I think the reason for Nick's "dilemma" of putting Steph in starting 5s ahead of Magic is because through the eyes of the modern game, shooting is invaluable. Plus, if you have Lebron, he's basically a PG and you don't need Magic as much. Edit: So many people commenting why Magic is better than Steph, I never said he wasn't, I just gave a reason as to why Nick may have thought the way he did.
Magic was the best at making other players better. When the other starting 4 are the best players ever, what he brings to the table gets diminished so having Steph makes sense... but that doesn't mean he's better than Magic or even close to be clear.
Just do Bird instead of LeBron. You then get the three and can keep the spread out floor because of Larry's ability to shoot threes. I don't know that anyone needs a point forward in a team like that.
The thing is you take LeBron out. I mean the man needs to drive to the basket to get his buckets so he needs interior space. Who is going to give him interior space when you have Kareem/Shaq or whoever at center and MJ in there? So you need the best pg more than LeBron on that team and that is Magic. Then you have Steph as one of the guards for his shooting.
The reason why you can't remove Steph in an all time team is because of his gravity. The space he creates basically makes everyone in the team even better. Imagine Jordan, Bron or kobe getting that amount of space? We've seen that when Durant was in GSW. It is unstoppable. Imagine Jordan getting that space.... Sheeeshhhh
Question why is Kobe on the line up when you already got Jordan? Curry, Jordan, Lebron, Duncan and Shaq would be my all time line up. While Magic and Kareem are the best at their positions having 2 black holes like Curry and Shaq is hard to deny.
No it really shouldn’t, that might be the most ridiculous sports take I’ve ever heard. That would be a stat that only fans would use to make excuses for missed shots.
Its a tough one...something I think that is missed from the conversation is that not only is shooting more important nowadays but more players are capable of running the game without needing to be the point guard. Also player movement and the 3pt shot has changed the need for a dominant point guard to control the game in the same way. Arguably Steph controls the game as much with his movement as other players do through traditional passing. Instinctively the answer feels like Magic but when you think about it, I think it's getting closer by the day.
It’s really not, I like Steph but he’s not a better point guard than Magic. Better shooter, sure but PG no. A PG commands the talent around him, Steph is the talent. He is more of a 2 guard that plays the point bc he is too small.
@@Purple-qi4hj This has always been my take one Steph. Undersized 2 guard. Position-less basketball has Steph to thank as well. We wont see another one because as you watch high school basketball and some college, players are shifting back towards traditional ball and not jacking up triples as soon as the ball passes half court.
@@SoLoFlight365 Position-less basketball has Steph to thank? Were you not born before 2009? He's either the PG or the SG. Magic is like the original position-less player.
They are both listed as point guards but play the position COMPLETELY different. You can't really compare them when it comes to stats because one is very dominant over the other in individual categories so you can only go to their accolades and Magic has the edge. If you gave a 3rd point guard the accolades Magic has over Steph (1 title, 3 Finals appearances, 2 FMVPs, 1 MVP & 5 1st team all-nba); that PG would be a hall of famer and top 25 player too.
Yes you can. One is the focus of every defines every night who double and throw everything at him. The other was a player who played with two first overall picks who did the hard work for him
Fmvp, All NBA, and MVPs are just awards voted on by media. Why do they matter at all? The Lakers won the title and then the draft after winning the title had the first pick and drafted James worthy to the title winning team lol
@@andrewbradley3305 You can't just diminish these awards like they don't have real production numbers behind it. If you get one of these awards that means you are one of the best if not the best player during that season.
People should just be honest that Steph is an undersized Shooting Guard so they set up the GS offense to CALL HIM a point guard, but let him, Klay, and Draymond share the PG duties. In the end, 24ppg and 6000 career assists is LAUGHABLE as the greatest PG ever. Magic, Isaiah, Oscar, Stockton, Iverson (if you value scoring the most), and at least a half-dozen others all have comparable or superior ALL-AROUND stats to Curry. If you just want to talk about his effect on the game as an outside threat and ignore every other facet of the position, then I guess you can talk yourself into him being great, but if we called him a shooting guard (which he is), he wouldn't be top 5.
I think a big part of why you'd take Steph over Magic in those hypothetical best teams is because LeBron gives you most of what you'd get from Magic. You don't need a distributor at the 1 when you've already got Bron as your default ball handler **Not to mention Steph's gravity and floor spacing is wild
But why do you need Steph's scoring when you have LeBron and Jordan for that? I'd take Magic for distributing to those guys. You wouldn't need Steph's scoring. Jordan would have problems with him.
@@brandonhensley14no one comes close to stephs shooting and it creates more opportunities than magic would. Plus steph is also a very good passer so it's kinda obvious why you'd want steph
Something I’m surprised wasn’t brought up is how about a month ago Steph Curry said “I’m in my prime” so that being said all these All NBA teams and championships for Steph could keep going up
I am a huge fan of Magic Johnson and I really like Steph Curry. To compare these two is a classic apples vs. oranges debate since they are two completely different players in their skill set. size and purpose for their respective teams. Magic was the conductor of a up tempo, layup oriented fast break team that had a dominant center and highly skilled and quick wings. Magic was not asked to become a consistent, major scoring threat until the 1986-87 season. Magic's resume is unassailable and he's a Top 5 player to me all time without question. Curry single handed changed the game today with his shooting and ability to completely break down traditional half court defenses with his movement and off screen cuts. He is, to me, the greatest shooter of all time. That said, they both dominated very differently. Moreover, the term "point guard" means very different things today than it did in Magic's day (I mean, Russell Westbrook is a point guard!). I think it's a fun discussion but mostly unfair to both players. I will say Magic starting at center in the 1980 Finals series clinching game in place of Kareem is an all time flex and remains unparalleled. Plus he was only 20 years old. Impressive. Each player exerts a different type of will onto a game but both can equally control a game in many ways. One footnote that Broussard is correct about---Magic did have a better cast of talent around him coming into the league than Curry did (even though he wasn't exactly playing with bums, either).
Why are we assuming LeBron would automatically be on the team? You can put Magic at 1 and Bird at 3. There's your playmaker and 3 point shooter right there.
Steph is excellent, but we are not just talking about players who happened to be pg; we are talking about the pg role, someone who manages the plays... In this sense I would also put IT and Stockton before Steph
Interesting what Nick said "Magic IS the best point guard all time but if you were to build to best team of all time Steph would be at that point guard position
Just proves what an idiot he is. You can't build the best team of all time with a mediocre point guard with a great jump shot. If LeBron is going to play the point, that's fine and there's a real argument about him doing it. But he'll have to defend the other team's PG and you can't have Steph playing PF. Why do you need a 47% shooter on the team? Get a guy who isn't a scorer but is a great assist man and your team has more cohesion. You're going to have an extremely whiny Shaq as your center getting the ball once out of every 12 possessions.
If it's one game for my life, I am sliding Lebron to the point, Jordan as my shooting gaurd, Kobe as my small forward, prime Kareem on the block, and Nowitzki as my power forward to stretch the floor and give me points. Yes I know I left out at least 4 power forwards better than Nowitzki but using him to balance this roster.
There also was not the same level of PG competition early in his career. The only player he would have had for competition early in his career was Zeke, and he was clearly better. On top of that they were selected together for a first team. Later on Stockton came around but by then Magic already had four. Steph’s career overlaps with Kyrie, CP3, Dame, James Harden, Russell Westbrook. That’s 4 top 75 Players, and a future Hall of Famer in Kyrie. You don’t think if those players weren’t there he’d have a few more selections? The same thing is going to happen to Embiid and Jokic right now. Only one of them can be a First Team All-NBA Center each year, so even if they switch off every year there numbers will be lower than some other guys who didn’t play against other great centers.
@@rickyrobby8133 your argument is basically that it was too hard for Steph to differentiate himself from his peers meanwhile a guy like LBJ played in an era with KD, Kawhi, Giannis, Jimmy, PG, Anthony Davis, Tim Duncan, and the list of forwards goes on and on yet he never had a problem making first team and that’s a guy people attempt to compare Steph to. So how is this not fair? There has always been competition for spots, separate from them.
@@chasingfelix3609 that is not even sort of my argument. You don’t think if there were 3 more Hall of Fame PG playing in the 80s they might have each gotten ONE All-NBA first team? Jimmy Butler is borderline for even the Hall of Fame, so I don’t know why you’d include him. AD has been listed at Center for half his career. Kawhi hasn’t been on the court enough to be selected to All-NBA teams. He has five in his entire career 1st, 2nd, or 3rd despite being a top 10 player when healthy. And you actually made my point, Lebron was consistently getting first team selections early in his career. It wasn’t until 2009 he had back-to-back seasons. And oddly enough, the first time Giannis made first team All-NBA Lebron didn’t for the first time in a decade. Weird how that works, huh? It’s also ridiculous to compare arguably the best player ever. You might as well have picked Jordan or Kareem to make your point. And you didn’t actually respond to the point I made, what I said was Magic benefitted from lesser competition. Telling me that Lebron played against good competition but didn’t have that problem proves nothing at all. Your point was “separate from the competition,” when my point was Magic didn’t have much competition at all.
I feel the same way. None of these guys were necessarily my favorite, but collectively I'd rather listen to the 3 of them than any other group of pundits.
@@sermoncatcher55 Just dudes talking sports. No pointless yelling and drama, no pointless female co hots as thought they cant introduce their own show.
I love that the Magic argument has to revolve around assists while we basically take the leading assist guy every year in the last few years and call him a bum by the end of that season. Because we know assists is a fairly nebulous stat that’s driven by usage
Career Résumé…Total Achievements: (Titles, MVPs, Finals MVPs, 1st All-NBA, 1st All-DEF) 1) Jordan = 36 2) LeBron = 30 3) Kareem = 29 4) Kobe = 28 4) Duncan = 28 6) Magic = 20 … To put things into perspective, Stephen Curry only has 11…he’s not even close to the great ones. … NBA Titles: Magic = 5 Curry = 4 … MVPs: Magic = 3 Curry = 2 … Finals MVP: Magic = 3 Curry = 1 … All-NBA 1st Team: Magic = 9 Curry = 4 … NBA Assist Titles: Magic = 4 Curry = 0 … Career triple doubles Magic = 138 Curry = 10 … Curry is not a true point guard. You have to be a facilitator of the team in order to be a point guard. He is more of a shooting guard. Even Curry himself admitted in an interview that Draymond Green is more of a point guard than him. LeBron James and Draymond Green are better facilitators than Stephen Curry. Magic will always be the greatest point guard of all time. Case closed
It revolves around chips, MVPs, Finals MVPs and Appearances, etc. That's why you never hear nobody say Stockton over Curry. The argument looks at the totality.
@@FreedomFighter2112 if you have kareem and worthy you can have assists. Magic hits the open man but steph CREATES open men that is not shown by stats but by his accolades that he has gotten despite not having the nba all time 2nd leading scorer. You cant be the greatest shooter and not be a great in a game about shooting that is just logically impossible.
@@FreedomFighter2112 I wish I could thumbs ups a 100 times. To be fair Magic is the greatest traditional, orthodox point (1) guard. Steph is the modern greatest combo (1-2) guard(1). if it at all make any sense
Magic is easily better than Steph as a full PG, as a shooter Steph is the best player across all positions to play the game so far. His off-ball movement is the best since Reggie Miller. It really depends on your surrounding team but if we're just doing player against player its got to be Magic. If we consider that the team already has a distrubutor role outside of the PG (Lebron, Jok, etc.) then magic would be redundant and adding Curry would be the best move. If your team needs a PG to distribute... MAGIC
@@memoirsofalegend5472 Do you just not know who Magic is or what? Magic Johnson was a 6'9" PG, 215lb jumping around like Lebron James and Steph is a 6'2" 185lb compact natural shooting guard. Already Magic has a big advantage on post defense, shot blocking, and vision that Steph just can't get. Next, and I think the bigger difference, is that he lead the league in passing 4 different years, averaged a double double for both his career and 9 individual seasons (something Steph has done zero times), and has an incredible 41% career AST%. For comparison Steph's AST% is 31%. Magic is in the upper echelon of the leagues history of playmakers, Steph is nowhere near him on that list. His archetype is basically "Imagine Lebron was obsessed with passing" You're acting like I'm taking a dump on Steph, if you already have your distributor he's the best shooter in the history of the game so why double up on playmakers when you could take him
@@DCIphanatic so I have to listen to your bias? Steph a compact natural shooting gaurd? What is Magic? At 6'9. The league had far less talent then than now.
People forget Andrew Bogut was a #1 overall pick, Wiggins a #1 overall pick, Durant #2 pick, Barnes and Iggy were top 10 picks. So let’s not act like Steph didn’t have other top tier talent with him during these runs just because Klay and Dray developed into All Stars and the main sidekicks.
@@klashawndbro, you missing the point! He was widely considered a bust my media, including Nick Wright. He made the all star team one time! And it was bc of KPop.
@@aris_mendez Curry alone? Or Curry with Klay, Dray, Bogut, Iggy, etc.? Because the Warriors didn’t do jack squat until that core team was put together, stop acting like they won the NBA finals in Steph’s rookie year like Magic Johnson did as a rookie with the Lakers lol. Magic also won Finals MVP that year AS A ROOKIE. Steph has 1 Finals MVP in 6 chances.
Look also for the Scoring Title, total 3 pts made, revolutionizing the game is played, greatest season win records whom he led (73-9), the handles and playmaking, carrying a team without another all star teammate,Steph did that. That's why he is considered for the conversation of Greatest PG of all time.
@jackjax7921 lmao Lebron (greatest player in the history of the game) needed help to beat Curry (not even the greatest point guard) but Curry gets knocked? Make it make sense😂😂
Jerry West is the 2nd best shooter of all time while also being a top 5 defender at the PG position and he is the 2nd best clutch player only behind Jordan he is the best point guard,
Jerry West is the 2nd best shooter of all time while also being a top 5 defender at the PG position and he is the 2nd best clutch player only behind Jordan he is the best point guard
My words also. But i would slightly go with Magic. But teams set their defense more to stop Curry, than what was against Magic in his era. Magic had more one on one defense on him more so than Curry. Curry is a team effort. Kareem had a lot of double/triple teams on him that helped Magic. But Magic seemed to have more will to win to me. And Curry would not have stood a chance against some of those Celtics/Bull/ Piston teams ...
the assist stat is kinda skewed now. In stephs case, he does not need to be the one passing the ball for his team to score. Just him being on the court allows his team to get open. When you don't have the ball and the opposing team has to double you, which frees a shot elsewhere... that in itself is an "assist." so the whole magic has more assists than steph does not matter much to me.
Magic would not get those assist throwing the ball to the warriors, steph would have more assist throwing to the wide open Lakers because 2 people are guarding him.
@@RenardGarzarowell since no one plays defense in the nba now, the warrior players are wide open every shot. Much easier to score in todays league by a mile
Magic NEVER defended all 5 positions on the floor, all he did was the Tip-off then he played PG & he only did that was cause the real backup center couldn’t jump that high.
@@JasonFlemingMusic then considering Curry's un-PG like assist numbers, he is more of a 2, right? He's 43rd ranked for his career, and only two seasons was in the top 10.
Yes they both changed the game, but Magic’s style actually benefits and utilizes everyone on the team. And can teach every point guard (beginner or pro)how to run the position and control the tempo even if you’re not the best shooter. Steph strictly controls the game through his offense. The Warriors run a constant moving/switching, free-flowing offense where Steph is always running around screens. If he’s not hitting shots he’s not really giving you much else. (Magic was a great rebounding pg and could still control the game through pace and assists) Steph has changed the game but I don’t know if it’s a good thing for all these pgs and teams to be taking so many deep threes trying to imitate his/the Warriors style
@@seanalexander5978 name one thing magic did to change the game and remember you are talking about someone who said there's Jordan and then there are the rest of us
Skill, talent, and style. Same way Steph changed the game- skill, talent, and style. All that combined with success/winning of course. Magic had passing, Steph has shooting. Two totally different guards but each had the same effect on their eras. Both influenced a generation. It’s as simple as that. If that ain’t enough info Google your question
He’s no where near the best point guard BUT he is the GREATEST shooter of all time and you can never take away how influential he’s been on this new generation of ballers. Truly one of the goats!
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 Well, Reggie Miller is a better guard than Steph. Kyrie is better. And, Ray Allen is better. Steph isn't a top-15 guard, yet. He still does have a slight chance getting inside top-15 guards, though. Which means he would get among top-50 players all time. Steph is among top-100 at the moment. Possibly top-75. After that, there would be at least 40 players to surpass before Magic, so Steph really isn't in the conversation. Or, very close, really.
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 They may not be in the regular season. But in the playoffs they are far better. Maybe you should mention, you're talking about the early season.
@@penkima4923 when I'm talking about who is better, I'm talking about everything. Regular season, acolades, awards, play offs... All of that. I honestly can't understand how can you put Kyrie over him when after 2017 Kyrie has ever EVER played good in play offs. Celtics without him played in conference finals in 2018 and they could eliminate Cavs without him. Than next season when he played they lost in 2nd round and Kyrie's stats were terrible. Than he was also mediocre in 2022 play off against Boston and simply I haven't seen that guy plaing good in play offs after 2017, I really don't know what formula you use to put him over Curry... Same about other guys. Curry at least destoyed Celtics in 2022 when nobody other could (Kevin Durant couldn't beat them, Kyrie couldn't beat them, Giannis couldn't beat them, but Curry destroyed them) and he played awesome in those finals. Curry should've had 2 Finals MVPs in his career if he wasn't robbed in 2015 for that award because outside of Lebron, nobody in those series averaged closely as good numbers as Curry and somehow they gave it to Iggy because he hold Lebron to 36 points per game lool🤣🤣🤣
LARRY BIRD COULD BUST A 3 POINTER WHEREVER HE WANTED TO, HE ALSO WAS A GREAT OFFENSIZE AND DEFENSIVE PLAYER, HE KNEW THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE GAME. STEPF IS JUST A POINT GUARD WHO SHOOTS 3 POINTERS, THAT'S IT, ALL AROUND, NOPE.
What makes Steph potentially the best first pick for an all time fantasy draft is that he is the best superstar at operating off ball in history and it isn't close. Every other top tier superstar does their best work when they have the ball so if you're making an all time team, it has to be Steph. Because of what Magic accomplished, he has the greater career.
@@xcwilliams7980 I said potentially. Someone like MJ is such a massive impact on the defensive end I can absolutely see it and of course Lebron's passing on a team of all time elites would be valuable. Offensively Curry just opens up things for other great players more than anyone I can think of
@@davidanoka-ayembe4258Interesting take. Well, I guess you’d be stomping your feet when someone else chooses him and you’re wondering why your team is having such difficulties guarding the person that “you wouldn’t even choose in your top 5.” But to each their own. Good luck, because whatever guards you choose, a couple of those guys are going to have to trap Steph at half court, so it’s going to be a layup line and easy shots. Have a nice day, my friend.
Steph is not the best shooter ever, but is the considered best 3pt shooter. Bird and MJ are better shooters. Klay even has the better form. Steph has been able to do what he does because of the GSW system and the rules today. Yet we have seen time and time again, when a box and one is applied to him, he is in effective. You also can't be that great of a shooter when you can't even be considered clutch. Steph has made some down clutch shots but he is definitely far from being considered clutch. If Steph played in other eras when physicality was allowed more Steph would struggle. Yet I guarantee players like MJ, Bird, Miller if they had the same kind of training and played in this era, their 3pt shooting could eclipse Steph ..... We have seen in the past couple of decades, players WHO HAD NO 3PT SHOT DEVELOPS IT AND HAS BEEN CONSIDERED GOOD 3PT SHOOTERS. Kidd COULDN'T SHOOT THE 3, when he entered the league yet by the time he retired he was in the top 10 3pt made lost. Richardson was not a 3pt shooter but became a serviceable spot up shooter. Brook Lopez WHO WAS A POST PLAYER WHEN HE ENTERED IS NOW CONSIDERED A 3PT BIG shooting around 40% if these players were able to develop a 3pt shot, it's because of the emphasis in 3s, the rules and they were allowed to develop it and had the green light. Yall always consider shooting as of it's just 3pt shot, when it isn't. MJ and Bird were some of the most efficient players of all time AS JUMP SHOOTERS, and theyll shoot at will and make them no matter who are defending them. Larry would play horse in the middle of the game and you with his opponents. MJ and Bird just didn't grew up when the 3 was an emphasis to the game but guaranteed if it was they would have worked on them more and shot then more and as the competitors they are, theyll probably develop it to the point to average at the highest % ever while shooting 10 a game.
I've already made the distinction between Stephen and magic a long time ago Steph is the greatest off-ball guard that ever played. But magic is the greatest point guard to ever play the game. If Stephen just had to rely on his point guard abilities he wouldn't be an NBA great he to be just an All-Star level player it's his off-ball ability that makes him one of the greats of all time.
its not really just his off ball steph is one of the best one on one offensive players in the history of the league...I think the point you meant to make is steph is just more of a scorer than a distributer.
Magic disnt just change the game, he saved the game along with bird. If you arent old enough to remember tape delay, then sunday games then TBS amd TNT. Magic passed players open, Magic always gave hisbteam a chance to win.
Different game. Both have a right to say or believe they are the best. In Magic’s day, the 2pt play meant more so his assists meant more. Today he’d lose playing that way. He couldn’t get back on defense with that style. I say each are the best in their eras. It’s simply a different game
If I was starting a team and both Magic, and Curry was in thier primes. I would take Magic, with all due respect to Steph's 3pt shooting. Magic just gives you more, and with Curry you live by the 3 or die by the 3.
Live or die by the three? Steph is probably the second best point guard finisher in the league behind Kyrie. He is deadly on every spot on the floor. The gap between Steph’s and magics scoring far outweighs the difference in magics scoring
@@fury0118Exactly. It’s just a bunch of people who try to diminish Steph for their own biased reasons. The fact of the matter is, Steph’s gravity opens up passing lanes and scoring opportunities for his teammates like no one we’ve ever seen, and if you couple that with his SCORING, not just his 3pt shooting, because Steph does much more than shoot threes, it’s simply an unfair game playing with Steph. AND he’s a GREAT passer. He’s not the “showtime passer” that Magic was, but he’s no slouch. People exaggerate far too often. The last time I checked, being able to drop 40, collapse the defense with devastating 3s, finishing around the basket in the restricted area (Steph was 73% this year, YES 73% on VOLUME) and having the gravity and playmaking ability to elevate your teammates is supremely valuable. That’s what Steph brings and more. He’s a cheat code, so imagine him playing with Jordan, LeBron, Tim Duncan and Shaq? We’d absolutely hate watching that team, because we would already know the outcome of each game. That’s a W each time.
He's 35. He will accumulate points, assists, and other accolades, but his averages will drop (just like every player ever) so his claims will become even more laughable by the time he retires.
@@petecolon162 Magic won the most MVPs and finals MVPs in an era with the most players considered in the top 10. You make it sound like the 80s and early 90s was mid 😂. That literally is the era that made the NBA popular all over the world.
@@petecolon162 🤣🤣🤣 Steph is "dominating" to the tune of 24ppg. He is definitely in the top 3 at falling down after his shot to pretend he got fouled (and he's got the Reggie Miller kick out your legs technique nailed). Curry has been fragile his entire career and even last year missed 23 games. If he had to play in the era where there were no flagrant fouls and hard fouls were simply 2 or 3 shots, he would already be retired. I watched Magic play his entire career. You are absolutely delusional.
@@petecolon162They definitely played a better team brand of basketball back then, even with the physical defense the scoring was the same as it is today. Most of these guys today would fold under that pressure…these dudes stay injured
I mean the assist is kind of hard to compare because Steph has never had a center that he can just dump the ball down to and rack up a bunch of assists. Also Magic played with how many top 75 guys vs Steph who’s only played with one top 75 player.
He played with 2, Worthy and Kareem, and considering how everyone on Golden State was talking about how much Klay deserved to be on that list, I would say Steph played with 2 as well
Magic came in as a rookie to an established team which obliviously boosted his accomplishments and provided an advantage day one. Steph's had a slow start physically and once his famed core team was assembled, it took a couple of years to develop into contenders, which again gave Magic and edge. The Lakers has historically been one of the most established teams in the 1980s and moving forward. The west is actually tougher than when Magic played especially over the last 3 years. I going with Steph on my team first over Magic.
Steph played with the greatest scorer ever in his prime and has 1 finals mvp and blew a 3-1 lead. Stop overrating curry because to say he’s better than magic is saying he’s a top 5 player which is delusional
i feel like they have both accomplished so much we should strictly look at the peaks of their career skill wise. curry can do it all! and his 3 point shooting is insane, finishing insane!
@@kotan80Magic was an overrated defender, but was still 6'9, big, strong and pretty mobile for his size, with amazing hands and feel for steals. Steph is a great defender for his size, but he's very small. I think Magic gets the nod, but it's close. To me, the point is that Magic was a great scorer in his own right, dropping 30 and 40 points whenever it was needed, increasing his production after Kareem retired and also improving substantially his jumper when the situation required that (look at his late years numbers: 90+% from the free throw, over 30% from 3 on an increased volume, and always way over 50% from 2). He only run a system where the team was better when he was passing instead of scoring, like when Steph played with KD: his numbers went down, but the team was so much better. Steph can be a good passer too, but he's not very good at creating for others out of the pick and roll, you clearly see that when the Warriors run everything through Steph, he goes crazy but Klay, Wiggins and company, they all lose efficiency by a wide margin. To me, there is not much to be debated, Magic is better, but Steph is more versatile.
@@12gark Did you actually call Steph a "Great defender for his size"? Steph is an improved defender, but a lot of that is scheme based. They dont let him get isolated.
Despite people acting like only Lebron thinks this way and that’s why everyone hates him. All great athletes are great because they are alphas, they want to be great and they have egos. Muhammad Ali said he was the greatest before he even beat any one of consequence. Forget what he may say, you think Tom Brady didn’t want to be known as the greatest Qb of all time? I still have Magic as the best Pg of all time but I love Steph putting his name out there.
@@TrueAnakinSkywalker Ali stood for things. It was a different era. Now it just comes across as arrogance. Jordan always had the best answer. I can't say I'm the best because I never played against Wilt or Russell etc...
There are no more Magics anymore as in "true PGs". This is now "positionless" basketball and Steph is truly a small SG if we had to put a label to him, honestly. But, since he handles the ball and because he's the shortest on the starting lineup....
There were really good 3 point shooters back then but they just didn't shoot as much. So my guess is the first time Steph would attempt 5+ threes his coach would bench him.
It's actually not weird. Basketball is played with real teams not super teams. And on real teams, making your teammates better is extremely valuable. Stef does that some - his shooting terrorizes defenses and creates mismatches. But no one can pass like Magic. And if Magic played today when 3 pointers were more emphasized, he'd be a better shooter. And I'd much rather have Magic's size on defense than Stef's unless I had elite defenders backing him up.
That is the problem with comparing eras and saying Magic will be a better 3pt shooter if he played in this modern NBA because that will be an assumption. Ben Simmons bless his soul was suppose to be the modern day Magic size, passing and defense. But, the guy can’t shoot to save his life. Let’s just stick to the stats and accolades which tilts more towards Magic. For now!
Regardless of eras, give me Magic. Not only does have the best court vision and delivery of all time, but his alpha personality would keep the others in line. Magic would DEMAND respect and teamwork, and it doesnt matter who was on his team. I just dont think Steph could handle all that Alpha energy.
Magic used to dominate playoff series averaging 14-17 assists per game. I can’t think of any player that can do that. Now I understand that Steph helps his teammates in ways that don’t show on a stat sheet, but I find it hard to believe that his overall offensive impact would be better than Magic’s. The one thing that Steph has over Magic, is that he’s not necessarily ball dominant. He can play off another great player and still average 25+ points. Comparatively, the offense is basically at the mercy of Magic’s decisions - which seemingly was the best play/decision 95% of the time.
I think this is the critical point for Steph that he harms the team without even touching the ball, and that he creates points that aren't even registered as his assists. It's kind of weird to say it this way but you could almost give a percentage of Draymond's assists to Steph. But Magic was... magical
Not mad at this. I take Steph 9 times out of 10 because I value all time great shot making and shot creation. Magic’s greatness seems more reliant on teammates play finishing
Steph watched his father play and is a fan of the game. Watch the Classics on the NBA channel and you won’t be so impressed by the players from the 80’s and 90’s Much worse shooters And less athletic Magic would be exposed in today’s game No shot Can’t defend quick guards He would be like Draymond Plus
Career Résumé…Total Achievements: (Titles, MVPs, Finals MVPs, 1st All-NBA, 1st All-DEF) 1) Jordan = 36 2) LeBron = 30 3) Kareem = 29 4) Kobe = 28 4) Duncan = 28 6) Magic = 20 … To put things into perspective, Stephen Curry only has 11…he’s not even close to the great ones. … NBA Titles: Magic = 5 Curry = 4 … MVPs: Magic = 3 Curry = 2 … Finals MVP: Magic = 3 Curry = 1 … All-NBA 1st Team: Magic = 9 Curry = 4 … NBA Assist Titles: Magic = 4 Curry = 0 … Career triple doubles Magic = 138 Curry = 10 … Curry is not a true point guard. You have to be a facilitator of the team in order to be a point guard. He is more of a shooting guard. Even Curry himself admitted in an interview that Draymond Green is more of a point guard than him. LeBron James and Draymond Green are better facilitators than Stephen Curry. Magic will always be the greatest point guard of all time. Case closed
Well, you can say Magic isn't a true PG because he's 6'9. If Magic is a PG, then LeBron is a PG, in which case LeBron could be argued to be better than Magic. And, yes, these people may have more MVPs than Curry, but Curry is the only UNANIMOUS MVP. It can be argued that Steph was argued for FMVP for the other 3 championships he won. And let's not also forget that Steph has the all-time 3pt scoring title while also having multiple records for most 3s in a season and such. And then there's that pesky fact of Magic being drafted to a GREAT situation. If Magic was drafted to a bottom-feeding team, would he have NEARLY the kind of success he had? Steph had to build his legacy from the very bottom, whereas Magic was drafted to a 50+-win team with an easily Top 5 player in history. That's why it's important to have these discussions.
@@TheUltimateRage Being a PG isn't about height, it's about who is the facilitator of the team and who distributes the ball tho others.Yes, LeBron and Green are more of PGs than Curry...that's why many call them Point Forwards. The primary stat for a PG is Assists, the primary stat for an SG is scoring. Career Assists Per Game AVG: #1 - Magic Johnson = 11.19 #2 - John Stockton = 10.51 … #24 - LeBron James = 7.33 … #42 - Stephen Curry = 6.51
Definitely there will be another Steph. He's the 1st because for the longest time coaches would never allow players to do the things he does even if they could do them because they didn't understand analytics and they thought it was a bad style of play. If Steph were drafted in 1980 he'd NEVER be allowed to shoot all those 3s let alone the deep 3s, 3s off the dribble and step backs, etc. But someone like Steve Nash could have done everything Steph does now if he had known it was possible and been given the chance. But now that it's been done others will definitely replicate it.
Curry is 12th on the all-time list for 3 pt%. Yes those guys would have had a dip in their average if they shot more, but it's not like he is dominating the most accurate spot.
@SDesWriter I don't think its obvious their percentage would dip. Most of the guys ahead of him didn't put in nearly the amount of time Steph does working on those shots because they were taking only 1-3 attempts per game. If they knew they'd be taking 11 attempts per game, they'd have spent 3x as much effort perfecting their shot. It's possible their percentages from 3 might be even higher than it is now if it had been the feature aspect of their game, not just something they were naturally good at and did occasionally
Players with Multiple MVPs, Rings, and Scoring Champs: MJ, Steph, Kareem, Wilt He's the highest 20ppg TS% ever Higher 2pt fg% than Olajuwon and Malone No player has averaged 25 5 5 in the finals and not won FMVP, Steph's done it 3x
I cant give it to Steph legacy wise yet unless he gets a fifth but let's not act like the Lakers werent loaded when he was drafted. Also just using accolades without context is woefully unfair. Magic had a FMVP that was clearly going to Kareem but he got hurt, magic won a finals MVP averaging 16-10-8 not leadig the team in asissts and was FIFTH in scoring he was first in rebounds and steals tho. Steph was second in scoring, first in asists, third in rebounds, first in steals on his team averaging 27-8-9 and didnt win it.
Didn't win it because Curry had help with a prime KD leading the way lmao, who was arguably the best player at the time, give KD to the Cavs and Curry is getting blown out in those Finals
@@Flare8124 Magic was the fifth highest scorer on his team, didn't lead them in assists and still won FMVP don't give me he had help nonsense. Magic had one of the deepest teams ever from the get go and one of the best teams ever from the get go they won 54 and 47 games the two year before he was drafted.
I just find it funny he says we'll see another Wardell Steph Curry before we see another Magic, at the same time mentioning Lebron is almost like a Magic but utilize his strengths differently. The closest to another Steph we have is Trae Young or Damian Lillard, and both have yet to make it to the finals meanwhile Lebron is arguably better than Magic.
Lebron is lebron.... He got everybody stuff.... He scores like magic, passes like Jordan, rebounds like Barkley, speed of Isaiah, wit IQ of bird.... Nuttin like him
This is so unfair to Steph, how many times did kareem and magic both have 1st team selections? The media just doesn't vote the same as they used to. Once KD joined the media themselves said it disqualified them.
That's on Steph for stacking the deck then. And I'm sure he would trade those for the two chips he got. And no magic joining Kareem is not even near the same thing
unfair to Stephanie? SMH LOL Stephanie has had so many breaks throughout his entire career & been included in so many nonsense conversations like this forever --- especially for a player who is so overrated that it's almost a joke to troll ball fans
@@xcwilliams7980 yes they did, they said it would take votes from each other and media members preferred to give them 2nd or 3rd place votes over 1st place since they were playing together.
Y’all always talk about curry team but never talk about magic superteams he had his whole career. He was dropping it off to a guy with a signature move unstoppable.
Magic at 6 ft 9 was phenomenal Greatest passer n court vision. No peer Steph greatest shooter bar none Each were so special in those areas Todays game , I take Curry 80’s definitely Magic
Nick had me until "I think we will see another Steph..." especially given that we have seen Magic in Stockton, LeBron and Jason Kidd more than we have seen Steph in anyone else
Two things that are so interesting right now: 1. Steph isn't in the top 25 of total assists in the NBA, but he's now in the conversation of the top two point guards. Incredible feat. 2. If Steph is the best point guard of all time, does that now put him on the top 5 players of all time?
1. Assists a useless stat to someone like steph. Assists is just looking for the open man, while Steph creates the open man with his off ball movements and getting doubled while he doesn't even have the ball. 2. This is a valid point, but some would say magic isn't top 5 himself, if you can argue that magic is not top 5, then you can argue that steph is ranked higher than him.
And let me be totally honest the teams in the league with steph by numbers and talent compared to back then are much greater in steph era . In Magic Era there were only a hand full of teams that you believed could win it all and that starts with Celtics Lakers Bulls Pistons after that its really no one you really thought would beat one of those teams , Steph Era we don't know who's gonna win anymore its both hands full
Majic is a true point guard, Curry is a shooting guard, the greatest shooter so far to have played in the NBA, they are talking about point guards not shooters, Majic was a champion and a finals MVP in his rookie year, cant say that about Curry☺
I agree Steph is a better point guard but Majic is a better all around player due to his versatility at playing many different positions. Steph is the greatest 3 point shooter of all time no doubt.
I like Steph, but i gotta give Magic the nod Magic carrying the 91 Lakers to the Finals was more impressive than anything Stephs ever done imo. That team had no business making the Finals
@@niilasaarinen3041 And? Thatd be like Steph and Klay leading a weak team to the Finals. Byron Scott was washed. A Green Vlade at Center. Blazers were a much better team on paper. Clyde, Terry Porter, Duckworth, Buck Williams,Drazen Petrovic
@@adammcg7115 Too bad reality vehemently disagrees with you. A washed Byron Scott/ AC Green and a green Vlade had no business being led to the Finals whether you accept reality or not
He only averages more points because he plays shooting guard on the offensive end and he's their scorer and expected to shoot. Magic was a complete PG and he didn't have to score when he had teammates like Kareem, Worthy, Byron, etc.
Shot making, shot creation and play finishing is more valuable than passing. Magic’s playmaking was made exponentially better by playing with HOF level play finishers like Worthy and Kareem. Steph is the goat at the highest value shot in the game in terms of volume by a wide margin, and is top 15 all time in percentage while being just as deadly from every other spot on the floor. The gap between steph’s and magic’s scoring ability is so much wider than the gap between magic’s and steph’s playmaking. If Steph were to be a ball dominant pure point in the showtime laker’s system he could average 10+ assists for his career, but magic could never come close to matching Steph’s efficiency and shot making diversity as a scorer.
See people like you speak from hindsight before those players got there even with Kareem as mvp they could not win in the playoffs heck Jerry west went to 8 titles with the lakers one win. Magic created court vision no one had it. In finals games he avg more points more assist and rebounds. Those players weren't considered a championship team until magic actually won his first year. It aint close.
I think everyone would agree it's much harder to make up averaging 5 more assists a game to 5 more points which is about the difference between the two. Your arguement is more the "type" of buckets but in reality what matters isnt how you get them but just getting them. If you look at the numbers magic was actually more efficient than steph from the field steph just averaged more.
How many championships did Kareem win in LA before the Lakers drafted Magic? In fact, many viewed his time as a Laker a major disappointment before Magic arrived. Secondly, did you actually watch Magic play? I'm not talking highlights, I'm talking about watching an entire game? Magic controlled every aspect of the Lakers' offense & helped make very good players look like All-Stars. What Magic did in 1991 is more proof that he would've dominated the league with or without Kareem (individually). I can literally say some of the same things about Curry. He didn't really take off as a prolific scorer until Kerr moved him off primary PG duties. Not to mention they put him in an offense to cater specifically to this strengths alongside the likes of Klay Thompson AND Kevin Durant. Lastly, the NBA has increasingly made it easier to score (especially from the perimeter) over the past 3 decades. Offensive players are allowed to initiate all types of contact while defenders have to play defense while wearing a straight jacket. It's significantly easier for Steph (and others) to get off a shot today than 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years ago.
i hate this argument that Magic was surrounded by more talent. he still won a ton of finals mvps with that support which signifies that he was the best of the best... Steph only won finals mvp once and he supposedly had a worse supporting cast?
No it doesn't, it signifies you had the ball in your hand more and all the player you throw the ball to can score, did you watch the games? Finals mvp is subjective, someones opinion. What if you swapped Teams, Steph would still win and Magic would be throwing the ball to looney.
What I love to see - G.O.A.T What I hate to see - G.O.A.T calling themselves as the G.O.A.T. The basketball world knows who Stephen Curry is and accepts him as the Greatest. Steph Curry is Incredible. No words to describe his greatness. He has got the confidence and everything else to back up what he said but why to say it yourself while you can let your "GAME" do the talking as always. Just an example: Messi is the G.O.A.T. But what makes him even more great is the fact that he has never called himself as one. Messi never admitted that he is greater than Maradona but his game does the talking. Unlike Steph who's claiming he is greater than Ervin Magic Johnson.
The primary job of PG is to facilitate the offense. You can argue that Draymond is more of PG than Steph. He can’t be the greatest PG if someone else on his own team is as good of a facilitator as Steph. If you’re the greatest PG ever it shouldn’t be close as to who facilitates a game better than Steph in the entire league nonetheless your own team. Steph is given the title PG, but is really more of a SG, similar to Iverson when he was slotted as the PG his first couple of years in Philly.
This comparison makes no sense. Steph isn’t a PG, he is a SG. “Greatest shooter of all time” that will shoot the ball 30 times a game is SG. I don’t know how this is so hard to grasp.
The primary job of a Point Guard is to facilitate scoring opportunities for their team by distributing the ball to teammates. The primary stat for a PG is Assists. The primary stat for an SG is Points. … Career Assists Per Game AVG: #1 - Magic Johnson = 11.19 #2 - John Stockton = 10.51 … #24 - LeBron James = 7.33 … #42 - Stephen Curry = 6.51 … Win Shares: Magic = 155.8 Curry = 128.0
The irony is the argument is Magic makes your team better but if you're choosing the greatest team the Steph often wins out. Ultimately you need someone to score.
Regardless of where a player was drafted, Steph has had a bunch of talent on his teams. Klay, Harrison Barnes, Draymond, and of course KD. That’s a crazy take!
Magic also won 2 titles without Worthy and Byron Scott so Brusard isn’t telling it evenly. Not to mention Kareem is on record saying the love for the game was long gone before Magic arrived and introduced the team to winning
No he didn’t cuz what accolades he uses to say magic is better than Steph he don’t use the same in the Jordan vs lebron debate he ignores Jordan got more FMVPs MVPs championships
it’s like any other goat argument, every player openly would say other opponents are very good and the overall conversation is up to debate, but secretly they all HAVE TO think they’re the best. There’s just no possible way they could reach that level without this kind of mentality
Kinda silly debate. Steph is more of a shooting guard than a point guard. Steph is the only PG in NBA history known for being the greatest shooter and the best player moving without the ball. That's not a PG. Warriors are running pick and rolls and setting screens to get Steph open looks. He's not a true PG and arguably hot headed Draymond Green is the emotional leader of the Warriors. Magic's resumé and NBA stats and accomplishments speak for him as the greatest PG in League history.
Listen to The Skip Bayless Show podcast: sprtspod.fox/SkipBaylessShowPodcast
Why would listen to that joke of a man
NOooooooo
We’re good. FTF is where it’s at. 👍
@@seankelly4594 Tick Wrong is a joke too, probably even more so than Just the Tip Brainless
Skip Clueless can do all of us a favor...
Make like a tree and get the f out of the scene
I got Magic better PG. But my god, Steph IS the greatest shooter of a basketball we have ever seen to date.
Magic came in the nba the man …. Steph wasn’t…….. he didn’t start of shooting like he’s doing now he’ll he wasn’t even a star
@@Bmg312 true 👏🏼👏🏼
@@Bmg312yea Kareem avg 33 points 15 rebounds in the finals magic rookie year. Nobody cares cuz he came in great mean he better
@jamescantwell9988… somebody please tell me how curry is the greatest shooter ever. What is does lead in besides free throws?
Steph isn't. He is the best 3pt shooter but he isn't the greatest shooter ever. There's a difference between the two.
I think the reason for Nick's "dilemma" of putting Steph in starting 5s ahead of Magic is because through the eyes of the modern game, shooting is invaluable. Plus, if you have Lebron, he's basically a PG and you don't need Magic as much.
Edit: So many people commenting why Magic is better than Steph, I never said he wasn't, I just gave a reason as to why Nick may have thought the way he did.
And Bron also offers better scoring than Magic so yup
🤝
Magic was the best at making other players better. When the other starting 4 are the best players ever, what he brings to the table gets diminished so having Steph makes sense... but that doesn't mean he's better than Magic or even close to be clear.
Just do Bird instead of LeBron. You then get the three and can keep the spread out floor because of Larry's ability to shoot threes. I don't know that anyone needs a point forward in a team like that.
Steph has the unique ability to harm the other team without even touching the ball
The thing is you take LeBron out. I mean the man needs to drive to the basket to get his buckets so he needs interior space. Who is going to give him interior space when you have Kareem/Shaq or whoever at center and MJ in there? So you need the best pg more than LeBron on that team and that is Magic. Then you have Steph as one of the guards for his shooting.
The reason why you can't remove Steph in an all time team is because of his gravity. The space he creates basically makes everyone in the team even better. Imagine Jordan, Bron or kobe getting that amount of space? We've seen that when Durant was in GSW. It is unstoppable. Imagine Jordan getting that space.... Sheeeshhhh
Steph would have more assists if he didn’t have that gravity. His second hand assists is off the charts
No, you can easily remove him. It's not a problem not even a little bit
Question why is Kobe on the line up when you already got Jordan? Curry, Jordan, Lebron, Duncan and Shaq would be my all time line up. While Magic and Kareem are the best at their positions having 2 black holes like Curry and Shaq is hard to deny.
Being DOUBLE TEAMED should be a STAT!💯💯
LMAOOO FROM HALF COURT TOO
No it really shouldn’t, that might be the most ridiculous sports take I’ve ever heard. That would be a stat that only fans would use to make excuses for missed shots.
Its a tough one...something I think that is missed from the conversation is that not only is shooting more important nowadays but more players are capable of running the game without needing to be the point guard.
Also player movement and the 3pt shot has changed the need for a dominant point guard to control the game in the same way. Arguably Steph controls the game as much with his movement as other players do through traditional passing.
Instinctively the answer feels like Magic but when you think about it, I think it's getting closer by the day.
It’s really not, I like Steph but he’s not a better point guard than Magic. Better shooter, sure but PG no. A PG commands the talent around him, Steph is the talent. He is more of a 2 guard that plays the point bc he is too small.
Steph clears easily.
@@Purple-qi4hj This has always been my take one Steph. Undersized 2 guard. Position-less basketball has Steph to thank as well. We wont see another one because as you watch high school basketball and some college, players are shifting back towards traditional ball and not jacking up triples as soon as the ball passes half court.
Steph is better than Johnson. Hes younger and can pump his wife without giving her a disease.
@@SoLoFlight365 Position-less basketball has Steph to thank? Were you not born before 2009? He's either the PG or the SG. Magic is like the original position-less player.
They are both listed as point guards but play the position COMPLETELY different. You can't really compare them when it comes to stats because one is very dominant over the other in individual categories so you can only go to their accolades and Magic has the edge. If you gave a 3rd point guard the accolades Magic has over Steph (1 title, 3 Finals appearances, 2 FMVPs, 1 MVP & 5 1st team all-nba); that PG would be a hall of famer and top 25 player too.
Yes you can. One is the focus of every defines every night who double and throw everything at him. The other was a player who played with two first overall picks who did the hard work for him
Fmvp, All NBA, and MVPs are just awards voted on by media. Why do they matter at all?
The Lakers won the title and then the draft after winning the title had the first pick and drafted James worthy to the title winning team lol
@@andrewbradley3305
You can't just diminish these awards like they don't have real production numbers behind it. If you get one of these awards that means you are one of the best if not the best player during that season.
People should just be honest that Steph is an undersized Shooting Guard so they set up the GS offense to CALL HIM a point guard, but let him, Klay, and Draymond share the PG duties. In the end, 24ppg and 6000 career assists is LAUGHABLE as the greatest PG ever. Magic, Isaiah, Oscar, Stockton, Iverson (if you value scoring the most), and at least a half-dozen others all have comparable or superior ALL-AROUND stats to Curry.
If you just want to talk about his effect on the game as an outside threat and ignore every other facet of the position, then I guess you can talk yourself into him being great, but if we called him a shooting guard (which he is), he wouldn't be top 5.
@@SDesWriter find God
I think a big part of why you'd take Steph over Magic in those hypothetical best teams is because LeBron gives you most of what you'd get from Magic. You don't need a distributor at the 1 when you've already got Bron as your default ball handler
**Not to mention Steph's gravity and floor spacing is wild
But why do you need Steph's scoring when you have LeBron and Jordan for that? I'd take Magic for distributing to those guys. You wouldn't need Steph's scoring. Jordan would have problems with him.
No Lebron doesn’t at all . That’s the problem with todays sports media
@@brandonhensley14no one comes close to stephs shooting and it creates more opportunities than magic would. Plus steph is also a very good passer so it's kinda obvious why you'd want steph
So he's not a point guard BY DEFINITION. He's a shooting guard. Who do you take him over, MJ or Kobe?
@@brandonhensley14exactly it goes both ways its all subjective n all about opinion which style u favor there is no wrong r right
Something I’m surprised wasn’t brought up is how about a month ago Steph Curry said “I’m in my prime” so that being said all these All NBA teams and championships for Steph could keep going up
I am a huge fan of Magic Johnson and I really like Steph Curry. To compare these two is a classic apples vs. oranges debate since they are two completely different players in their skill set. size and purpose for their respective teams. Magic was the conductor of a up tempo, layup oriented fast break team that had a dominant center and highly skilled and quick wings. Magic was not asked to become a consistent, major scoring threat until the 1986-87 season. Magic's resume is unassailable and he's a Top 5 player to me all time without question. Curry single handed changed the game today with his shooting and ability to completely break down traditional half court defenses with his movement and off screen cuts. He is, to me, the greatest shooter of all time. That said, they both dominated very differently. Moreover, the term "point guard" means very different things today than it did in Magic's day (I mean, Russell Westbrook is a point guard!). I think it's a fun discussion but mostly unfair to both players. I will say Magic starting at center in the 1980 Finals series clinching game in place of Kareem is an all time flex and remains unparalleled. Plus he was only 20 years old. Impressive. Each player exerts a different type of will onto a game but both can equally control a game in many ways. One footnote that Broussard is correct about---Magic did have a better cast of talent around him coming into the league than Curry did (even though he wasn't exactly playing with bums, either).
Nice take. Thank you for giving a varied perspective. A lot of people just pick one side and attack the other.
Curry is not nearly 7 foot. That alone wins the debate. He didnt have kareem when he was a rookie, he had monta ellis. Curry by a mile.
Why are we assuming LeBron would automatically be on the team? You can put Magic at 1 and Bird at 3. There's your playmaker and 3 point shooter right there.
Steph is excellent, but we are not just talking about players who happened to be pg; we are talking about the pg role, someone who manages the plays... In this sense I would also put IT and Stockton before Steph
You gotta realize playmaking is not just assist
Interesting what Nick said "Magic IS the best point guard all time but if you were to build to best team of all time Steph would be at that point guard position
Just proves what an idiot he is. You can't build the best team of all time with a mediocre point guard with a great jump shot. If LeBron is going to play the point, that's fine and there's a real argument about him doing it. But he'll have to defend the other team's PG and you can't have Steph playing PF. Why do you need a 47% shooter on the team? Get a guy who isn't a scorer but is a great assist man and your team has more cohesion. You're going to have an extremely whiny Shaq as your center getting the ball once out of every 12 possessions.
Because steph is atop pointguard and the best shooter ever in one guy
No I wouldn't put steph at the starting point
Yes, we heard him. Lol
If it's one game for my life, I am sliding Lebron to the point, Jordan as my shooting gaurd, Kobe as my small forward, prime Kareem on the block, and Nowitzki as my power forward to stretch the floor and give me points. Yes I know I left out at least 4 power forwards better than Nowitzki but using him to balance this roster.
Those 1st Team All NBAs…that’s wild. Magic was different.
There also was not the same level of PG competition early in his career. The only player he would have had for competition early in his career was Zeke, and he was clearly better. On top of that they were selected together for a first team. Later on Stockton came around but by then Magic already had four.
Steph’s career overlaps with Kyrie, CP3, Dame, James Harden, Russell Westbrook. That’s 4 top 75 Players, and a future Hall of Famer in Kyrie.
You don’t think if those players weren’t there he’d have a few more selections?
The same thing is going to happen to Embiid and Jokic right now. Only one of them can be a First Team All-NBA Center each year, so even if they switch off every year there numbers will be lower than some other guys who didn’t play against other great centers.
@@rickyrobby8133 now try and debunk the MVP finishes.
@@rickyrobby8133 your argument is basically that it was too hard for Steph to differentiate himself from his peers meanwhile a guy like LBJ played in an era with KD, Kawhi, Giannis, Jimmy, PG, Anthony Davis, Tim Duncan, and the list of forwards goes on and on yet he never had a problem making first team and that’s a guy people attempt to compare Steph to. So how is this not fair? There has always been competition for spots, separate from them.
@@chasingfelix3609 You seem to have much stronger feelings on this than I do. I was just pointing out how All-NBA selections work.
@@chasingfelix3609 that is not even sort of my argument. You don’t think if there were 3 more Hall of Fame PG playing in the 80s they might have each gotten ONE All-NBA first team?
Jimmy Butler is borderline for even the Hall of Fame, so I don’t know why you’d include him. AD has been listed at Center for half his career. Kawhi hasn’t been on the court enough to be selected to All-NBA teams. He has five in his entire career 1st, 2nd, or 3rd despite being a top 10 player when healthy.
And you actually made my point, Lebron was consistently getting first team selections early in his career. It wasn’t until 2009 he had back-to-back seasons. And oddly enough, the first time Giannis made first team All-NBA Lebron didn’t for the first time in a decade. Weird how that works, huh?
It’s also ridiculous to compare arguably the best player ever. You might as well have picked Jordan or Kareem to make your point.
And you didn’t actually respond to the point I made, what I said was Magic benefitted from lesser competition. Telling me that Lebron played against good competition but didn’t have that problem proves nothing at all. Your point was “separate from the competition,” when my point was Magic didn’t have much competition at all.
This might be the best chemistry sports show ever thanks for everything you guys do
Nick and Wilde's has great funny chemistry but broussard always emotional and stubborn
I feel the same way. None of these guys were necessarily my favorite, but collectively I'd rather listen to the 3 of them than any other group of pundits.
@@sermoncatcher55 Just dudes talking sports. No pointless yelling and drama, no pointless female co hots as thought they cant introduce their own show.
Magic made everyone else better. And don't let that pearly white smile fool you; he was a ruthlessly competitive basketball player.
Magic all day!
you wasn’t even alive to watch him play
I love that the Magic argument has to revolve around assists while we basically take the leading assist guy every year in the last few years and call him a bum by the end of that season. Because we know assists is a fairly nebulous stat that’s driven by usage
Career Résumé…Total Achievements: (Titles, MVPs, Finals MVPs, 1st All-NBA, 1st All-DEF)
1) Jordan = 36
2) LeBron = 30
3) Kareem = 29
4) Kobe = 28
4) Duncan = 28
6) Magic = 20
…
To put things into perspective, Stephen Curry only has 11…he’s not even close to the great ones.
…
NBA Titles:
Magic = 5
Curry = 4
…
MVPs:
Magic = 3
Curry = 2
…
Finals MVP:
Magic = 3
Curry = 1
…
All-NBA 1st Team:
Magic = 9
Curry = 4
…
NBA Assist Titles:
Magic = 4
Curry = 0
…
Career triple doubles
Magic = 138
Curry = 10
…
Curry is not a true point guard. You have to be a facilitator of the team in order to be a point guard. He is more of a shooting guard. Even Curry himself admitted in an interview that Draymond Green is more of a point guard than him. LeBron James and Draymond Green are better facilitators than Stephen Curry. Magic will always be the greatest point guard of all time. Case closed
It revolves around chips, MVPs, Finals MVPs and Appearances, etc. That's why you never hear nobody say Stockton over Curry. The argument looks at the totality.
@@FreedomFighter2112 if you have kareem and worthy you can have assists. Magic hits the open man but steph CREATES open men that is not shown by stats but by his accolades that he has gotten despite not having the nba all time 2nd leading scorer. You cant be the greatest shooter and not be a great in a game about shooting that is just logically impossible.
@@FreedomFighter2112 I wish I could thumbs ups a 100 times. To be fair Magic is the greatest traditional, orthodox point (1) guard. Steph is the modern greatest combo (1-2) guard(1). if it at all make any sense
It is now but it wasn’t then
Magic is easily better than Steph as a full PG, as a shooter Steph is the best player across all positions to play the game so far. His off-ball movement is the best since Reggie Miller. It really depends on your surrounding team but if we're just doing player against player its got to be Magic. If we consider that the team already has a distrubutor role outside of the PG (Lebron, Jok, etc.) then magic would be redundant and adding Curry would be the best move. If your team needs a PG to distribute... MAGIC
No he isn't easily better at anything. Steph plays in a system.
@@memoirsofalegend5472bro he won finals mvp as a rookie
basketball is a team sport
@@memoirsofalegend5472 Do you just not know who Magic is or what?
Magic Johnson was a 6'9" PG, 215lb jumping around like Lebron James and Steph is a 6'2" 185lb compact natural shooting guard. Already Magic has a big advantage on post defense, shot blocking, and vision that Steph just can't get.
Next, and I think the bigger difference, is that he lead the league in passing 4 different years, averaged a double double for both his career and 9 individual seasons (something Steph has done zero times), and has an incredible 41% career AST%. For comparison Steph's AST% is 31%. Magic is in the upper echelon of the leagues history of playmakers, Steph is nowhere near him on that list.
His archetype is basically "Imagine Lebron was obsessed with passing"
You're acting like I'm taking a dump on Steph, if you already have your distributor he's the best shooter in the history of the game so why double up on playmakers when you could take him
@@DCIphanatic so I have to listen to your bias? Steph a compact natural shooting gaurd? What is Magic? At 6'9. The league had far less talent then than now.
People forget Andrew Bogut was a #1 overall pick, Wiggins a #1 overall pick, Durant #2 pick, Barnes and Iggy were top 10 picks. So let’s not act like Steph didn’t have other top tier talent with him during these runs just because Klay and Dray developed into All Stars and the main sidekicks.
Wiggins was a bust according to everybody now he is a number 1 pick lol
@@tevincoley7970 Wiggins was an All-Star starter how can he be a bust? Lol
@@klashawndbro, you missing the point! He was widely considered a bust my media, including Nick Wright. He made the all star team one time! And it was bc of KPop.
@@klashawndand what was golden state before curry?
@@aris_mendez Curry alone? Or Curry with Klay, Dray, Bogut, Iggy, etc.? Because the Warriors didn’t do jack squat until that core team was put together, stop acting like they won the NBA finals in Steph’s rookie year like Magic Johnson did as a rookie with the Lakers lol. Magic also won Finals MVP that year AS A ROOKIE. Steph has 1 Finals MVP in 6 chances.
Look also for the Scoring Title, total 3 pts made, revolutionizing the game is played, greatest season win records whom he led (73-9), the handles and playmaking, carrying a team without another all star teammate,Steph did that. That's why he is considered for the conversation of Greatest PG of all time.
Blew a 3-1 lead and cant beat a healthy LeBron team.
@@jackjax7921and destroyed lebron in 2015 after down 2-1
@@jackjax7921he beat a healthy lebron, 3 times. Lebron lost to curry 3 times…
YOUR'E RIGHT "ONE OF", BUT NOT BETTER THAN MAGIC.
@jackjax7921 lmao Lebron (greatest player in the history of the game) needed help to beat Curry (not even the greatest point guard) but Curry gets knocked? Make it make sense😂😂
Total Stat Points (Career Avg PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK)
Magic: 19.4 PPG / 7.2 RPG / 11.2 APG / 1.9 SPG / 0.4 BPG = 40.1 points
Curry: 24.6 PPG / 4.6 RPG / 6.5 APG / 1.7 SPG / 0.2 BPG = 37.6 points
Yeah Steph is wrong but I think he's right behind Magic.... And there's nothing wrong with that.
Jerry West is the 2nd best shooter of all time while also being a top 5 defender at the PG position and he is the 2nd best clutch player only behind Jordan he is the best point guard,
Jerry West is the 2nd best shooter of all time while also being a top 5 defender at the PG position and he is the 2nd best clutch player only behind Jordan he is the best point guard
U right
I wish Bronsexuals were like this
@@RetroNBA42Jerry West is not even in the top 15 shooters of all time bud
This is a tough one. You really can't go wrong with either one. Magic isn't exactly the stereotypical PG and neither is Steph for different reasons.
Magic is the stereotypical PG
What?! Magic is the very definition of what a PG is supposed to be?!
dude what? 😂😂 Magic is literally the blueprint for what a PG should be lmao
not tough at all man... Magic clears soo easily
My words also. But i would slightly go with Magic. But teams set their defense more to stop Curry, than what was against Magic in his era. Magic had more one on one defense on him more so than Curry. Curry is a team effort. Kareem had a lot of double/triple teams on him that helped Magic. But Magic seemed to have more will to win to me. And Curry would not have stood a chance against some of those Celtics/Bull/ Piston teams ...
He never said he was "over Magic." He said the conversation was between him and Magic.
Thank you for pointing that out! Broussard watched it but didn't point that out.
Gil asked are you the greatest point guard ever… he said Yes. Lol. Then said the conversation is Me and Magic.
@@ProGaming6.that is Exactly what transpired
@@ProGaming6. "yes" does not mean "over Magic."
Hes wrong its only Magic. Steph won 2 because he had KD
the assist stat is kinda skewed now. In stephs case, he does not need to be the one passing the ball for his team to score. Just him being on the court allows his team to get open. When you don't have the ball and the opposing team has to double you, which frees a shot elsewhere... that in itself is an "assist." so the whole magic has more assists than steph does not matter much to me.
Magic would not get those assist throwing the ball to the warriors, steph would have more assist throwing to the wide open Lakers because 2 people are guarding him.
@@RenardGarzarowell since no one plays defense in the nba now, the warrior players are wide open every shot. Much easier to score in todays league by a mile
@@markmccreadie6212no. It’s not easier to score, people are just better at scoring
@@joshuaearnheart2756it’s both. Rules have been changed to make it easier to score, but the overall skill set of the nba role player has increased.
He's a point guard but he doesn't need to be the one passing the ball?!? 😂 That's wild
And nobody is going to mention Magic playing, and defending, all five positions on the floor!
Right!
Magic NEVER defended all 5 positions on the floor, all he did was the Tip-off then he played PG & he only did that was cause the real backup center couldn’t jump that high.
@@yuhhtempo It literally states it in his writeup on his Basketball HOF profile.
Kinda makes him more of a point forward than a point guard ?? If magic a pg so is Lebron
@@JasonFlemingMusic then considering Curry's un-PG like assist numbers, he is more of a 2, right? He's 43rd ranked for his career, and only two seasons was in the top 10.
Steph has changed our minds on what a traditional point guard is or supposed to be
Changed your mind maybe lol not mine
HOW OLD ARE YOU, 30? GO WATCH SOME OLE SCHOOL LAKER/CELTIC GAMES. I DOUBT YOU EVER HAVE.
Yes they both changed the game, but Magic’s style actually benefits and utilizes everyone on the team. And can teach every point guard (beginner or pro)how to run the position and control the tempo even if you’re not the best shooter. Steph strictly controls the game through his offense. The Warriors run a constant moving/switching, free-flowing offense where Steph is always running around screens. If he’s not hitting shots he’s not really giving you much else. (Magic was a great rebounding pg and could still control the game through pace and assists) Steph has changed the game but I don’t know if it’s a good thing for all these pgs and teams to be taking so many deep threes trying to imitate his/the Warriors style
Magic didn't change the game only two players have ever done that Jordan and steph
False. Plus Chris Broussard just opened his take with “both players changed the game” which is definitely a fact.
@@seanalexander5978 name one thing magic did to change the game and remember you are talking about someone who said there's Jordan and then there are the rest of us
agree
Skill, talent, and style. Same way Steph changed the game- skill, talent, and style. All that combined with success/winning of course. Magic had passing, Steph has shooting. Two totally different guards but each had the same effect on their eras. Both influenced a generation. It’s as simple as that. If that ain’t enough info Google your question
He’s no where near the best point guard BUT he is the GREATEST shooter of all time and you can never take away how influential he’s been on this new generation of ballers. Truly one of the goats!
Well, he is definitely in conversation, he is actually really close😂
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 Well, Reggie Miller is a better guard than Steph. Kyrie is better. And, Ray Allen is better. Steph isn't a top-15 guard, yet. He still does have a slight chance getting inside top-15 guards, though. Which means he would get among top-50 players all time. Steph is among top-100 at the moment. Possibly top-75. After that, there would be at least 40 players to surpass before Magic, so Steph really isn't in the conversation. Or, very close, really.
@@penkima4923 none of those guys that you mentioned are even close as good as Curry instead Magic 😂😂 stop talking about basketball with me please
@@hristijandimitrovski8664 They may not be in the regular season. But in the playoffs they are far better. Maybe you should mention, you're talking about the early season.
@@penkima4923 when I'm talking about who is better, I'm talking about everything. Regular season, acolades, awards, play offs... All of that. I honestly can't understand how can you put Kyrie over him when after 2017 Kyrie has ever EVER played good in play offs. Celtics without him played in conference finals in 2018 and they could eliminate Cavs without him. Than next season when he played they lost in 2nd round and Kyrie's stats were terrible. Than he was also mediocre in 2022 play off against Boston and simply I haven't seen that guy plaing good in play offs after 2017, I really don't know what formula you use to put him over Curry... Same about other guys. Curry at least destoyed Celtics in 2022 when nobody other could (Kevin Durant couldn't beat them, Kyrie couldn't beat them, Giannis couldn't beat them, but Curry destroyed them) and he played awesome in those finals. Curry should've had 2 Finals MVPs in his career if he wasn't robbed in 2015 for that award because outside of Lebron, nobody in those series averaged closely as good numbers as Curry and somehow they gave it to Iggy because he hold Lebron to 36 points per game lool🤣🤣🤣
There will never be another Steph. Steph is the better pg because he opens the court for all the other players
LARRY BIRD COULD BUST A 3 POINTER WHEREVER HE WANTED TO, HE ALSO WAS A GREAT OFFENSIZE AND DEFENSIVE PLAYER, HE KNEW THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE GAME. STEPF IS JUST A POINT GUARD WHO SHOOTS 3 POINTERS, THAT'S IT, ALL AROUND, NOPE.
Steph may not be the best pure point guard but he is the best player to ever play that position.
well said my man
Exactly
What makes Steph potentially the best first pick for an all time fantasy draft is that he is the best superstar at operating off ball in history and it isn't close. Every other top tier superstar does their best work when they have the ball so if you're making an all time team, it has to be Steph. Because of what Magic accomplished, he has the greater career.
Hes simply a terrible 1st pick when players like bron and jordan exist
Bruh I probably wouldn’t draft him top five in an all time fantasy fraft
@@xcwilliams7980 I said potentially. Someone like MJ is such a massive impact on the defensive end I can absolutely see it and of course Lebron's passing on a team of all time elites would be valuable. Offensively Curry just opens up things for other great players more than anyone I can think of
@@davidanoka-ayembe4258Interesting take. Well, I guess you’d be stomping your feet when someone else chooses him and you’re wondering why your team is having such difficulties guarding the person that “you wouldn’t even choose in your top 5.” But to each their own. Good luck, because whatever guards you choose, a couple of those guys are going to have to trap Steph at half court, so it’s going to be a layup line and easy shots. Have a nice day, my friend.
Steph is not the best shooter ever, but is the considered best 3pt shooter. Bird and MJ are better shooters. Klay even has the better form. Steph has been able to do what he does because of the GSW system and the rules today. Yet we have seen time and time again, when a box and one is applied to him, he is in effective. You also can't be that great of a shooter when you can't even be considered clutch. Steph has made some down clutch shots but he is definitely far from being considered clutch. If Steph played in other eras when physicality was allowed more Steph would struggle. Yet I guarantee players like MJ, Bird, Miller if they had the same kind of training and played in this era, their 3pt shooting could eclipse Steph .....
We have seen in the past couple of decades, players WHO HAD NO 3PT SHOT DEVELOPS IT AND HAS BEEN CONSIDERED GOOD 3PT SHOOTERS. Kidd COULDN'T SHOOT THE 3, when he entered the league yet by the time he retired he was in the top 10 3pt made lost. Richardson was not a 3pt shooter but became a serviceable spot up shooter. Brook Lopez WHO WAS A POST PLAYER WHEN HE ENTERED IS NOW CONSIDERED A 3PT BIG shooting around 40% if these players were able to develop a 3pt shot, it's because of the emphasis in 3s, the rules and they were allowed to develop it and had the green light.
Yall always consider shooting as of it's just 3pt shot, when it isn't. MJ and Bird were some of the most efficient players of all time AS JUMP SHOOTERS, and theyll shoot at will and make them no matter who are defending them. Larry would play horse in the middle of the game and you with his opponents.
MJ and Bird just didn't grew up when the 3 was an emphasis to the game but guaranteed if it was they would have worked on them more and shot then more and as the competitors they are, theyll probably develop it to the point to average at the highest % ever while shooting 10 a game.
I've already made the distinction between Stephen and magic a long time ago Steph is the greatest off-ball guard that ever played. But magic is the greatest point guard to ever play the game. If Stephen just had to rely on his point guard abilities he wouldn't be an NBA great he to be just an All-Star level player it's his off-ball ability that makes him one of the greats of all time.
That. Right there. Facts.
its not really just his off ball steph is one of the best one on one offensive players in the history of the league...I think the point you meant to make is steph is just more of a scorer than a distributer.
What’s what the what if what if magic had to rely his scoring and not passing he wouldn’t even be a all time great
Reasonable break down
steph can do what magic does, but can magic do what steph does?
Magic disnt just change the game, he saved the game along with bird. If you arent old enough to remember tape delay, then sunday games then TBS amd TNT. Magic passed players open, Magic always gave hisbteam a chance to win.
Different game. Both have a right to say or believe they are the best.
In Magic’s day, the 2pt play meant more so his assists meant more. Today he’d lose playing that way. He couldn’t get back on defense with that style.
I say each are the best in their eras. It’s simply a different game
But curry would average 45 in the 80s
You’ll never see another player with Steph’s combination of handles and ability to make any shot from any distance
Wah
He’s not even best ball handler
But he doesn’t play true point guard.
You already see some of that in dame, trey young. Closest thing to magic was penny but he got hurt early so we dont know how great he couldve been.
YES THEY WILL, TRUST ME, THAT CAN BE REPLICATED.
If I was starting a team and both Magic, and Curry was in thier primes. I would take Magic, with all due respect to Steph's 3pt shooting. Magic just gives you more, and with Curry you live by the 3 or die by the 3.
Live or die by the three? Steph is probably the second best point guard finisher in the league behind Kyrie.
He is deadly on every spot on the floor. The gap between Steph’s and magics scoring far outweighs the difference in magics scoring
@@anwar5674nah, you know EXACTLY what you're talking about. It's more Steph hate than Magic support in this comment section
@@anwar5674 Steph can’t D up. But I can find plenty of shooters that D up.
@@fury0118Exactly. It’s just a bunch of people who try to diminish Steph for their own biased reasons. The fact of the matter is, Steph’s gravity opens up passing lanes and scoring opportunities for his teammates like no one we’ve ever seen, and if you couple that with his SCORING, not just his 3pt shooting, because Steph does much more than shoot threes, it’s simply an unfair game playing with Steph. AND he’s a GREAT passer. He’s not the “showtime passer” that Magic was, but he’s no slouch. People exaggerate far too often. The last time I checked, being able to drop 40, collapse the defense with devastating 3s, finishing around the basket in the restricted area (Steph was 73% this year, YES 73% on VOLUME) and having the gravity and playmaking ability to elevate your teammates is supremely valuable. That’s what Steph brings and more. He’s a cheat code, so imagine him playing with Jordan, LeBron, Tim Duncan and Shaq? We’d absolutely hate watching that team, because we would already know the outcome of each game. That’s a W each time.
@erindiscord221 even if magic is an avg defender (he’s above cause he can guard multiple positions), Steph is a below avg defender at one spot! 🤷♂️
If Steph said he was the best shooter all time ok but Magic is the best point guard all time still. Steph career ain’t over so let’s see but not rn.
He's 35. He will accumulate points, assists, and other accolades, but his averages will drop (just like every player ever) so his claims will become even more laughable by the time he retires.
You only think magic is better because you’ve been told he’s better
The nba then, is nothing like it is now and Steph dominated in the better era
@@petecolon162 Magic won the most MVPs and finals MVPs in an era with the most players considered in the top 10. You make it sound like the 80s and early 90s was mid 😂. That literally is the era that made the NBA popular all over the world.
@@petecolon162 🤣🤣🤣 Steph is "dominating" to the tune of 24ppg. He is definitely in the top 3 at falling down after his shot to pretend he got fouled (and he's got the Reggie Miller kick out your legs technique nailed). Curry has been fragile his entire career and even last year missed 23 games. If he had to play in the era where there were no flagrant fouls and hard fouls were simply 2 or 3 shots, he would already be retired.
I watched Magic play his entire career. You are absolutely delusional.
@@petecolon162They definitely played a better team brand of basketball back then, even with the physical defense the scoring was the same as it is today. Most of these guys today would fold under that pressure…these dudes stay injured
I mean the assist is kind of hard to compare because Steph has never had a center that he can just dump the ball down to and rack up a bunch of assists. Also Magic played with how many top 75 guys vs Steph who’s only played with one top 75 player.
He played with 2, Worthy and Kareem, and considering how everyone on Golden State was talking about how much Klay deserved to be on that list, I would say Steph played with 2 as well
Magic came in as a rookie to an established team which obliviously boosted his accomplishments and provided an advantage day one. Steph's had a slow start physically and once his famed core team was assembled, it took a couple of years to develop into contenders, which again gave Magic and edge. The Lakers has historically been one of the most established teams in the 1980s and moving forward. The west is actually tougher than when Magic played especially over the last 3 years. I going with Steph on my team first over Magic.
And as a rookie without Kareem he won the championship. Steph couldn't close out the Cavs when Green was suspended for a game
Steph played with the greatest scorer ever in his prime and has 1 finals mvp and blew a 3-1 lead. Stop overrating curry because to say he’s better than magic is saying he’s a top 5 player which is delusional
@@DjLooNMagic choked in the finals too now what.
Greatest scorer ever? What about tragic Johnson in the finals? Ohhh we don't Wana talk Abt that do we
@@cookingwithfrankexactly bro
Hands down Magic maaaaaaaaan💯
i feel like they have both accomplished so much we should strictly look at the peaks of their career skill wise. curry can do it all! and his 3 point shooting is insane, finishing insane!
magic and itts not close
Defense??
@@kotan80Magic was an overrated defender, but was still 6'9, big, strong and pretty mobile for his size, with amazing hands and feel for steals. Steph is a great defender for his size, but he's very small. I think Magic gets the nod, but it's close.
To me, the point is that Magic was a great scorer in his own right, dropping 30 and 40 points whenever it was needed, increasing his production after Kareem retired and also improving substantially his jumper when the situation required that (look at his late years numbers: 90+% from the free throw, over 30% from 3 on an increased volume, and always way over 50% from 2).
He only run a system where the team was better when he was passing instead of scoring, like when Steph played with KD: his numbers went down, but the team was so much better.
Steph can be a good passer too, but he's not very good at creating for others out of the pick and roll, you clearly see that when the Warriors run everything through Steph, he goes crazy but Klay, Wiggins and company, they all lose efficiency by a wide margin.
To me, there is not much to be debated, Magic is better, but Steph is more versatile.
@@12gark Did you actually call Steph a "Great defender for his size"? Steph is an improved defender, but a lot of that is scheme based. They dont let him get isolated.
@@12garkThe only thing that Steph is beter at is shooting.. How does that make him more versitile?
Magic had a great career when you look over everything he’s done
And understatement of the century goes to.............
@@mkadoza😂😂😂
Honestly surprised Steph would say this since he’s usually modest
Gotta have confidence and he was asked. He also said it's him and Magic. Between them two. He also said that Magics resume is insane.
Despite people acting like only Lebron thinks this way and that’s why everyone hates him. All great athletes are great because they are alphas, they want to be great and they have egos. Muhammad Ali said he was the greatest before he even beat any one of consequence. Forget what he may say, you think Tom Brady didn’t want to be known as the greatest Qb of all time? I still have Magic as the best Pg of all time but I love Steph putting his name out there.
His modesty is an act for the media
@@TrueAnakinSkywalker Ali stood for things. It was a different era. Now it just comes across as arrogance. Jordan always had the best answer. I can't say I'm the best because I never played against Wilt or Russell etc...
He letting that golf tournament win go to his head
There are no more Magics anymore as in "true PGs". This is now "positionless" basketball and Steph is truly a small SG if we had to put a label to him, honestly. But, since he handles the ball and because he's the shortest on the starting lineup....
Man i love these guys' chemsistry. Nick and brew so much fun to listen to
No, I see Steph having way more problems in Magics era than Magic having problems in Stephs era.
That's a very good point.
If steph played in magics era they'd accuse him of witch craft
Would literally be the only dribble shooter if he played in jordan era
Steph would chop them up bc they wouldn’t even dare check him at 30 ft. Magic can’t shoot, and they would sag off him tremendously.
There were really good 3 point shooters back then but they just didn't shoot as much. So my guess is the first time Steph would attempt 5+ threes his coach would bench him.
It's actually not weird. Basketball is played with real teams not super teams. And on real teams, making your teammates better is extremely valuable. Stef does that some - his shooting terrorizes defenses and creates mismatches.
But no one can pass like Magic. And if Magic played today when 3 pointers were more emphasized, he'd be a better shooter.
And I'd much rather have Magic's size on defense than Stef's unless I had elite defenders backing him up.
That is the problem with comparing eras and saying Magic will be a better 3pt shooter if he played in this modern NBA because that will be an assumption. Ben Simmons bless his soul was suppose to be the modern day Magic size, passing and defense. But, the guy can’t shoot to save his life. Let’s just stick to the stats and accolades which tilts more towards Magic. For now!
Regardless of eras, give me Magic. Not only does have the best court vision and delivery of all time, but his alpha personality would keep the others in line. Magic would DEMAND respect and teamwork, and it doesnt matter who was on his team. I just dont think Steph could handle all that Alpha energy.
Magic used to dominate playoff series averaging 14-17 assists per game. I can’t think of any player that can do that. Now I understand that Steph helps his teammates in ways that don’t show on a stat sheet, but I find it hard to believe that his overall offensive impact would be better than Magic’s.
The one thing that Steph has over Magic, is that he’s not necessarily ball dominant. He can play off another great player and still average 25+ points. Comparatively, the offense is basically at the mercy of Magic’s decisions - which seemingly was the best play/decision 95% of the time.
I think this is the critical point for Steph that he harms the team without even touching the ball, and that he creates points that aren't even registered as his assists. It's kind of weird to say it this way but you could almost give a percentage of Draymond's assists to Steph.
But Magic was... magical
Not mad at this. I take Steph 9 times out of 10 because I value all time great shot making and shot creation. Magic’s greatness seems more reliant on teammates play finishing
John Stockton used to do the same thing.
@@LileggmaneI want PG to run off. Play stingy D. And be able to get buckets when needed. ideally creates mismatch probs. = Lebron, magic best PGs.
@@newagain9964exactly curry a shooting guard in a point guard body anyway
steph calling himself the greatest PG over Magic Johnson is like joakim noah saying hes the best center of all time💀
Steph watched his father play and is a fan of the game.
Watch the Classics on the NBA channel and you won’t be so impressed by the players from the 80’s and 90’s
Much worse shooters
And less athletic
Magic would be exposed in today’s game
No shot
Can’t defend quick guards
He would be like Draymond Plus
Great take, magic is a better point guard by definition of the position but Steph is still an all time great player and greatest shooter of all time.
They are 2 different types of pgs. Magic is prolly 1st but Steph has a case, for sure.
Career Résumé…Total Achievements: (Titles, MVPs, Finals MVPs, 1st All-NBA, 1st All-DEF)
1) Jordan = 36
2) LeBron = 30
3) Kareem = 29
4) Kobe = 28
4) Duncan = 28
6) Magic = 20
…
To put things into perspective, Stephen Curry only has 11…he’s not even close to the great ones.
…
NBA Titles:
Magic = 5
Curry = 4
…
MVPs:
Magic = 3
Curry = 2
…
Finals MVP:
Magic = 3
Curry = 1
…
All-NBA 1st Team:
Magic = 9
Curry = 4
…
NBA Assist Titles:
Magic = 4
Curry = 0
…
Career triple doubles
Magic = 138
Curry = 10
…
Curry is not a true point guard. You have to be a facilitator of the team in order to be a point guard. He is more of a shooting guard. Even Curry himself admitted in an interview that Draymond Green is more of a point guard than him. LeBron James and Draymond Green are better facilitators than Stephen Curry. Magic will always be the greatest point guard of all time. Case closed
Well, you can say Magic isn't a true PG because he's 6'9. If Magic is a PG, then LeBron is a PG, in which case LeBron could be argued to be better than Magic. And, yes, these people may have more MVPs than Curry, but Curry is the only UNANIMOUS MVP. It can be argued that Steph was argued for FMVP for the other 3 championships he won. And let's not also forget that Steph has the all-time 3pt scoring title while also having multiple records for most 3s in a season and such. And then there's that pesky fact of Magic being drafted to a GREAT situation. If Magic was drafted to a bottom-feeding team, would he have NEARLY the kind of success he had? Steph had to build his legacy from the very bottom, whereas Magic was drafted to a 50+-win team with an easily Top 5 player in history.
That's why it's important to have these discussions.
@@TheUltimateRage Being a PG isn't about height, it's about who is the facilitator of the team and who distributes the ball tho others.Yes, LeBron and Green are more of PGs than Curry...that's why many call them Point Forwards. The primary stat for a PG is Assists, the primary stat for an SG is scoring.
Career Assists Per Game AVG:
#1 - Magic Johnson = 11.19
#2 - John Stockton = 10.51
…
#24 - LeBron James = 7.33
…
#42 - Stephen Curry = 6.51
@@TheUltimateRage Total Stat Points (Career Avg PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK)
Magic: 19.4 PPG / 7.2 RPG / 11.2 APG / 1.9 SPG / 0.4 BPG = 40.1 points
Curry: 24.6 PPG / 4.6 RPG / 6.5 APG / 1.7 SPG / 0.2 BPG = 37.6 points
u hv to take out kareem he would hv the most of all time but those acolades where not around for the biggining of his career
Definitely there will be another Steph. He's the 1st because for the longest time coaches would never allow players to do the things he does even if they could do them because they didn't understand analytics and they thought it was a bad style of play. If Steph were drafted in 1980 he'd NEVER be allowed to shoot all those 3s let alone the deep 3s, 3s off the dribble and step backs, etc. But someone like Steve Nash could have done everything Steph does now if he had known it was possible and been given the chance. But now that it's been done others will definitely replicate it.
Curry is 12th on the all-time list for 3 pt%. Yes those guys would have had a dip in their average if they shot more, but it's not like he is dominating the most accurate spot.
@SDesWriter I don't think its obvious their percentage would dip. Most of the guys ahead of him didn't put in nearly the amount of time Steph does working on those shots because they were taking only 1-3 attempts per game. If they knew they'd be taking 11 attempts per game, they'd have spent 3x as much effort perfecting their shot. It's possible their percentages from 3 might be even higher than it is now if it had been the feature aspect of their game, not just something they were naturally good at and did occasionally
just imagine if Nick Kerr's dad never allowed Stephanie to shoot all those terrible playground/video game shots lololol
@@thebest_everrrrrrrrrrrr Kerr has more championships and a higher 3-point shooting percentage than Curry.
@@SDesWriter that only adds onto the fact that Stephanie is the most overrated shooter all-time - Nick Kerr’s dad is statistically a better shooter
Definitely an argument. Steph is that guy, Magic was that guy. Both changed the way basketball is played at the pg position.
I have watched both live ! Magic is the point guard GOAT, period.
OMG no way people forget how great Magic was. He could have scored 50 any time he wanted but was not selfish.
No he couldn't we saw the games.
😂😂
Kareem: "Magic, get me my water."
Players with Multiple MVPs, Rings, and Scoring Champs:
MJ, Steph, Kareem, Wilt
He's the highest 20ppg TS% ever
Higher 2pt fg% than Olajuwon and Malone
No player has averaged 25 5 5 in the finals and not won FMVP, Steph's done it 3x
I cant give it to Steph legacy wise yet unless he gets a fifth but let's not act like the Lakers werent loaded when he was drafted. Also just using accolades without context is woefully unfair. Magic had a FMVP that was clearly going to Kareem but he got hurt, magic won a finals MVP averaging 16-10-8 not leadig the team in asissts and was FIFTH in scoring he was first in rebounds and steals tho. Steph was second in scoring, first in asists, third in rebounds, first in steals on his team averaging 27-8-9 and didnt win it.
Didn't win it because Curry had help with a prime KD leading the way lmao, who was arguably the best player at the time, give KD to the Cavs and Curry is getting blown out in those Finals
@@Flare8124 Magic was the fifth highest scorer on his team, didn't lead them in assists and still won FMVP don't give me he had help nonsense. Magic had one of the deepest teams ever from the get go and one of the best teams ever from the get go they won 54 and 47 games the two year before he was drafted.
@@Flare8124 Kareem also won FMVP while with magic and probably deserved at least one more.
@@winssports4830Shaq won every finals MVP with Kobe...
@@winssports4830is magic won d most finals MVP on dat team 2- 3 while him and Kareem played together
About to get some hate but Steph is a SG. I’d put CP3, IT, Stockton, even Rondo ahead of Steph as a PG. Dude is all time regardless
FACTS!!! We will never see another magic.. we will definitely see another Steph before another magic..
WE SEEN ANOTHER MAGIC HIS NAME LEBRON 😂😂😂 THERES NO WAY THIER BE ANOTHER STOWH
Bruh stop tripping. You guys live in nostalgic la-la land
In an All Time starting 5 and best ever is Magic. There's so much scoring on the floor you don't need more shooting you need a true PG. Magic the 🐐 PG
I just find it funny he says we'll see another Wardell Steph Curry before we see another Magic, at the same time mentioning Lebron is almost like a Magic but utilize his strengths differently. The closest to another Steph we have is Trae Young or Damian Lillard, and both have yet to make it to the finals meanwhile Lebron is arguably better than Magic.
Lebron is lebron.... He got everybody stuff.... He scores like magic, passes like Jordan, rebounds like Barkley, speed of Isaiah, wit IQ of bird.... Nuttin like him
if dame was w KD, klay, and dray back then I bet he'd prob chip up at least once tbh.
@@jon401 truth
Lebron is better than magic
Dame, Trae young
This is so unfair to Steph, how many times did kareem and magic both have 1st team selections? The media just doesn't vote the same as they used to. Once KD joined the media themselves said it disqualified them.
That's on Steph for stacking the deck then. And I'm sure he would trade those for the two chips he got. And no magic joining Kareem is not even near the same thing
unfair to Stephanie? SMH LOL Stephanie has had so many breaks throughout his entire career & been included in so many nonsense conversations like this forever --- especially for a player who is so overrated that it's almost a joke to troll ball fans
No the media didnt cut it out
@@sheltondmello8031 please explain how 2 top ten players of all time along with 2 other top 75 players is not stacking the deck?
@@xcwilliams7980 yes they did, they said it would take votes from each other and media members preferred to give them 2nd or 3rd place votes over 1st place since they were playing together.
Y’all always talk about curry team but never talk about magic superteams he had his whole career. He was dropping it off to a guy with a signature move unstoppable.
Magic at 6 ft 9 was phenomenal
Greatest passer n court vision. No peer
Steph greatest shooter bar none
Each were so special in those areas
Todays game , I take Curry
80’s definitely Magic
Magic isn’t even a true pg
@@justusquiller9278Neither is Steph 😂
Nick had me until "I think we will see another Steph..." especially given that we have seen Magic in Stockton, LeBron and Jason Kidd more than we have seen Steph in anyone else
Well Steph just got here. Magic 2.0 was 20 years later
Two things that are so interesting right now:
1. Steph isn't in the top 25 of total assists in the NBA, but he's now in the conversation of the top two point guards. Incredible feat.
2. If Steph is the best point guard of all time, does that now put him on the top 5 players of all time?
1. Assists a useless stat to someone like steph. Assists is just looking for the open man, while Steph creates the open man with his off ball movements and getting doubled while he doesn't even have the ball.
2. This is a valid point, but some would say magic isn't top 5 himself, if you can argue that magic is not top 5, then you can argue that steph is ranked higher than him.
And let me be totally honest the teams in the league with steph by numbers and talent compared to back then are much greater in steph era . In Magic Era there were only a hand full of teams that you believed could win it all and that starts with Celtics Lakers Bulls Pistons after that its really no one you really thought would beat one of those teams , Steph Era we don't know who's gonna win anymore its both hands full
I guess 2015-2019 just didn’t happen then.
@@jordandwiggins1026 that was because of steph
ALL ABOUT A 3 POINTER AND DUNKING, THAT'S IT.........NOT BASKETBALL
Majic is a true point guard, Curry is a shooting guard, the greatest shooter so far to have played in the NBA, they are talking about point guards not shooters, Majic was a champion and a finals MVP in his rookie year, cant say that about Curry☺
I agree Steph is a better point guard but Majic is a better all around player due to his versatility at playing many different positions. Steph is the greatest 3 point shooter of all time no doubt.
I like Steph, but i gotta give Magic the nod
Magic carrying the 91 Lakers to the Finals was more impressive than anything Stephs ever done imo. That team had no business making the Finals
the team had james worthy
FACT
@@niilasaarinen3041 And? Thatd be like Steph and Klay leading a weak team to the Finals. Byron Scott was washed. A Green Vlade at Center. Blazers were a much better team on paper. Clyde, Terry Porter, Duckworth, Buck Williams,Drazen Petrovic
Yeah I'm gonna call BS on that one.. Lakers still had a pretty good squad. It wasn't super impressive
@@adammcg7115 Too bad reality vehemently disagrees with you. A washed Byron Scott/ AC Green and a green Vlade had no business being led to the Finals whether you accept reality or not
He only averages more points because he plays shooting guard on the offensive end and he's their scorer and expected to shoot. Magic was a complete PG and he didn't have to score when he had teammates like Kareem, Worthy, Byron, etc.
and steph plays on a offense with offensive liabilities but still wins
Shot making, shot creation and play finishing is more valuable than passing. Magic’s playmaking was made exponentially better by playing with HOF level play finishers like Worthy and Kareem. Steph is the goat at the highest value shot in the game in terms of volume by a wide margin, and is top 15 all time in percentage while being just as deadly from every other spot on the floor. The gap between steph’s and magic’s scoring ability is so much wider than the gap between magic’s and steph’s playmaking. If Steph were to be a ball dominant pure point in the showtime laker’s system he could average 10+ assists for his career, but magic could never come close to matching Steph’s efficiency and shot making diversity as a scorer.
See people like you speak from hindsight before those players got there even with Kareem as mvp they could not win in the playoffs heck Jerry west went to 8 titles with the lakers one win. Magic created court vision no one had it. In finals games he avg more points more assist and rebounds. Those players weren't considered a championship team until magic actually won his first year. It aint close.
This was the better explanation than Nick Wright's confusion.
I think everyone would agree it's much harder to make up averaging 5 more assists a game to 5 more points which is about the difference between the two. Your arguement is more the "type" of buckets but in reality what matters isnt how you get them but just getting them. If you look at the numbers magic was actually more efficient than steph from the field steph just averaged more.
@@jon401 5 assist is more than 5pts. 5 ast is a minimum of 10pts.
How many championships did Kareem win in LA before the Lakers drafted Magic? In fact, many viewed his time as a Laker a major disappointment before Magic arrived.
Secondly, did you actually watch Magic play? I'm not talking highlights, I'm talking about watching an entire game? Magic controlled every aspect of the Lakers' offense & helped make very good players look like All-Stars. What Magic did in 1991 is more proof that he would've dominated the league with or without Kareem (individually).
I can literally say some of the same things about Curry. He didn't really take off as a prolific scorer until Kerr moved him off primary PG duties. Not to mention they put him in an offense to cater specifically to this strengths alongside the likes of Klay Thompson AND Kevin Durant.
Lastly, the NBA has increasingly made it easier to score (especially from the perimeter) over the past 3 decades. Offensive players are allowed to initiate all types of contact while defenders have to play defense while wearing a straight jacket. It's significantly easier for Steph (and others) to get off a shot today than 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years ago.
Stat wise Magic is better. Magic could play any position. Logic over Emotion
Imagine Steph at 6’9 and Magic at 6’2…there’s your answer! Steph is the best.
i hate this argument that Magic was surrounded by more talent. he still won a ton of finals mvps with that support which signifies that he was the best of the best... Steph only won finals mvp once and he supposedly had a worse supporting cast?
Kareem was the NBA leading scorer for decades and you think Magic didn't get a gang of assists from his scoring?? Come on, bro...
James worthy was also an elite scorer of that time @@fury0118. '22 Steph won with wiggins and recovering thompson against an great defensive celtics
@@fury0118facts
No it doesn't, it signifies you had the ball in your hand more and all the player you throw the ball to can score, did you watch the games? Finals mvp is subjective, someones opinion. What if you swapped Teams, Steph would still win and Magic would be throwing the ball to looney.
Yh but Steph played with KD only 3 years and people act like that invalidates his whole career. Weird how it's opposite for Magic and other greats.
What I love to see - G.O.A.T
What I hate to see - G.O.A.T
calling themselves as the G.O.A.T.
The basketball world knows who Stephen Curry is and accepts him as the Greatest.
Steph Curry is Incredible. No words to describe his greatness. He has got the confidence and everything else to back up what he said but why to say it yourself while you can let your "GAME" do the talking as always.
Just an example: Messi is the G.O.A.T. But what makes him even more great is the fact that he has never called himself as one. Messi never admitted that he is greater than Maradona but his game does the talking.
Unlike Steph who's claiming he is greater than Ervin Magic Johnson.
The primary job of PG is to facilitate the offense. You can argue that Draymond is more of PG than Steph. He can’t be the greatest PG if someone else on his own team is as good of a facilitator as Steph. If you’re the greatest PG ever it shouldn’t be close as to who facilitates a game better than Steph in the entire league nonetheless your own team. Steph is given the title PG, but is really more of a SG, similar to Iverson when he was slotted as the PG his first couple of years in Philly.
He's a shooting guard with pg responsiblilities
This isn't a debate... secondly Steph is a creation of the rule changes that catered to perimeter scoring
This comparison makes no sense. Steph isn’t a PG, he is a SG. “Greatest shooter of all time” that will shoot the ball 30 times a game is SG. I don’t know how this is so hard to grasp.
Stop. He was a pg
One of the rare times I actually agree with Nick Wright.
Steph has earned the right say this and feel this way
"FEELINGS" DON'T TRUMP FACTS
The primary job of a Point Guard is to facilitate scoring opportunities for their team by distributing the ball to teammates. The primary stat for a PG is Assists. The primary stat for an SG is Points.
…
Career Assists Per Game AVG:
#1 - Magic Johnson = 11.19
#2 - John Stockton = 10.51
…
#24 - LeBron James = 7.33
…
#42 - Stephen Curry = 6.51
…
Win Shares:
Magic = 155.8
Curry = 128.0
My top 5 on 1 team... magic at point, mj at the 2, bird at 3 ducan at 4, and Shaq is my center.
Wow... Nick Wright actually impressed me.
Voted on awards means very little to nothing IMO. The skill level that steph has maybe unmatched by anyone.
Curry is a shooting guard,Duncan is a center and MacAdoo is a power forward because of the way they play
Better at defense, rebounds, passing and overall championships.
The irony is the argument is Magic makes your team better but if you're choosing the greatest team the Steph often wins out. Ultimately you need someone to score.
Regardless of where a player was drafted, Steph has had a bunch of talent on his teams. Klay, Harrison Barnes, Draymond, and of course KD. That’s a crazy take!
I am laughing at the player you posted, put them up against the Laker teams, on KD is good without Steph and has not won any rings without Steph.
Magic also won 2 titles without Worthy and Byron Scott so Brusard isn’t telling it evenly. Not to mention Kareem is on record saying the love for the game was long gone before Magic arrived and introduced the team to winning
Still won with Kareem, Wilkes and Norm Nixon.
@@rafikz77And Curry had Klay, Draymond, and KD…
@@facelessandnameless true true but in a more competitive Western conference compared to the West in the 80s
Nick said it perfectly...nick may be the best analyst he brings facts to back his arguments while being able to debate.
bro what thats the total oppisite of what this guy does
No he didn’t cuz what accolades he uses to say magic is better than Steph he don’t use the same in the Jordan vs lebron debate he ignores Jordan got more FMVPs MVPs championships
Jokic had a 40pt triple double. We already see more bigs passing than 3pointers go in consistently. There's NEVER going to be another Stephen Curry
it’s like any other goat argument, every player openly would say other opponents are very good and the overall conversation is up to debate, but secretly they all HAVE TO think they’re the best. There’s just no possible way they could reach that level without this kind of mentality
Used the Jordan Argument over Bron. Dudes a clown. Jordans the Goat
Its prolly the second time i watch Nick speaks without bullshitin'
Magic was a better athlete, and a better "point guard". But Steph is beyond question a better basketball player.
Kinda silly debate. Steph is more of a shooting guard than a point guard. Steph is the only PG in NBA history known for being the greatest shooter and the best player moving without the ball. That's not a PG. Warriors are running pick and rolls and setting screens to get Steph open looks. He's not a true PG and arguably hot headed Draymond Green is the emotional leader of the Warriors.
Magic's resumé and NBA stats and accomplishments speak for him as the greatest PG in League history.