Golden State Warriors: Is Stephen Curry truly better all-time than Kobe Bryant?

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry was recently ranked ahead of Kobe Bryant on Bleacher Report’s all-time NBA list raising the question, is Curry truly better than Byrant?

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry is undoubtedly one of the greats of all-time. And the same could be said for Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant. But just how great, however, has been a cause of much contention lately.

Bleacher Report released its top-50 NBA players of all-time ranking last Thursday and it’s safe to say that their results weren’t exactly universally agreed upon.

There were the usual Michael Jordan/LeBron James arguments and some disagreements about the placements of players like David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal, but the most compelling disagreement has been over the placement of Bryant.

More specifically his placement as compared to Curry.

It’s no secret that Bryant is one of the most beloved players in NBA history. His fiery competitiveness and confident demeanor and make him one of the most endearing players to ever step foot on an NBA court.

He also just so happens to have a wildly loyal, rabid fanbase waiting to defend him at any moment.

Placing him at No. 14 on the list was always going to cause his fans to be up in arms. But placing Curry four slots ahead of him at No. 10 all-time clearly struck a chord with his fans and NBA fans alike.

So the question remains, is there a legitimate argument for Curry being better than Bryant all-time? Let’s take a look at some career statistics to start things off.

• Kobe Bryant’s career averages: 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.4 threes, 1.4 steals, Box Plus/Minus: 3.9, Net Rating Swing: +5.6
• Stephen Curry’s career averages: 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 3.6 threes, 1.7 steals, Box Plus/Minus: 6.5, Net Rating Swing: +12.1

The bolded categories are the statistics that a player has an advantage in. As you can see, Bryant only tops Curry in average points and rebounds per game. But context is needed in this case.

At the current rate, Curry is set to pass Bryant in points per game before long. His 23.5 points per game are heavily swayed by his earlier years as he hasn’t averaged less than 23.5 points per game since the 2012-13 season.

But at the end of the day, that’s one of the incredible things that always stood out about Bryant, his longevity. Bryant was able to maintain an incredibly high level of play for an insanely long time — something that Curry hasn’t had the opportunity to do just yet.

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From that perspective, the edge goes to Bryant. However, it’s hard to argue that the career numbers favor the Lakers legend in any way. But from a legacy standpoint, the argument is interesting.

Few can match the accolades that Bryant accumulated throughout his legendary 20-year career. He was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection, 12-time All-Defensive selection, five-time NBA champ, two-time scoring champion, two-time Finals MVP, and was the 2007-08 MVP.

Curry simply can’t dream of catching many of those honors — and he likely never will.

It’s doubtful that the current six-time All-Star will ever reach the mark of Bryant set at a near-historically high 18 times. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s 19 times is higher.

And Curry will surely never be a 12-time All-Defensive selection as the pride of Davidson has never been regarded as a top-flight defender. In that regard, Bryant is clearly a step ahead.

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But what Curry did do is change the way the game is played. Curry impacted the game of basketball in a way that few have ever done.

The entire game of basketball has been revolutionized in the past decade or so and the basketball world has to owe at least part of that to Curry’s style of play. Of course, part of that can be contributed to Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors’ system.

But who has been the centerpiece of that system since it’s inception? That’s right, Stephen Curry.

No matter how great Bryant was and how incredible his legacy is, he never impacted the game in the way that Curry did. That right there might be the single greatest argument for Curry’s inclusion in the top-10 and his subsequent ranking ahead of Bryant.

Curry change the game. He revolutionized an entire spot. And he did so while establishing himself as the single greatest shooter in NBA history — that much cannot be argued.

At the end of the day, both Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant are all-time greats who should be treated as such.

But the argument that Curry is better is certainly a valid one and not an opinion that should be disregarded so quickly.