Why Draymond picks Curry, not Magic, as all-time greatest point guard

Why Draymond picks Curry, not Magic, as all-time greatest point guard originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Pick your Point God: Magic Johnson or Steph Curry?

Selecting the best point guard of all time might seem as if it would be a difficult choice for Draymond Green, who would have to choose between his fellow Michigan State alum and his longtime Warriors teammate. Not so much.

“It’s a very easy one for me,” Green said during an interview on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that aired Tuesday. “I gotta roll with the dawg that I rolled in with, and that’s Steph Curry.”

Curry ignited the Point God debate during a recent appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast “Gil’s Arena.”

“Are you the best point guard ever?” Arenas asked.

“Yes,” Curry said. “It’s me and Magic. That’s the conversation.”

It’s a difficult conversation to have, given the differences in eras and playing styles. Both players are credited with changing the game of basketball: Johnson with his all-around skill set and versatility as a taller point guard, and Curry with his shooting prowess as the league’s top outside threat.

The résumés for each are impressive, with Curry set to one day join Johnson in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Johnson was a three-time MVP, a nine-time first-team All-NBA selection and a five-time NBA champion. Curry is a two-time MVP, a four-time All-NBA selection and a four-time NBA champion.

Johnson has the seventh-most assists in NBA history with 10,141. Curry is the league’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 3,390 and counting.

While Johnson is credited with elevating the popularity of basketball to new heights along with Larry Bird during the 1980s, Curry helped alter the style of play league-wide by ushering in the NBA’s 3-point revolution.

That last point factored heavily into Green’s decision for the top point guard.

“What Steph Curry has done to the game of basketball, which I think is an even bigger compliment than what you’ve done for the game, what he’s done to the game of basketball. … Like, how can he not be?” Green said.

Earlier this year, Green called the Steph vs. Magic debate “lazy” because of the positional changes in basketball.

“I think comparing those two is lazy,” Green said during an episode of his podcast “The Draymond Green Show.” “Just like I think there are only five positions in basketball is lazy. We all speak about position-less basketball, right? That is a lazy term. I think it’s all lazy. Steph Curry and Magic Johnson, if you watch those two play basketball, you probably wouldn’t say they’re the same position. With no understanding of positions, if you just watch those two play, you probably wouldn’t say they’re the same position.”

Green, at the time, also offered a simple solution to the debate.

“I think they’re both GOATs,” he said. “They are both the greatest point guards of their eras.”

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