Okay, off the top, Stephen Curry has rarely surpassed NBA great Michael Jordan in any way. Curry holds the advantage in his specialty, the 3-point shot, and is an all-time great in his own right, but Jordan is the best player of the modern era — arguably, anyway, with due respect to LeBron James.
Still, Curry’s name has appeared next to Jordan’s a fair amount in this season’s early going. Curry is emulating His Airness with crazy reverse layups, sky-high scoring totals at 32 years of age, and by his current run of 10 straight games scoring 25 points while shooting 50 percent from the field.
Whew. That’s a lot of Curry and Jordan stuff. But per Grant Liffmann of NBC Sports Bay Area, Curry is outdoing himself, even as he’s brushing elbows with M.J.
That’s an impressive run, and Curry is officially in uncharted Curry territory. Still, to be fair to Jordan, as I was to start this whole thing, none of the Curry/Jordan stuff listed before Liffmann’s tweet involves Curry surpassing any of Jordan’s previous accomplishments.
Curry could stay on track to surpass Jordan in one way, however, on Wednesday night against the Heat. If he scores 25 or more points and shoots 50 percent or better, he’ll match Jordan’s streak of 11 such games. I know I said to forget about Jordan, but it’s truly incredible to see Curry’s face next to the GOAT (arguably) so often.
But what do you think? Who’s the best player in the modern era? I say that era started in the early ’80s, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird hit the scene, fyi. How does Curry stack up? How about James? Art is in the eye of the beholder, and Curry’s time in the rare air of Jordan only helps his argument.
(Photo credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)
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