Kobe Bryant announces retirement

Let's pump the brakes a little on Stephen Curry. He's averaged 20 points in a season all of three times, at this point, and led one team to a title (and the Finals).

Larry Bird averaged 20 points in a season 11 times, 10 rebounds in a season six times, won three titles and three MVP awards, and finished in the top five of the MVP voting six other times, including four runner-up finishes.

Let's pump the brakes a little on Stephen Curry.

 

I introduced the topic. Here's what I wrote: "Steph Curry is gaining from the outside at least in comparison to Kobe."

I'm not sure how that can be interpreted as I'm ready to knock Bird off Mount Rushmore.

He's a 27-year-old reigning MVP who is already the heavy favorite to pick up a second MVP award, leading a team that's threatening to post one of the two best two-year stretches in NBA history. His MVP haul already equals Kobe's. So it's fairly appropriate to say he is on his way to moving past Kobe on a subjective list of all-time greats, but is not there yet.

I mean, sure, it doesn't display the extrapolation skills of a Chris Carpenter Hall of Fame thread, but I think it's an acceptable thought.

 

Only one person mentioned him, and in passing. Still, he's interesting if he can keep it up for a couple years. Already, I think he and the Warriors are having an effect on how the floor is spaced, building on past spacing from the Spurs, who quickened their pace and space based on the Suns, etc. I haven't really seen any studies on it yet, but I kind of wonder if for truly elite shooters, if a wide open shot from 25+ feet goes for a higher percentage than a contested normal 3.

Re: Magic and Bird, obviously we're all kind of splitting hairs when it comes to Top 5. But unfortunately to me, both were somewhat unlucky when it came to health. (And obviously, for VERY different reasons.) They "only" played a dozen years or so, similar to Jordan and Russell, but I don't think they were as overwhelming as those two were in their respective eras. Still, plenty of fun arguments that I see as reasonable with all of this.

 

Why would you compare him to Kobe? They're not very similar players at all.

Of all the guys thrown into the top 10 hat, Curry's style is probably most comparable to Bird, therefore Bird would be the one he'd eventually supplant.

 

Ugh. There was no "style" on my list, or yours for that matter. Wilt and Jordan are different. Yet they were both on our lists.

It was a pretty simple statement/projection to try to assess Kobe's standing on the all-time list and if he might drop a notch or two in the next 10 years.

 

The "in comparison" phrase tripped me up. It made it seem like an either/or.

If I had to guess now, I'd say there's little chance of Curry ever cracking the top 10.

 

You'll be re-evaluating when the Warriors go 246-0 over the next three seasons.

 

My Curry rant was a response to this post.

 

Nope. I pledged to stop watching the NBA altogether once the Sixers get to 100 straight losses.

 

Ah, OK. This page is just a needless tangent then.

Truthfully I think the NBA "who better" discussion brings out the worst in all of us.

 

Not until Devil shows up.

 

I was just thinking about this issue in the shower, and it came to me that this is a futile topic because the gradations among NBA superstars are so fine as to be almost invisible. Just off the top of my head, here's a short list of 10 guys who're NEVER rated in the game's top 10, let alone five, and yet each in their time was rightly regarded as an unstoppable superstar: Moses Malone, Dr. J, Rick Barry, George Gervin, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Akeem Olajuwon and Bob Cousy. There are where that came from, those were just the first names that popped out of memory bank.