Steph Curry Goat or Not?

Is Stephen Curry a GOAT?

As we begin to close out the NBA playoffs entering into the finals and championship game, the topic of who's "The best player in the league" has become the center of the conversation. On May 10th, the NBA league announced that Steph Curry was unanimously voted as the most valuable player (MVP) in the NBA. Once this news was released it instantly went viral all over sports media, most people agreeing with the decision. Since then fans has made critical claims some ridiculous and others were reasonable. I've heard people refer to Stephen Curry as "the goat" (greatest of all time) comparing him to Michael Jordan even. First and foremost Stephen Curry is what I call a true point guard. He reads each position, pass, and shot thoroughly before just taking them. He has great game IQ without any question and knows when to shoot or pass. Yes he possibly could play the shooting guard position because he's a creative shooter who averages between 25-30 points a game, but he's best suited for point guard, because of his speed. MJ however was a bonafied shooting guard, who's very similar to Lebron because of their versatility with being able to accurately play more than 1 position. So is calling Curry a goat a premature label? 

Curry VS Lebron 

Although Curry does exhibit goat like traits and characteristics, he's only been highlighted for 2 years. Drafted in 2009 in the first round by the Golden State Warriors, Curry stayed under the radar ultimately developing his skills into what they are today. In 2010, he was chosen as one of the players for the All Rookie First Team, and in 2011 Curry was awarded with the NBA Sportsmanship award, but it wasn't until 2014 when Curry was chosen to be in the NBA All-Star game is when he began to shine. Since 2014, Curry has branded himself as a force to reckon with. I'm confident that Curry will remain consistent throughout his career, however usually players that are considered to be a goat are noted to have championships and titles that coincide with their name and stats. 

For years Lebron James was ridiculed for not obtaining a championship and still he's constantly being devalued by the amount of rings he has versus the number of Finals he's played in. Curry doesn't have this problem because he's already won the 2015 championship title. However,  Lebron James has played in the NBA Finals for four years consecutively, going on five, no other active NBA player has ever done this. The only other people who have accomplished this were 8 players off of the 1960's Boston Celtics team and James Jones who played for Miami Heat alongside of Lebron. As one of the last NBA players to be drafted out of high school in 2003, Lebron hasn't gone a year without making his presence known. James has literally been awarded or played in the All-Star games every year. Critics often fail to mention the age difference between the two players. Curry is only 3 years younger than James. This means that Steph Curry won his first ring at age 27, Lebron won his first ring at age 28, Jordan won his first ring at age 28 and Kobe won his first ring at age 22. Kobe won his ring earlier than all of them and still was unable to surpass Michael Jordan's six rings. So when I hear people speak on Lebron like he's not as great, because he of his win/lose ratio in the Finals, I think it's blasphemous. Lebron is the only player that can accurately play all positions and actually be good at them. He may not hit a buzzer beater 3 but he leads the team and by far is one of the most consistent players I've ever watched. However, without a doubt Curry definitely deserves to win the MVP title this year. He's carried his team and is always clutch when you need him to be. Curry plays with confidence and determination and is one of the best players in the NBA. The two players should be compared to one another without discrediting their talents. 

The Point Guards

Steph Curry is great and very talented. His shooting capabilities are similar to other extraordinary talents such as Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen. In this article I am simply noting that like other great talents, he's receiving a much higher standard that I consider to be too premature. We've placed many previous athletes on a sudden high pedestal and wonder why they didn't achieve to that particular standard. Take for instance Derrick Rose; he was the first draft pick in 2008 by the Chicago Bulls, becoming the first guard to be chosen first overall in a draft since Allen Iverson. Once Rose received rookie of the year in 2009 all eyes were on the Bulls. I would hear critics compare him to Iverson, Magic Johnson, Rajon Rondo, ultimately giving him great titles within his first year at age 22. In 2011 Rose was at the peak of his career, he was awarded MVP and became the youngest to receive the award, he was announced as the starting guard for the NBA all star game, and the Bulls were the top seed in the east over the Miami Heat's big 3. Similar to other athletes Derrick Rose was on the way to contributing to history and bringing the Chicago Bulls back from the dark ages, President Obama was even rooting for them, and it was very possible. However Rose hasn't yet been able to live up to the potential we all seen, because the following 2012 season he tore his ACL and hasn't truly recovered since. Although Rose's decline was due to unfortunate events, this still is an example of how sometimes accolades are given before they're earned. 

Sports are a form of entertainment, meaning it's all about consistency. Everyone has great moments and a good season, but if you don't consistently remain relevant than you don't deserve that great title. People will say Derrick Rose could've been great but not that he is great. We’ve seen only like 2 or 3 seasons from him that's noteworthy. Regardless of the situation this is the outcome because time continues whether you do or not. Yes remaining relevant in any form is a difficult task, especially in sports, because every year you get older and newer talents emerge. I don't think anything is wrong with comparing players legacies to one another, but a legacy consist of a body of work created over time, not in 1 or 2 seasons.