LeBron and Curry : Who Is Your Idol

Would you rather have LeBron or Curry on your team?

LeBron James has dominated the NBA’s individual pecking order for more than a decade. Even when he doesn’t win the league’s MVP award, he’s still the MVP. It’s just accepted, without question, pretty much by everyone.

But then Stephen Curry game along, thrusting himself into superstardom. His progression happened later than most studs, but the transition was nevertheless very real. He went from a fringe star to an MVP candidate in an instant, winning each of the last two Maurice Podoloff Trophies.

Curry’s rise unofficially put LeBron’s status under siege, particularly in 2015-16, when the former was playing through the best offensive season in league history. Was LeBron actually more valuable? Is it possible Curry was better?

Who would you rather have on your team?

The answer, despite recent events, remains clear cut: LeBron is the better player, and it’s not all that close.

This isn’t to take anything away from Curry. People pigeonhole him into a shooter’s role when he’s so much more than that. He has changed the way we look at basketball, in large part because of his limitless range, but also because he’s so darn efficient doing crazy things.

Pit him against all-time greats, and it’s obvious that Curry belongs. Only two other players, in fact, are averaging 20 points or more per game with an assist rate of at least 30 and a steal percentage of at least 2.5: Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook. That’s some company for a player some believe to be just a shooter.

Still, LeBron is able to impact the game in ways no one else can. Him and Curry might be dead even on the offensive end, but he begins to separate himself defensively. He is one of the few players in league history who can guard every position for long stretches at a time, and the effort he puts into playing defense during the playoffs is just absurd.

EditorialCreative Never before has there been a more versatile player. There are those who remain inclined to place Michael Jordan over LeBron because of His Airness’ six championship rings, but we have to move beyond that. In terms of pure basketball skill and value, LeBron is the best there ever was.

He solidified as much during the 2016 NBA Finals, when he almost single-handedly carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever championship. They trailed Curry’s Golden State Warriors 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, but came storming back to win the next three games.

Things had to break their way, including the Draymond Green suspension in Game 5, and Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both pitched in a ton. But there isn’t another player who could have gone as hard as LeBron did, for as long as he did. That series was a microcosm of his career, further proof that he’s a do-everything megastud.



Case in point: This is the seventh time LeBron is clearing 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal per game for the seventh time in his career. Everyone else in NBA history has combined to do the same five times. So what LeBron does is unprecedented, it’s unique, it’s invaluable.

And it certainly gives him the edge over Curry, another all-time great who, like everyone else ever, just isn’t on LeBron’s level.