guy on your team your whole career
Look Magic's assist averages without Kareem after 89. I mean he lead his team to the finals in 91 with Divac as a center. Playing with Kareem or not didn't change that much for Johnson he's a great player after all
@@warkunitale no doubt about it. He’s a very great player. I’m merely attempting to show that having him as teammate right off the bat would help big time to your impact and win percentage as a point guard. Part of the reason why I think Steph is the GOAT PG
He was not playing as a Center, he played in all positions in that game.It was ridiculous. One play he was there, playmaking, the other he was there in the post, in another he was guarding a PF, in another he was stealing the ball from the perimeter... and catching one rebound after another.... it was a nuts.He did everything in that game.In the finals.As a rookie.Ridiculous. We will never see anything like that again.Pure Magic.
Magic had a higher peak statistically than Michael Jordan... Or any other player beside maybe Jokic right now. Curry and the NBA is so much different now than it was back then, I put them both at #1
Magic never won a ring after Kareem retired, Curry won a ring before and after Durant Magic only won rings because of his MVP teammate ,Bird took the Celtics to 5 finals appearance and won 3 without having a MVP teammate
‘No one else comes close’ that ain’t true. Thomas definitely has a case. He played in the big man era and coulda been the first non big to lead his team to a three peat. Had he not hurt his ankle in the finals. Also era for era the new era is so much easier and pampered today than back when Johnson and Thomas were playing compared to now. Magic is the goat PG. But Curry I’d say is top 15. A convo could be had that he’s over Kobe..
Any old head would have the Big O, not Cousey as their man. And anyone who doesnt have robertson at no.3 pg all time, needs to read a book. Magic is, without question, a better point guard. Better player though? Its close. But magic kept winning, even after jabbar faded. Steff missed the playoffs. Thats enough for me.
Jerry West won NBA finals MVP on the losing team that's how great also he averaged over 30 points in multiple years for you just to dismiss him is laughable and shows your lack of knowledge of the game, also he played in an era that had no 3-point line and had a lot more defense
Magic had better teams for longer though imo. For about 5 years the Warriors weren’t much. Couple that with Klay being injured for two years and Steph being injured for one of them and alllll the ankle injuries he played with. I think it’s closer than people think- though magic does seem to have the edge nonetheless.
I can’t get over the “hardest finals runs” nonsense. Apparently the Clyde drexler blazers are the second highest level of competition on the entire list at 8.47. The 2017 Cavs are 2.87 so by that metrics Clyde’s blazers were 3x harder competition than the Lebron, Kyrie and Love Cavs. Then it really gets ridiculous, the 1988 Pistons apparently were literally 6 time harder competition for Magic than the team he lost to that won the championship - the 1989 Pistons? This is just absurd and whoever created “SRS” should stick to math because they certainly don’t know basketball
5x championship 3x finals MVP 3x MVP 12x all star 4x assist champion 2x steal champion 10x all nba 2x all star game MVP 7th in all-time assists (As well as HOF but Curry will get in when he retires so I won’t count it)
So cuz curry isnt a traditional point guard he isnt the best point guard You started this argument by saying alot of weird shit Curry carried GSW way more than magic carried his lakers And if youre questioning his impact its wild asf as well
But who is being polled? What are the criteria for comparison? What were the challenges each player had? In order to make an honest comparison the markers for measurement have to be normalized against a standard. Otherwise the comparison is purely subjective and the numeric comparison is irrelevant.
I still rate Magic higher than Steph in the goat depth chart, but you can't account for Steph's importance by just stats. He's the best screener in the league simply because he almost always takes two defenders with him. That's not going to show in any numbers. When he draws double-team, it's outside the three point line. He passes the ball and it's 4 on 3 with almost half the court to play. That's not going to show up in any stats either.
Youth how much assist he averages he not the leader of his own team when he doesn't have klay Thomas and this is the most free flowing easiest nonchalant doesn't play an inch of defense maybe two teams
You used to hear a lot of people make the case that he was the GOAT PG, before Westbrook came along he was seen as a bit Wilt like. Since we've seen a bit of what averaging a triple double and getting a ton of those actually looks like with Westbrook though I think fair or not that's demystified the Big O some. Maybe it shouldn't, Westbrook carried a couple of teams to the playoffs doing that even if it's a style of play that doesn't get you much further than that. But can't deny it has
I still fully believe is curry signed with nike he would still have to deal with the lebron bullshit of trying to make curry look bad. But he would have a better chance of getting points and less hassell from the lebron part
Curry would 100% already be the goat pg if KD and Klay never got injured in 2019 And if Draymond didn’t get suspended or Bogut didn’t get injured in 2016 the warriors don’t blow the 3-1 lead Ik the what ifs aren’t real but still
GREATEST POINT GUARDS 🏀 Point guards 1 Magic 2 Oscar Rob (PG/SG) 3 Isiah Thomas 4 Steph Curry 5 Walt Frazier 6 John Stockton 7 Jerry West (PG/SG) 8 Bob Cousy 9 Steve Nash 10 Jason kidd 11 Tony Parker 12 Gary Payton 13 Chris Paul
Great video! So, Magic beats Curry on every important metric, but if Curry plays slightly above mediocre ball for five more years he might be better? It’s an interesting argument….
Tyreke Evans won rookie of the year, not Steph. But Magic and Bird are both considered top 10 players and Tyreke Evans hasn’t even made an all-star game
Magic didn't win Rookie of the year. He had kareem since day 1 and didn't win a single ring without him. Curry won 2 rings without durant before and after him. 2015 fmvp was snubbed.
I don’t think even the most diehard fans of Magic are trying to say that Curry isn’t close. My issue with people trying to crown curry as the goat PG is how consistently Magic was the best player on his team for championship runs and how consistently he won despite a short career and people almost ignoring that two of Steph’s rings came as a result of a free agent signing that should’ve never been possible to begin with. That’s not to say the warriors couldn’t have won the championship those two years without KD, but those two title runs feel starkly devalued and discredited because of the conditions under which they were obtained. Magic is, in most people’s eyes, a top 5 player all time. Saying curry is the goat pg over him means that you likely think curry is either a top 5 player ever and possibly in the goat debate…those both feel like a blatant overshot from where curry is as of right now in time. Maybe after he retires and we get to look at his full body of work, we as a basketball community can have a better discussion about it but it feels like either side just tries to discredit the other right now when Steph still has some gas in the tank to cement his legacy
If we fault LeBron for having hall of fame teammates, then we should hold Magic to the same standard. Magic being teammates with the 3rd greatest player of all time is why I have Curry above him And no, KD ain’t even top 15
Magic did not win rookie of the Year. Curry is not a point guard he's a shooting guard acting as a point guard. He's the best shooter we've ever seen the eye test proves it. Magic is the best point guard.
Steph is a PG don't gatekeep his position. The greatest Combo-guard ever, but his entire MO is to be the engine that creates plays for others. Except unlike Steve Nash, who has admitted to regretting this himself, Steph refused to limit his own offensive output by abiding to your small minded ideals. His team has led the league in assists for the last decade. Steph literally rallies his troops into being a system of playmakers. Any coach would rather have 7 people averaging 5+ assists than one guy averaging 12 but the entire team averages 19 as a whole. Perspective. Steph, like Magic, is a one of a kind playmaker at his position. If you wanna call steph a shooting guard, then call Magic a small forward.
Magic aint a pg either he was a 6'9 mfer passing the ball to people at the paint. We dont call draymond green a pg and hes shorter than magic The definition of positions evolved with the game. Stephs gravity generates a lot of points and plays for the warriors therefore he is the pg. The plays run through him
Magic is the best PG of his era. Steph is the better player of any era. I'm 43, by the way. Watch any Magic game and time-travel drop Curry into that game, and he's scoring 200. Now, if you're judging "greatness" by accolades and stats compared to their peers, sure, Magic is better. But if you're judging by pure skill and who is going to win the game, there is no debate whatsoever; Curry is far, far, far, far better than Magic; don't play. We're talking Curry overall would be 100 and Magic would be an effing 40.
Under hardest finals runs you have Magic’s finals opponent, the 1989 bad boy pistons rated as just .92 for competition. In Curry’s 2016 finals you have the Portland trailblazers rated as .98 for competition. Are you actually claiming that the Lillard and McCollum blazers were tougher competition that the bad boy pistons? Also you have the 2016 Cavs ranked at 5.45 and then the 2017 Cavs at almost half of the competition ranking at 2.87. So who did the Cavs lose between 2016 and 2017 that made them HALF as good competition? I’m sorry but these numbers are absurd. The 2017 Utah Jazz are 4.0 competition but the Cavs with Lebron, Love, Kyrie and a great supporting cast are a 2.87? Anyone who watched basketball those years will tell you how absurd that is. The 2017 Utah Jazz are apparently more than almost double the level of competition than a #1 seed Cavs with 3 all stars and a stacked bench😂 Cmon man, who ever created this measurement system needs to learn basketball
Yes, it's close. But Curry is not there.Just close. It's like Kobe and Jordan. Kobe did amazing shit in the NBA and he was a hell of a player, the Mamba ! But we all know who's the best SG of all time.
It's not really close. The stats tell you that. Then the championships tell you that. Curry didn't change the game as much as yall think. The game was going to 3ball whether Curry was in the league or not. It was a statistical and mathematical inevitability. Magic is my top 5 player of all time; Curry is my number 12. So awesome, number 2 PG, but not close to Magic. My top PGs are Magic, then Curry, then West, then Frazier, then Isiah, the Oscar, then Stockton, and then whoever you want after that doesn't matter.
The only time Steph was ever arguably the best player in the league was the same season he blew a 3-1 lead in the finals with a championship roster while his legacy was saved all throughout by Klay Thompson especially against the Russ/KD led OKC in the WCF. He isn't the passer/distributor, rebounder, finisher, clutch assassin, not even the defender Magic was. Magic was a versatile rebounder at 6'9 while being a 4x assists champ, (averaged 10.9apg for career - NBA record) who led the league in stls twice ('80 and '81), and who played all 5 positions. He did this all while being a 20ppg scorer while yall wanna act like Magic didn't get buckets😂 Him winning 5 championships/3FMVPs/3MVPs (2 against a *PRIME* Michael Jordan) in just a 10yr span carrying a dynasty speaks to how much Magic contributed to winning in such a short period of time. The largest factor being he won the championship and FMVP in his 1st season dropping 45-15-7 with 3slts on 60TS% in a finals close-out game while Kareem was out with injury. More than what Steph did individually in 15 years, try again Steph doesn't even come close to touching Magic when it comes to running an offense. Magic ran actual rotations dishing inside the paint, drive to the baseline and dish to the far right wing/left wing, driving inside and kicking it out to the corner 3s, and did while being one of the flashiest passers in NBA History. And on the fastbreak he was even better. Magic did things on the regular that the opposition never saw coming. You dont average 10.9apg (NBA record) for a career as a 4x asts champ for not knowing how to run an offense. The man had eyes in the back of his head. Knew where the defense was located at all times, who was sagging off, who was playing too close, who was about to double etc. and did this all while averaging 20ppg... Steph can't do that and doesn't. Never has Steph isn't the on-court general, have the IQ, awareness, or skill to run an offense like Magic did. He doesn't even run the offense on his own team. Constantly calling for screens to shoot 30ft isn't running an offense😴
Ur chattin, at this point it just shows ur preference, I agree that magic is the goat, but it’s not that Steph lacks the iq it’s rather a style difference, Steph is a bucket getter first, which he has to be as he is a superstar and one of the faces of the league, the league does better when he puts on a show, players would prefer magic because he’s unselfish, he gonna look for his teammates before he gets his own buckets, Steph will from time to time but he wants to takeover, in a 1v1 Steph is winnin tho for sure
Steph literally built the warriors culture from bottom to top, magic came in an already had a packed team along with Kareem, ofc he’s gonna win, and the level of talent back then doesn’t even match today, so the whole convo is just up for grabs cuz the eras, the styles and the players themselves are different
@@gabeugwu749 Thanks for letting me know you don't know basketball. 1. Steph didn't build 💩 Mark Jackson put Steph & Klay both in the position to succeed because he saw their potential before everyone else did, including them. 2. You don't get to blow of a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals with a 73-9 team w/ 2 HOFs in their primes. At least Magic didn't choke when he carried a sufficient dynasty which he did as the best player, on multiple occasions. Steph missed the playoffs 6x in 14 seasons. Magic went to the FINALS 9x in 12 SEASONS Magic showed up when Kareem didn't. Steph was saved by Klay / KD / Iguodala saved for his inadequacies on offense running the offense & being clutch & then for being a defensive liability, while you wanna talk supporting casts. Steph didn't win a SINGLE FMVP in the 2010s, & won a single title since then w/ his 1st FMVP, what are we talking about
@@gabeugwu749 You're missing the point. As a POINT GUARD, be doesn't run the offense on his OWN TEAM. That automatically disqualified him from ever being mentioned amongst Magic. Dude he isn't a better point guard than Isiah Thomas or John Stockton or Gary Payton or Jason Kidd or Chris Paul, the position he obtains objectively isn't even top 5 in. He calls for screens to shoot chuck inefficient 30ft shots outside at a high volume. He SHOOTS. That is IT. If Steph wasn't a great shooter, he'd be a nobody. Everything you praise him for, is for excelling in ONE aspect of the game... whilst being mediorce or below satisfactory in everything else... against a guy who was above average in every aspect of the game & who PERFECTED an aspect of the game... and who WON MORE
@@FrokuBabayy bruh just say u don’t like Steph… 😂😂😂😂, that’s crazy af, mark Jackson style of play and Steve Kerrs are so different it’s insane but I wouldn’t put it past you if u didn’t watch any player podcast or watch the games. yeah they blew the finals, but it doesn’t change the fact that Steph was injured and could barley run around the court and be the best version of Steph that he’s shown throughout all these years
How diffenrent would it be if stephen curry had kevin durant for his entire career be for real. Magic had kareem arguably top 3 of all time for most of those championships be for real.
@@Gojogoat132It would be a lot different as Magic would be the runaway favorite because Curry would be looked at like a sidekick to KD who would be the one getting all the MVPs.
@@Shawnjohson1608 I dunno man, that would have been a much more competitive series if Worthy was healthy and frankly they're the Lakers, they would have shaken things up if it looked like the roster wasn't good enough.
Steph Curry’s teams wouldn’t beat the Showtime Lakers. Plus Curry isn’t a PG, his position says PG but he doesn’t facilitate like a PG should. Curry’s a great shooter but that’s it, he also only gets off because of the super soft rule changes of recent.
Impossible comparison Steph is much closer to 2 guard then point guard. Draymond ran the offense as much if not more than steph. If you are rating him as a 2 guard he'd be the 3rd or 4th best of all time.
Determining someone’s position purely based off their play style is foolish. Because Curry scores more, he is no longer a PG? That makes no sense. He has always been listed as PG.
@@dankibler6306 That makes Jokic and Giannis PG's by definition. The nba has become more, put the ball in your best players hands than before. Steph for a majority of his career played the traditional PG until Kerr maximized his potential
@Spawn3582 But that's the point You can't compare him to a traditional point guard when nothing about what he does or the style he plays is in line with a "traditional" point guard. If magic played in this positionless he would be jokic on steroids
why are we arguing who’s better between a guy with 1 finals mvp and took over a decade to play at an elite level Over a guy with 3 finals mvp, and guy who’s been elite since his rookie season. A guy who won finals mvp in his ROOKIE SEASON. He did in year one what took curry nearly decades 💀
If you look at the advanced stats curry was the best player un every chip hes won calm down. Currys play style is supposed to make make other players look better than him
Curry wasn't given the chance early on, the Warriors were building around Monta Ellis, he only really had the chance to shine once Monta was traded, also Curry was robbed of the finals mvp in 2015, Iguodala did not deserve that at all, even Lebron deserved it more and he didn't even win, I do think Magic is still the better one but it's getting really close and I wouldn't be surprised if he surpassed Magic eventually, he's 35 and is still balling out like crazy.
It's nice to be drafted #1 by the team with the GOAT (of his time). And we all know that first FMVP was a hard snub. Steph should have 2. And you're HEAVILY exaggerating how long it took steph to take off. It was only 5 years. Due to injury and Monta Ellis. And by your logic, Bill Russell clears MJ. Fuck nuance
well there's a big difference between getting drafted in the best team in the NBA and transforming one of the worst teams in the NBA into a dynasty. That should be taken into account, warriors without curry are nothing, lakers without magic are NBA champs, that's a BIG thing magic dickriders have to deal with when saying curry is miles behind. That said curry's close but not the best yet. If he wins one more title and finals MVP this should not even be a debate anymore
If you’re going to average in a season where Curry played 5 games, might as well average in every season Magic missed with HIv before his comeback. See what that does to his stats.
Exactly. That’s absurd to include a 5 game season
Johnson retired though, I'll count his 95-96 short comeback still but that's it.
Retirement is different from injury.
I did witness
Magic's legacy. But no one can deny that Curry's impact is more than Michael Jordan's ever will be. He changed the game. I don't think any accolades or team success gonna top that achievement.
What does that have to do with who is better?
@@juic3392did he say anything about Curry being better?
@@ryuto-b4qdid anyone ask you?
game has evolved. playmaking as a pg is not just about passing anymore. it is about manipulating defenses to make it easier for the team to score . nobody changes opposing team's defensive schemes more than curry. he can stir opponent's defense from half court and make multiple defenders scramble at will. he changed the dimensions of the basketball court. a literal floor general.
they only care about positions when it means belittling steph. theres a reason no other point guard in the league has done what magic has and its cause he was not a traditional 6'3- 6'4 guard its weird.... he was 7 inches taller then everyone in his position but being glorified like he was a 6'4 guard lol
Magic is still better. Top 5 All Time. Curry is top 10.
@@Scottdick6 curry the greatest point guard of all time no one telling me differently 😭👎🏾
@@Scottdick6Hmm well that's wrong
If curry gets one more championship then he's the goat of pg. Now it's close but it is still Magic for now
curry clears magic this isn’t even a conversation
Hell nah you smoking crack
This argues otherwise
Magic is miles better I’m sorry
Other allstars steph played against in the playoffs in his career not listed: Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love. Vince Carter. Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown, Shai (SGA), Danny Granger, Kyle Lowry.
cringe and gay
I think he meant they were all-stars when they faced each other, calling Dwight an all-star isn't accurate if he didn't make the all-star team that specific year steph played against him in the playoffs.
@@Drew_2308 no…. he listed players who were allstars in their career. I simply filled in a few blanks.
Not to mention, Curry’s career isn’t close to over. He’ll likely play many more all stars before his career is over. Imagine what Curry would be doing with a good roster? He has zero all stars by his side and it’s not even close. I’d say the second best player on the warriors is Kuminga, a third year player that averages 16 points a game. Lebron has AD who is a top 10 player, arguably the best defensive player in the nba(if not the best absolutely top 3 defensive players), a stacked roster which the media all summer said was amazing and praised the lakers for winning the offseason and yet their records are almost identical. Give Curry the lakers roster and they’d be a top team in the west
@@Fear999. nah,
He didnt include scottie, dennis rodman, joe dumars, bill laimbeer , horace grant and i think there are more...
He meant when they faced up each other in the playoff if they were an all star or not.
Steph had no superstar treatment so theoretically if he did he’d average more points, steals, assist, etc
?
Helps when you're teammate with 1 of the 3 best player in history.
Because Magic only played good because of Kareem, definitely only passed to Kareem and became a great player because of Kareem
@@Snake-re2kx Not to mention the times when Kareem was hurt
I mean it helped. I'm still putting Magic over Curry any day but that fact really helped Magic start his career strong.@@Snake-re2kx
Magic won the Finals MVP in his Rookie Years.
Playing every position on the floor when Kareem got hurt to win the Finals.
it's very true... but you act like Curry didn't have to go headhunt one of the best players in his era just to stay competitive... which he absolutely did... so that's kind of a wash
Nah curry has completely changed the game. I know lots argue that this league is softer, but I’d argue it’s more competitive and way more skilled than it used to be
Imagine if you only judged stats for best decade instead of lumping in Currys injury years.
In half of his "best decade" he averaged 79 games per season. In the second half, he averaged 61 games per season. Availability should be considered.
@@UnconventionalReasoninghe included the stats from the year curry played 5 games. That’s just absurd. We all know a sample size of 5 games shouldn’t be used as part of your overall averages for statistics
@@Romanus- Which stats in the discussion do you think was affected by including that season?
His stats would still be worse than Bron and KD
@@DonkeyKong5479 Casual
Magic won MVP in ‘87. Jordan won in ‘88. Magic in ‘89 & ‘90. Jordan ’91.
Magic retired in ‘91. At age 32! In his prime! Talking potential numbers if Curry plays until he’s 40 is irrelevant.
Edit: Oh, yeah. Magic also won 3 finals MVPs. (More than Kareem. And obviously Curry’s one.)
He retired because Kareem is no more, he know he can't win without his Dad 😂.
You are such an oldhead, stop watching basketball on your box tv its time to get a flatscreen buddy.
@@n0es1sx There are so many candidates for "Stupidest Comment on UA-cam". You have an entry.
@@UnconventionalReasoning I believe you. You're probably expert on it. Keep up the good work.
@@n0es1sx I see them from geniuses like you all the time. When you find your brain, let us know.
I honestly agre with this. Even as a curry fan I still think Magic still has a higher edge on this debate but it's close. 1 championship and FMVP for curry and he would be the GOAT pointguard.
Why do people value finals MVP’s so much when it’s decided by a group of 10 media members who clearly have their own biases. Everyone knows curry should have gotten the FMVP in 2015 over Iggy. Iggy himself says that. They didn’t want Curry to shine over Lebron as that ruins their “GOAT” narrative. Same way Lebron got finals MVP in the bubble when it was clearly Davis
@@Romanus- I actually calculated that fmvp to my view. Magic would still has more accolades. Even if Steph wins a championship and FMVP Magic would still have other accolades but I would consider Curry the GOAT then just cause of the level of competition he was competing against
Nah people judge popularity contests too heavily because they cant simply analyze the TAPE. Both Curry and CP3 clear Magic hes #3 right about J Kidd and Nash
TAPE. DONT. LIE. Its just that most people dont actually know basketball so they have to rely on other !diots to make their decisions.
@Nazoto accolades don't beat the eye test. Curry is the best point guard of all time. Magic started a game at center. He's less of a PG than Curry.
With less help overall. Yes KD was overpowered but they got 2 rings tigether. Kareem was great for 3/5 rings with magic. Also the showtime lakers had 4 all stars and a dpoy. Never forget that the same night magic had 42 his teamate had 37
If any player today played with a 6x mvp that was already a proven champion, and the best player in the history of the sport at the time, plus a dpoy, and a great roster, wed call every ring "micky"
Idk...
for me, Jordan is the Goat, But Dang, Curry JUST EXPANDS THE FLOOR like no one else...
like holy crap, he's the greatest.
Technically, they are tied in Finals MVP's, Magic didnt deserve his first, and Curry deserved the Iguodola MVP. If you want to argue otherwise then you didnt watch. Kareem was great until he was injured compared to Magic's 1 great closeout game. Iggy was getting cooked every which way by LeBron, but they voted for him because LeBron couldnt win a finals MVP as a loser. That aside, I personally tax Magic more than others for how much help he had. Like you said, no one else in NBA history has had that much help for an ENTIRE career, let alone playing with a goat contender in Kareem.
CURRY missed the play-offs 6 season out of 13 🤣🤣🤣
MAGIC made the finals 9 times in 12 seasons yes its close 🤣🤣
@@onlyfacts3178 its easy to make when you always have a good team😭😭 and top 3 oat as your first or second option
it;s almost like having a goat contender on your team will do that... imagine curry started his career playing with lebron lmao. nevermind 2 of those misses was due to injuries, 2 was because he was a rookie and another a sophmore coming back from an injury@@onlyfacts3178
The only time Steph was ever arguably the best player in the league was the same season he blew a 3-1 lead in the finals with a championship roster while his legacy was saved all throughout by Klay Thompson especially against the Russ/KD led OKC in the WCF.
He isn't the passer/distributor, rebounder, finisher, clutch assassin, not even the defender Magic was. Magic was a versatile rebounder at 6'9 while being a 4x assists champ, (averaged 10.9apg for career - NBA record) who led the league in stls twice ('80 and '81), and who played all 5 positions. He did this all while being a 20ppg scorer while yall wanna act like Magic didn't get buckets😂
Him winning 5 championships/3FMVPs/3MVPs (2 against a *PRIME* Michael Jordan) in just a 10yr span carrying a dynasty speaks to how much Magic contributed to winning in such a short period of time. The largest factor being he won the championship and FMVP in his 1st season dropping 45-15-7 with 3slts on 60TS% in a finals close-out game while Kareem was out with injury. More than what Steph did individually in 15 years, try again
Steph doesn't even come close to touching Magic when it comes to running an offense. Magic ran actual rotations dishing inside the paint, drive to the baseline and dish to the far right wing/left wing, driving inside and kicking it out to the corner 3s, and did while being one of the flashiest passers in NBA History. And on the fastbreak he was even better.
Magic did things on the regular that the opposition never saw coming. You dont average 10.9apg (NBA record) for a career as a 4x asts champ for not knowing how to run an offense. The man had eyes in the back of his head. Knew where the defense was located at all times, who was sagging off, who was playing too close, who was about to double etc. and did this all while averaging 20ppg... Steph can't do that and doesn't. Never has
Steph isn't the on-court general, have the IQ, awareness, or skill to run an offense like Magic did. He doesn't even run the offense on his own team. Constantly calling for screens to shoot 30ft isn't running an offense😴
All bron goaters should have stockton as their pg goat, so their logic stays consistent. Longevity + leading stat categories = best ever. Curry is an all time great but magic still takes the pg crown
Well said 💯
Stockton's peak and impact to his team is not good enough to be the Goat PG.
@@AJ-sl7be correct. Same is true for Bron
@@d.columbia9603 LeBron has one of the greatest peaks in NBA history
@@AJ-sl7be but not the greatest. Somewhere in the top 10. 3-4 year stretch mj, bird and wilt have better peaks. Shaq arguably too
Bro said that 1987 magic season was better than 2016 curry season LMAO no
I respect the outcome wasnt want the UA-camr wanted but presented the facts straight up. Good work!
Curry has played longer than Magic while still trailing him in MVP, FMVP, first team all NBA, stat titles (Magic 4 assists and 2 steals titles are more than Curry 2 scoring and 1 steals tiles), also trails in the accumulated advanced stats of Win Shares, and VORP.
Curry also trails Magic in every per game stats outside of points. He also trails Magic in the per unit advanced metrics like PER. BPM, and WSP48.
Curry has a little higher raw TS but their TS relative to era is Magic 113 and Curry 114 (league average is 100) so he is only 1% better adjusted for era.
He may be close than some people think but it's not as close as Curry fans want it to be either.
🎯
Because Steph is the ONLY playmaking PG that doesn't need assists to be impactful. Because his presence creates opportunities for others and promotes true playmaking with team ball movement. The warriors have led the league in assists for the last decade by historic margins. If the NBA logged "hockey assists" (the moment where an extra pass leads to a bucket) Steph would lead the league every year.
The problem is people gatekeep what it means to be a playmaker strictly based on assist numbers. You have to handle the ball, run PnR's, burden mitigating turnovers, and directly pass to a shooter in order to be validated. But that only means you either don't watch basketball, or don't care about anything other than stats. What other player directly forces all 15 people to become playmakers in their own right? Promotes ball movement, what every coach preaches?
And does all of that while being as lethal of an offensive weapon as Kevin freaking Durant?
That was a solid take... especially the last sentence.
That said... if I am building a starting 5 for a championship series i'm taking Stockton over both of them
@@KxngKUDAYou wrote a whole long ass essay just to say that Curry is not a natural PG with natural passing skills because regardless of how you slice it less than 5 apg is atrocious for an all star PG. That’s like being a PF/C and only averaging 6 rpg, “because the way you box out creates space for his teammates to grab the boards.” Lol gimme a break he just is not good at playmaking for others which is strange because he’s likely the 2nd best ball handler in history of league behind Kyrie.
Curry missed his first 4 seasons were you even listening?. So technically he's played 1 more seasons than magic
"Magic dominates in stats, individual awards, team awards... but here's how Curry could hypothetically be better." LMAO.
Steve Nash deserves atleast honorable mention along with Jason Kidd. And I would have an easier time putting Curry in top 5 player of all time before calling a guy who averages less than 5 apg for his career the GOAT PG. Less than 5 apg for a PG is wild.
Well there are other stats for a PG than assists.....
Stockton has the record....0 rings
Nash is close behind.....0 rings
J Kidd thats my dude.....1 ring
All 4 of Stephs rings were bc of Steph. You wanna dispute the 2 with KD? Fine but he aint won without SC....SC got 2 without him.
And finally....GAME 4 IN BOSTON. Give me a comparsion for not only a better PG but the ENTIRE finals on his back and said Im him.
Thats Mamba and MJ level madness!
Bro woke up and said NOT TODAY.
Nash and Stockton dont have that on their resume and i ❤ JKidd so impress me.
steve nash is literally a worse version of steph
You need rings, man.
You need rings AND be the best player of the team.
NAsh has no rings, and Kidd was not the Alpha guy when he got his.
Magic never won a chip without Kareem and a loaded team. Steph’s supporting cast in 2022 is really really bad without him.
Magic is his own kind of unicorn. They’re not really very comparable kinds of players.
MAGIC made the finals in 91 and lost to JORDAN .
MAGIC made 9 finals in 12 seasons.
CURRY missed the play-offs 6 times in 13 seasons.
Excellent analysis and commentary. I hope your content can get the audience it deserves.
Not good he included curry’s 5 game season when he was injured 😭
Great video!! Comparing Steph Curry to Magic Johnson is like comparing a Lamborgini to a Bentley. Both excellence players with extraordinary capabilities and different strengths.
The idol worship is strong here. Curry clears Magic easily and to say otherwise is just silly
Simply switch Magic and Curry and there is absolutely no way magic has more than 1 ring. Give Curry a team full of HoFers like Magic had and boom Curry would have 8 rings
Longevity is so overrated if you aren’t winning who cares about it, longevity is pointless if it isn’t leading to winning.
Exactly, Magic never missed the playoffs in his career and when he came out of retirement and played in the all-star game he won all-star game MVP
I disagree personally
@@ryanscott8180 bron fan lemme guess
Well duh, but it’s still impressive. Even more so, saying it’s pointless is ridiculous. What are they supposed to do? Stop playing the minute their team sucks?
Especially now. It’s less physical and sports medicine is leaps and bounds more advanced now than then. I’m more impressed by Kareem’s ‘longevity’ and even Jordan’s Wizards years than I am with Bron’s or Curry’s.
Cousy innovated the fast break which put them so far ahead of the curve, they dominated a decade of basketball
damn, grandpa stole the tablet
Curry revolutionized the entire SPORT. Magic is an elite example of the Pre-Curry position of PG. But Curry has almost destroyed the whole idea of positions. It's a non-parallel comparison.
I'm not a Lakers fan, but you should get your hands on a couple of 80s Lakers games and watch them. Nobody will ever come close. He's not that good of a shooter, and maybe even a liability on defense. But the spectacle, man. Listen to the crowd for another of those double fake no look passes. Sending the defense to the parking lot twice in one move and make them look stupid for an easy layup. And pretty successful.
I'm that one guy, so my man is Dennis Johnson!
Not sure I can call Curry as PG... Magic is tall but play role of PG, Curry PG height but doesn't play typical PG role... He is one of its kind and he is GOAT at something definitely. I see 90s and prior periods as few very skilled players among under skilled players compared to today's NBA skill level
Magic
Assist leader- 4x
10 or more apg 11x
2x steal leader
1x FT leader
3x MVP
9x top 3 MVP
3x FMVP
All-NBA 1st team 9x
All time apg leader career and playoffs career
5x champion
Finals in 9 years he retired after 12
Came back and played PF for like 30 games in 95-96.
Magic is a winner almost his entire career he was in the finals, high school state champ, college champ, NBA champ some people are just winners that’s Magic he legit makes everyone better.
Earvin Johnson led his Michigan team to the NCAA Championship beating an undefeated Larry Bird Indiana St team As a rookie Earvin Johnson became MVP of the NBA Finals by playing center and point guard beating Ervin and Sixers. Earvin Johnson was 19. He scored 42 points 16 rebound 13 assists. No three point shot needed. It's why Johnson best point guard ever.
Clarity, Bird br8ng undefeated with a mid college team is more impressive than magics stacked Michigan state squad. Also, Magic played great, but Kareem got robbed out of that mvp because he missed game 6 due to injury. Not to mention how loaded that Lakers team was from his rook8e season and on. So comparing Stephs' journey to get to where he is and is the greatest shooter ever, the debate is close.
Curry is easily the GOAT point guard. Imagine how many assists, win percentage, and championships he’d have if he was drafted to Lebron’s team? Then he’d prolly have like 8 championships. Also, Curry plays in a much more competitive era. Not to mention that Steph is the guy that changed the NBA and the way the game is played more than any other player (arguably) except maybe Wilt
I think when we talk greatness, competitiveness of an era shouldn't hold as much weight. Because you're looking at what that person achieved against the other greats of that time. People like to say Magic played against plumbers and firemen but any person with a brain knows that's not true... he played against amazing players, hall of famers, all stars and all time greats. If we're talking about whom is the better/more skillful player then it's a no brainer that it goes to the players of today but if we're talking about greatness then it's a different story. For example, everyone knows and generally agrees that Muhammad Ali is the GOAT of boxing but if we compare his competition to the boxers of today then we would have to say that someone like Tyson Fury is the GOAT since he fought in a more competitive era. Same thing with UFC fighters like GSP, Kamaru Usman fought against better welterweights; skillwise, but everyone generally agrees that GSP is still one of the GOATS and THE best welterweight to ever do it.
In terms of him being drafted to LBJs team, I honestly believe Steph wouldn't have any FMVP, Regular Season MVPs or any other significant accolades for that matter if he had been on the same team as LBJ. LBJ's star power by the time Steph came into the league was mad and everyone would've just seen Steph as Bron's sidekick for the majority of his career. Furthermore, he would not have been given the chance to 'change' the game since the team would've revolved around LBJ as the system. Would he even have the chance to show what he could do?
On your last point, although Steph did change the game, Magic also had significant impact in essentially saving the NBA from bankruptcy, him and Bird's rivalry resulted in playoff games finally being broadcasted live on television and broadcasted on national television. Before their rivalry, even the NBA finals weren't televised live.
@@bryanchan8888 bro, you got my respect to write that whole essay into a comment. 😂
Anyways, I agree with what you sayin to an extent but Steph would have still changed the NBA even if he’d been on Lebron’s team. He’d have way more scoring titles too though with LBJ giving him assists.
At the end of the day, it’s all subjective.
@@facemaster368 Yeah, we'll never know, to each their own. Hahaha I'm not working today, so just killing time on UA-cam anyway 🤣🤣, have a good day.
The editor of this video needs more props
Today's game is more about positionless basketball. In that way Curry can be considered close to Magic. Curry is more like a SG.
As a PG/floor general it is not close. Magic Stockton Thomas Kidd are better PG
Makes no sense cause Steph can average 25 and 10, if dominated the ball more. That is the difference. Ball dominance not who’s the better PG. Magic, Stockton, Nash, Kidd and Zeke DOMINATED the ball. Steph does not dominate the ball.
stephs gravity alone with the assist he averages per game literally debuks this flawed logic LOL no one double teams magic at halfcourt forcing wide open teammates to score like they have been doing steph since LITERAL COLLEGE LOL.
@savonsanders8684 yes he plays like a SG like I said
@Sf75178 He's a PG. He can do what Magic and them did but they couldn't have done what Steph do that's just FACT. Take the ball out of those guys' hands, and they're TRASH. A lot of standing at the top of the key is what we'd see.
@@savonsanders8684 he is listed as PG but plays like SG
If curry was 6,9 he would be the goat not goat pg
Humble Steph would tell you that his 6 APG and his assist to turnover of 2:1 puts him out of any conversations of GOAT point guards. He would tell you he don't facilitate or protect the ball enough to be considered...
I think Steph is more like a SG instead of a PG, but the game changes so much, it's too hard to compare...
I mean when you play vs weaker comp and have an arguable goat as your teammate I would hope you would do better, I would love to see Curry’s career if he had KD as a teammate from the beginning.
I watched both Magic, and Steph, and Magic has a better resume. Steph, I believe, will have the greater career when it said, and done. Steph should have three finals, MVP, he was overlooked because of who he is. Steph makes his team better, much like Magic, but without Steph, the Warrior's fall hard. Longevity doesn't mean you're better, but played longer; Labrick vs the greats. Steph changed the game forever.
It wasn't mentioned in the video, but Curry have a Steals Title, and Magic have 2 Steals Title
Magic was playing for like 10 years with the 3rd greatest player of alltime
Steph only played 3 years with KD and everybody loses their mind
I’m not about to detract from Magic’s greatness, but I will always ask people this question: how hard do you think it is to get an assist when you get to pass to the second highest scorer ever who had the most unstoppable shot of all time and was over 7 feet tall? Any random point guard could average like 9 assists or more with that guy on your team your whole career
Look Magic's assist averages without Kareem after 89. I mean he lead his team to the finals in 91 with Divac as a center. Playing with Kareem or not didn't change that much for Johnson he's a great player after all
@@warkunitale no doubt about it. He’s a very great player. I’m merely attempting to show that having him as teammate right off the bat would help big time to your impact and win percentage as a point guard. Part of the reason why I think Steph is the GOAT PG
You forgot to mention how Magic won his first finals and fmvp as a center
He wasn’t playing the point guard
He was not playing as a Center, he played in all positions in that game.It was ridiculous.
One play he was there, playmaking, the other he was there in the post, in another he was guarding a PF, in another he was stealing the ball from the perimeter... and catching one rebound after another.... it was a nuts.He did everything in that game.In the finals.As a rookie.Ridiculous.
We will never see anything like that again.Pure Magic.
Magic had a higher peak statistically than Michael Jordan... Or any other player beside maybe Jokic right now. Curry and the NBA is so much different now than it was back then, I put them both at #1
No he really isn't
Magic never won a ring after Kareem retired, Curry won a ring before and after Durant
Magic only won rings because of his MVP teammate ,Bird took the Celtics to 5 finals appearance and won 3 without having a MVP teammate
‘No one else comes close’ that ain’t true. Thomas definitely has a case. He played in the big man era and coulda been the first non big to lead his team to a three peat. Had he not hurt his ankle in the finals. Also era for era the new era is so much easier and pampered today than back when Johnson and Thomas were playing compared to now. Magic is the goat PG. But Curry I’d say is top 15. A convo could be had that he’s over Kobe..
Any old head would have the Big O, not Cousey as their man. And anyone who doesnt have robertson at no.3 pg all time, needs to read a book.
Magic is, without question, a better point guard. Better player though? Its close. But magic kept winning, even after jabbar faded. Steff missed the playoffs. Thats enough for me.
That thumbnail goes hard
Jerry West won NBA finals MVP on the losing team that's how great also he averaged over 30 points in multiple years for you just to dismiss him is laughable and shows your lack of knowledge of the game, also he played in an era that had no 3-point line and had a lot more defense
Magic had better teams for longer though imo. For about 5 years the Warriors weren’t much. Couple that with Klay being injured for two years and Steph being injured for one of them and alllll the ankle injuries he played with. I think it’s closer than people think- though magic does seem to have the edge nonetheless.
I can’t get over the “hardest finals runs” nonsense. Apparently the Clyde drexler blazers are the second highest level of competition on the entire list at 8.47. The 2017 Cavs are 2.87 so by that metrics Clyde’s blazers were 3x harder competition than the Lebron, Kyrie and Love Cavs. Then it really gets ridiculous, the 1988 Pistons apparently were literally 6 time harder competition for Magic than the team he lost to that won the championship - the 1989 Pistons? This is just absurd and whoever created “SRS” should stick to math because they certainly don’t know basketball
The warriors didn't play the lakers in the second round in 2022, they played the grulizzlies
Closer? He's far ahead.
🧢
@@Snake-re2kxit isn’t cap it’s facts
Where’s your receipts
@@Snake-re2kx Where's yours?
5x championship
3x finals MVP
3x MVP
12x all star
4x assist champion
2x steal champion
10x all nba
2x all star game MVP
7th in all-time assists
(As well as HOF but Curry will get in when he retires so I won’t count it)
🗣️MAGIC CHANGE THE POSITION BUT STEPH CHANGED THE GAME!!!! 💯💯💯🙋
So cuz curry isnt a traditional point guard he isnt the best point guard
You started this argument by saying alot of weird shit
Curry carried GSW way more than magic carried his lakers
And if youre questioning his impact its wild asf as well
But who is being polled? What are the criteria for comparison? What were the challenges each player had?
In order to make an honest comparison the markers for measurement have to be normalized against a standard.
Otherwise the comparison is purely subjective and the numeric comparison is irrelevant.
I still rate Magic higher than Steph in the goat depth chart, but you can't account for Steph's importance by just stats. He's the best screener in the league simply because he almost always takes two defenders with him. That's not going to show in any numbers. When he draws double-team, it's outside the three point line. He passes the ball and it's 4 on 3 with almost half the court to play. That's not going to show up in any stats either.
Youth how much assist he averages he not the leader of his own team when he doesn't have klay Thomas and this is the most free flowing easiest nonchalant doesn't play an inch of defense maybe two teams
Klay Thomas is my favorite
He is not even close to Magic Curry is just better shooter,Magic is better defender better rebounder and way better passer
Magic better be a better rebounder he’s 6”9
Oscar Robertson 😮
You used to hear a lot of people make the case that he was the GOAT PG, before Westbrook came along he was seen as a bit Wilt like. Since we've seen a bit of what averaging a triple double and getting a ton of those actually looks like with Westbrook though I think fair or not that's demystified the Big O some. Maybe it shouldn't, Westbrook carried a couple of teams to the playoffs doing that even if it's a style of play that doesn't get you much further than that. But can't deny it has
the 2015 finals the finals MVP should have gone to Curry. Iguodala got it because he shut down Lebron in the clinching game
I still fully believe is curry signed with nike he would still have to deal with the lebron bullshit of trying to make curry look bad. But he would have a better chance of getting points and less hassell from the lebron part
Curry would 100% already be the goat pg if KD and Klay never got injured in 2019
And if Draymond didn’t get suspended or Bogut didn’t get injured in 2016 the warriors don’t blow the 3-1 lead
Ik the what ifs aren’t real but still
GREATEST POINT GUARDS
🏀 Point guards
1 Magic
2 Oscar Rob (PG/SG)
3 Isiah Thomas
4 Steph Curry
5 Walt Frazier
6 John Stockton
7 Jerry West (PG/SG)
8 Bob Cousy
9 Steve Nash
10 Jason kidd
11 Tony Parker
12 Gary Payton
13 Chris Paul
Magic is the greatest point gaurd but one more championship and finals MVP and the Narrative changes completely.
stop looking at the stats and just watch them play there will be a difference.
4:09-4:10 umm isn't that what a point guard yet this is even a debate. It's not even that his passes were flashier, Magic actually passed more.
Great video! So, Magic beats Curry on every important metric, but if Curry plays slightly above mediocre ball for five more years he might be better? It’s an interesting argument….
Bird won rookie of the year, not Magic.
Tyreke Evans won rookie of the year, not Steph. But Magic and Bird are both considered top 10 players and Tyreke Evans hasn’t even made an all-star game
@@Snake-re2kx Not exactly helpful or relevant to me pointing out an incorrect claim in the video but thanks.
My bad, I didn’t watch the video I just came to the comments to defend Magic
True. Magic was busy winning NBA Finals MVP. Becoming first in NBA history to be MVP NCAA Championship and NBA Finals MVP
@@Snake-re2kx 🤦♂
Magic didn't win Rookie of the year. He had kareem since day 1 and didn't win a single ring without him.
Curry won 2 rings without durant before and after him. 2015 fmvp was snubbed.
I don’t think even the most diehard fans of Magic are trying to say that Curry isn’t close. My issue with people trying to crown curry as the goat PG is how consistently Magic was the best player on his team for championship runs and how consistently he won despite a short career and people almost ignoring that two of Steph’s rings came as a result of a free agent signing that should’ve never been possible to begin with. That’s not to say the warriors couldn’t have won the championship those two years without KD, but those two title runs feel starkly devalued and discredited because of the conditions under which they were obtained. Magic is, in most people’s eyes, a top 5 player all time. Saying curry is the goat pg over him means that you likely think curry is either a top 5 player ever and possibly in the goat debate…those both feel like a blatant overshot from where curry is as of right now in time. Maybe after he retires and we get to look at his full body of work, we as a basketball community can have a better discussion about it but it feels like either side just tries to discredit the other right now when Steph still has some gas in the tank to cement his legacy
If we fault LeBron for having hall of fame teammates, then we should hold Magic to the same standard. Magic being teammates with the 3rd greatest player of all time is why I have Curry above him
And no, KD ain’t even top 15
Magic did not win rookie of the Year.
Curry is not a point guard he's a shooting guard acting as a point guard. He's the best shooter we've ever seen the eye test proves it.
Magic is the best point guard.
Your right. Magic didn't win rookie of the year. But he did win MVP of NBA Finals as a rookie.
Steph is a PG don't gatekeep his position. The greatest Combo-guard ever, but his entire MO is to be the engine that creates plays for others. Except unlike Steve Nash, who has admitted to regretting this himself, Steph refused to limit his own offensive output by abiding to your small minded ideals. His team has led the league in assists for the last decade. Steph literally rallies his troops into being a system of playmakers. Any coach would rather have 7 people averaging 5+ assists than one guy averaging 12 but the entire team averages 19 as a whole. Perspective.
Steph, like Magic, is a one of a kind playmaker at his position. If you wanna call steph a shooting guard, then call Magic a small forward.
Magic aint a pg either he was a 6'9 mfer passing the ball to people at the paint. We dont call draymond green a pg and hes shorter than magic
The definition of positions evolved with the game. Stephs gravity generates a lot of points and plays for the warriors therefore he is the pg. The plays run through him
@@lucidstudious750 Fair point. Would you consider Mark Price to be of a similar vein as Curry?
steph is a point guard, no amount of delusion and denial in your head will ever change that FACT
Steph is about 7” away from being the goat. If Steph was 6’9” he’d be the greatest player to ever play
A hell of a video
Magic is the best PG of his era. Steph is the better player of any era. I'm 43, by the way. Watch any Magic game and time-travel drop Curry into that game, and he's scoring 200.
Now, if you're judging "greatness" by accolades and stats compared to their peers, sure, Magic is better. But if you're judging by pure skill and who is going to win the game, there is no debate whatsoever; Curry is far, far, far, far better than Magic; don't play. We're talking Curry overall would be 100 and Magic would be an effing 40.
Under hardest finals runs you have Magic’s finals opponent, the 1989 bad boy pistons rated as just .92 for competition. In Curry’s 2016 finals you have the Portland trailblazers rated as .98 for competition. Are you actually claiming that the Lillard and McCollum blazers were tougher competition that the bad boy pistons? Also you have the 2016 Cavs ranked at 5.45 and then the 2017 Cavs at almost half of the competition ranking at 2.87. So who did the Cavs lose between 2016 and 2017 that made them HALF as good competition? I’m sorry but these numbers are absurd. The 2017 Utah Jazz are 4.0 competition but the Cavs with Lebron, Love, Kyrie and a great supporting cast are a 2.87? Anyone who watched basketball those years will tell you how absurd that is. The 2017 Utah Jazz are apparently more than almost double the level of competition than a #1 seed Cavs with 3 all stars and a stacked bench😂 Cmon man, who ever created this measurement system needs to learn basketball
Video could have ended before he got to advanced stat 😅
You skipped the steals leader Steph had
Comparing Kobe's last game to Curry's career is not a fair comparison... Kobe wins everytime 🎉👌🏻
2nd Round 2022 the Warriors played Memphis not LA
Deep down we would prefer curry on our team than magic
Yes, it's close.
But Curry is not there.Just close.
It's like Kobe and Jordan.
Kobe did amazing shit in the NBA and he was a hell of a player, the Mamba ! But we all know who's the best SG of all time.
It's not really close. The stats tell you that. Then the championships tell you that. Curry didn't change the game as much as yall think. The game was going to 3ball whether Curry was in the league or not. It was a statistical and mathematical inevitability.
Magic is my top 5 player of all time; Curry is my number 12. So awesome, number 2 PG, but not close to Magic. My top PGs are Magic, then Curry, then West, then Frazier, then Isiah, the Oscar, then Stockton, and then whoever you want after that doesn't matter.
He would have to win one more title and finals mvp to be in the conversation
to end the conveersation*
It's not that curry isn't great or the best shooter, curry just isn't much of a true PG, hes more of a pos 2
Magic lost ROY to Bird
The only time Steph was ever arguably the best player in the league was the same season he blew a 3-1 lead in the finals with a championship roster while his legacy was saved all throughout by Klay Thompson especially against the Russ/KD led OKC in the WCF.
He isn't the passer/distributor, rebounder, finisher, clutch assassin, not even the defender Magic was. Magic was a versatile rebounder at 6'9 while being a 4x assists champ, (averaged 10.9apg for career - NBA record) who led the league in stls twice ('80 and '81), and who played all 5 positions. He did this all while being a 20ppg scorer while yall wanna act like Magic didn't get buckets😂
Him winning 5 championships/3FMVPs/3MVPs (2 against a *PRIME* Michael Jordan) in just a 10yr span carrying a dynasty speaks to how much Magic contributed to winning in such a short period of time. The largest factor being he won the championship and FMVP in his 1st season dropping 45-15-7 with 3slts on 60TS% in a finals close-out game while Kareem was out with injury. More than what Steph did individually in 15 years, try again
Steph doesn't even come close to touching Magic when it comes to running an offense. Magic ran actual rotations dishing inside the paint, drive to the baseline and dish to the far right wing/left wing, driving inside and kicking it out to the corner 3s, and did while being one of the flashiest passers in NBA History. And on the fastbreak he was even better.
Magic did things on the regular that the opposition never saw coming. You dont average 10.9apg (NBA record) for a career as a 4x asts champ for not knowing how to run an offense. The man had eyes in the back of his head. Knew where the defense was located at all times, who was sagging off, who was playing too close, who was about to double etc. and did this all while averaging 20ppg... Steph can't do that and doesn't. Never has
Steph isn't the on-court general, have the IQ, awareness, or skill to run an offense like Magic did. He doesn't even run the offense on his own team. Constantly calling for screens to shoot 30ft isn't running an offense😴
Ur chattin, at this point it just shows ur preference, I agree that magic is the goat, but it’s not that Steph lacks the iq it’s rather a style difference, Steph is a bucket getter first, which he has to be as he is a superstar and one of the faces of the league, the league does better when he puts on a show, players would prefer magic because he’s unselfish, he gonna look for his teammates before he gets his own buckets, Steph will from time to time but he wants to takeover, in a 1v1 Steph is winnin tho for sure
Steph literally built the warriors culture from bottom to top, magic came in an already had a packed team along with Kareem, ofc he’s gonna win, and the level of talent back then doesn’t even match today, so the whole convo is just up for grabs cuz the eras, the styles and the players themselves are different
@@gabeugwu749 Thanks for letting me know you don't know basketball.
1. Steph didn't build 💩 Mark Jackson put Steph & Klay both in the position to succeed because he saw their potential before everyone else did, including them.
2. You don't get to blow of a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals with a 73-9 team w/ 2 HOFs in their primes. At least Magic didn't choke when he carried a sufficient dynasty which he did as the best player, on multiple occasions. Steph missed the playoffs 6x in 14 seasons. Magic went to the FINALS 9x in 12 SEASONS
Magic showed up when Kareem didn't. Steph was saved by Klay / KD / Iguodala saved for his inadequacies on offense running the offense & being clutch & then for being a defensive liability, while you wanna talk supporting casts.
Steph didn't win a SINGLE FMVP in the 2010s, & won a single title since then w/ his 1st FMVP, what are we talking about
@@gabeugwu749 You're missing the point. As a POINT GUARD, be doesn't run the offense on his OWN TEAM. That automatically disqualified him from ever being mentioned amongst Magic.
Dude he isn't a better point guard than Isiah Thomas or John Stockton or Gary Payton or Jason Kidd or Chris Paul, the position he obtains objectively isn't even top 5 in.
He calls for screens to shoot chuck inefficient 30ft shots outside at a high volume. He SHOOTS. That is IT. If Steph wasn't a great shooter, he'd be a nobody.
Everything you praise him for, is for excelling in ONE aspect of the game... whilst being mediorce or below satisfactory in everything else... against a guy who was above average in every aspect of the game & who PERFECTED an aspect of the game... and who WON MORE
@@FrokuBabayy bruh just say u don’t like Steph… 😂😂😂😂, that’s crazy af, mark Jackson style of play and Steve Kerrs are so different it’s insane but I wouldn’t put it past you if u didn’t watch any player podcast or watch the games. yeah they blew the finals, but it doesn’t change the fact that Steph was injured and could barley run around the court and be the best version of Steph that he’s shown throughout all these years
How much different would this be if magic didn’t have to retire early? This wouldn’t even be a discussion I would think.
How diffenrent would it be if stephen curry had kevin durant for his entire career be for real. Magic had kareem arguably top 3 of all time for most of those championships be for real.
@@Gojogoat132It would be a lot different as Magic would be the runaway favorite because Curry would be looked at like a sidekick to KD who would be the one getting all the MVPs.
Magic ain’t beating the bulls or the rocket dynasty’s in the 1990.s Magic tried MJ once and he gave him a beating of a lifetime to put it lightly,
@@Shawnjohson1608 I dunno man, that would have been a much more competitive series if Worthy was healthy and frankly they're the Lakers, they would have shaken things up if it looked like the roster wasn't good enough.
Steph is the GOAT
Go look at magic highlights and curry highlights and you tell me who’s a better guard
Great video
Steph passed up Isaiah Thomas very recently.
I wish Kobe was alive to witness curry take over
He was😂😂😂
Steph Curry’s teams wouldn’t beat the Showtime Lakers. Plus Curry isn’t a PG, his position says PG but he doesn’t facilitate like a PG should. Curry’s a great shooter but that’s it, he also only gets off because of the super soft rule changes of recent.
The 2017 warriors would brutaly maul the showtime lakers
@@antiarezzo7630 😂😂😂😂But the couldn’t brutally maul the Cavs🤔
@@antiarezzo7630 who on that team would guard Magic, Kareem, and Worthy?
That was the 2016 warriors, but I still agree
Facilitate? Magic just pass that's it. If you swap their career Magic won't win a ring, Steph 15 rings easy.
Impossible comparison
Steph is much closer to 2 guard then point guard. Draymond ran the offense as much if not more than steph. If you are rating him as a 2 guard he'd be the 3rd or 4th best of all time.
That "true point guard" is a complete bull. This is not the MLB. So you're saying Rondo is way better than Curry because he passes better?
Determining someone’s position purely based off their play style is foolish. Because Curry scores more, he is no longer a PG? That makes no sense. He has always been listed as PG.
@@zeepip3386
A point guard runs the offense. That is not his primary function.
@@dankibler6306 That makes Jokic and Giannis PG's by definition. The nba has become more, put the ball in your best players hands than before. Steph for a majority of his career played the traditional PG until Kerr maximized his potential
@Spawn3582
But that's the point
You can't compare him to a traditional point guard when nothing about what he does or the style he plays is in line with a "traditional" point guard. If magic played in this positionless he would be jokic on steroids
Just gained a subscriber outta me💪🏿
why are we arguing who’s better between a guy with 1 finals mvp and took over a decade to play at an elite level
Over a guy with 3 finals mvp, and guy who’s been elite since his rookie season. A guy who won finals mvp in his ROOKIE SEASON. He did in year one what took curry nearly decades 💀
i mean curry didnt get taken at the first pick by the reigning champ lakers
If you look at the advanced stats curry was the best player un every chip hes won calm down. Currys play style is supposed to make make other players look better than him
Curry wasn't given the chance early on, the Warriors were building around Monta Ellis, he only really had the chance to shine once Monta was traded, also Curry was robbed of the finals mvp in 2015, Iguodala did not deserve that at all, even Lebron deserved it more and he didn't even win, I do think Magic is still the better one but it's getting really close and I wouldn't be surprised if he surpassed Magic eventually, he's 35 and is still balling out like crazy.
It's nice to be drafted #1 by the team with the GOAT (of his time).
And we all know that first FMVP was a hard snub. Steph should have 2.
And you're HEAVILY exaggerating how long it took steph to take off. It was only 5 years. Due to injury and Monta Ellis.
And by your logic, Bill Russell clears MJ. Fuck nuance
well there's a big difference between getting drafted in the best team in the NBA and transforming one of the worst teams in the NBA into a dynasty. That should be taken into account, warriors without curry are nothing, lakers without magic are NBA champs, that's a BIG thing magic dickriders have to deal with when saying curry is miles behind. That said curry's close but not the best yet. If he wins one more title and finals MVP this should not even be a debate anymore
Magic will unfortunately get passed by Curry as time goes on. I love Magic but curmudgeons hold onto their era