Who is currently the best NBA player, LeBron or Curry.

I guess anything over 50% would constitute "most" so I will give you that. However, according to this link leonard ranks 10th in efficiency, well behind Durant and even harden who I would not have expected to be ranked that highly. But pretty much where I would have expected leonard to be. I'm not sure if it is calculating efficiency differently than your source.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/player-stat/nba-efficiency

mellow seeds wrote:

I guess anything over 50% would constitute "most" so I will give you that. However, according to this link leonard ranks 10th in efficiency, well behind Durant and even harden who I would not have expected to be ranked that highly. But pretty much where I would have expected leonard to be. I'm not sure if it is calculating efficiency differently than your source.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/player-stat/nba-efficiency

I don't have the slightest idea how this "efficiency" is calculated. Is there some definition given somewhere?

I did take a quick look at this page from the same source:

which seems to indicate that the Spurs have a 5x - 6x better chance to win the NBA title than the Cavs. That seems ridiculous to me given that the Cavs are near locks to make it to the finals while the Spurs have a 40% chance at best to even get there.

Doesn't prove that all the metrics on this site are suspect but it does make me think they may be a bit dodgy. Still, I'd be happy to look at the definition of "efficiency" that they are using.

Curry just dropped 46 points with a 3 pointer to win in over time. Lebron 3 point% is under 25%. The warrior's record is so much better compared to Cleveland's.

No contest. Curry is best.

Think More Clearly wrote:

think it through wrote:

The question was about this year. Curry's star continues to rise Lebron's best days are over. He's frustrated and not playing at as high a level.

Here, let me spell it out for you.

Lebron James is the best player on the planet TODAY.

Whether or not he is frustrated is irrelevant.

He continues to play at a higher overall level than anyone else in the world.

Clear enough?

Do you want to retract this now?

The discussion has moved from comparing Curry and LeBron to comparing Curry's performance this season to Jordan's performance when his team won 72.

ESPN did a good analysis of the stats of both players. It was pretty close but edge to Curry over Jordan this season in terms of efficiency and assists.

I find more people rooting for the Warriors than they ever did for the Bulls.

Lebron carried a poor Cleveland team to the finals in 2015 and they won two games.

Curry has a good team around him. If Curry and Lebron exchanged teams, Lebron would win 3 championships in a row and Curry would barely make it into the playoffs.

Lebron is better all round player.

1) Lebron

2) Kawhi

3) Curry

4) George

5) Cousins

Harden

Checker wrote:

Curry has a good team around him. If Curry and Lebron exchanged teams, Lebron would win 3 championships in a row and Curry would barely make it into the playoffs.

I agree Lebron is a more talented player and all around better. However, Curry is more valuable the way things are going. Lebron is a chemistry killer, for whatever reason (ego?).

That said, I still think Lebron is a better basketball player.

Your statement that a team of Love, Irving, Curry, JR Smith and Tristan Thompson barely making the playoffs is just plain stupid.

That team would still likely be the number 1 team in the East.

Conundrum wrote:

The discussion has moved from comparing Curry and LeBron to comparing Curry's performance this season to Jordan's performance when his team won 72.

ESPN did a good analysis of the stats of both players. It was pretty close but edge to Curry over Jordan this season in terms of efficiency and assists.

I find more people rooting for the Warriors than they ever did for the Bulls.

There's no other discussion to be had. I'd actually give a pretty solid edge to Curry over Jordan, for two reasons.

First, anytime people debate great athletes in team sports across generations, I'm giving the tie to the more recent performers because most sports tend to get more competitive over time (better nutrition and training, globalization of the game, more money at stake, tactical developments, etc.).

Second, Curry crushes Jordan in terms of efficiency. He scores about 1.35 points per shooting possession. No high volume shooter has ever come remotely close.

Third, and this is really just a result of his efficiency, Curry carries his team to a greater degree than Jordan ever did the Bulls. You could slot Curry into half the teams in the NBA and he'd win them a title. Because even when the opposing defense executes perfectly and there is "no shot," there's still a very good chance that Curry will pull up from well behind the 3-pt line and drain his shot with a hand in his face. He scores more points from "bad shots" than most players do from good shots.

"Curry carries his team to a greater degree than Jordan ever did the Bulls."

You obviously never saw Jordan play in real time.

Honest question ... did you watch Jordan play? I really don't like Jordan. But he was the greatest competitor I have ever seen. When he wanted to win, he did, flat out. Better defender than Curry, by a lot. Of the "greats," he might be the best defender of all time.

Curry is amazing, but he'd have to win a lot more to reach the Jordan level. And if you don't think Jordan was carrying those teams, look at what they did when he wasn't there. Pippen was a very good player (and another tremendous defender) but when Jordan was gone it revealed that Pippen was not as great as people thought. And Draymond Green is much better than the third best player on Jordan's teams. When Rodman was there, he was very good at defense and rebounding. But a guy who literally takes pride in not shooting is not an asset when you're trying to run an offense.

You can't compare careers of course at this stage. I was comparing Jordan's regular season of 72 wins against Curry's 73 win season.The competition is MUCH greater than when Jordan played. Also really Jordan had every NBA referee in his pocket. He got the advantage of every call. Watching the way his games were called was amazing. No one give a close call against the then NBA golden boy. Curry get's his calls more honestly.And as a previous poster pointed out, Curry is more efficient, has more assists and really makes his whole team better.Better athlete, certainly Jordan, better basketball player (comparing the two most winning seasons) - edge to Curry!

Also interesting, no one is coming back here and saying LeBron was the best player this year.

Conundrum wrote:

And as a previous poster pointed out, Curry is more efficient, has more assists and really makes his whole team better.

Better athlete, certainly Jordan, better basketball player (comparing the two most winning seasons) - edge to Curry!

Sure, Curry has more assists. Jordan has more of basically everything else. More rebounds, points, steals, blocks. Of course Curry makes his team better. So did Jordan. That's what winners do. That's an arbitrary, unmeasurable "statistic."

And, yes, I'm comparing that season.

As a Lebron fan who thinks he is the greatest ever, I do have to say steph is unbelievable. With that being said, Lebron is better at an overall level. I think one person we are discounting is Russ. I mean this guy is unbelievable with his athleticism and Jordan like will. Just imagine if you could combine currys shooting with lebrons body and overall skill, with westbrooks determination and athletic ability. Now that would be a player!

Well I know it is a bit sacrosanct speaking against Jordan in any way butCurry's stats are much better than Jordan. The stats you say Jordan was better in were essentially the same (steals 2.2 to 2.1, points scored 30.4 to 30.1) . Jordan did lead in rebounds 6.6 to 5.4 but was way behind in assists 6.7 to 4.3 and certainly in shooting percentage. (Its hard to get rebounds when more of your shots are going in)Fox sports pundit:"Curry ended the season with the greatest true shooting percentage of a high-volume scorer in NBA history. Michael Jordan never had a true shooting percentage better than .614, and Kevin Durant posted a .635 in his MVP season two years ago — Curry, when it was all said and done, finished the year with a true shooting percentage of .669.Curry's "Player Production Average" this season was the first above 300 in the modern era. The next-best season of all time: LeBron's 2012-13 at 282.Curry also led the NBA in steals (169), was eighth in the NBA in assists (527, second on his team, behind Draymond Green), and, I'm missing something here...Oh yeah, he led his team to an NBA record 73 wins in a season.There should be no doubt, Curry just posted the greatest season in NBA history, and if that doesn't land a unanimous MVP vote, it's hard to believe that any season will."

;) wrote:

Conundrum wrote:

And as a previous poster pointed out, Curry is more efficient, has more assists and really makes his whole team better.

Better athlete, certainly Jordan, better basketball player (comparing the two most winning seasons) - edge to Curry!

Sure, Curry has more assists. Jordan has more of basically everything else. More rebounds, points, steals, blocks. Of course Curry makes his team better. So did Jordan. That's what winners do. That's an arbitrary, unmeasurable "statistic."

And, yes, I'm comparing that season.

Certainly all three are great players but who really has the greatest will and determination?...............have you had a good look at Curry? Do you see him when he does his muscle flex?

He has to be one of the least physically intimidating appearing NBA players on the court but look what he has done with his sheer determination and will to win.

Mentally he is the strongest.

Conundrum wrote:

Well I know it is a bit sacrosanct speaking against Jordan in any way but

Curry's stats are much better than Jordan. The stats you say Jordan was better in were essentially the same (steals 2.2 to 2.1, points scored 30.4 to 30.1) . Jordan did lead in rebounds 6.6 to 5.4 but was way behind in assists 6.7 to 4.3 and certainly in shooting percentage. (Its hard to get rebounds when more of your shots are going in)

Curry's stats are "much better?" In what way? He was not "much better" in shooting percentage. Jordan shot .495 that year. Is Curry a better shooter? Of course he is. But that was a much more physical era as well. You're conveniently ignoring the 29 more blocks Jordan has as well.

So, to tally:

Curry: shooting, assists

Jordan: steals, blocks, points, rebounds

If you want to argue that Curry's best year by far is as good as past-peak Jordan, I guess that's arguably true.

Was it the greatest season in NBA history? Well, I'm sure Wilt and Oscar Robertson, Hakeem, Bird and others would have a claim as well.

;) wrote:

Checker wrote:

Curry has a good team around him. If Curry and Lebron exchanged teams, Lebron would win 3 championships in a row and Curry would barely make it into the playoffs.

I agree Lebron is a more talented player and all around better. However, Curry is more valuable the way things are going. Lebron is a chemistry killer, for whatever reason (ego?).

That said, I still think Lebron is a better basketball player.

Your statement that a team of Love, Irving, Curry, JR Smith and Tristan Thompson barely making the playoffs is just plain stupid.

That team would still likely be the number 1 team in the East.

You havent factored in the fact that Cleveland is injury prone you doofus.

Irving and Love are often on the sidelines or playing half fit.

And Love can't guard anyone

Thats why Lebron had to carry the team in 2015

Also the idea that Lebron is a chemistry killer is idiotic babble that comes from ESPN talking heads.