Whom is the best scorer of the 21st Century, Curry or Durant?

Ni Da Ye · Post #21 » by **Ni Da Ye** » Mon May 1, 2023 2:47 pm

I never like KD, but the fact that so many people voting for Curry in this one is the very proof of recency bias.

Pelly24 · Post #22 » by **Pelly24** » Mon May 1, 2023 3:31 pm

All things considered, LeBron is better than both of them. His size and athleticism and stamina just give him a higher floor scoring, and even ceiling. He was averaging like 34/9/9 on 62 TS% in the playoffs with 8 40 point games in 2018. 2017 wasn't far behind. Curry and KD never had that same one-man wrecking crew inevitability. There was no stopping 2014-2020 LeBron, truly.

Kobeshow · Post #23 » by **Kobeshow** » Mon May 1, 2023 3:35 pm

I mean it's Kobe and it's not close...

- 62 in 3 quarters (outscoring the Western Conference champions)
- 81 in a game
- 9 straight 40+
- 5 straight 50+

35.4 ppg in 2006 would be 40 ppg adjusted for today's league..

BoatsNZones · Post #24 » by **BoatsNZones** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:13 pm

To add some objectivity to the discussion, let's look at their PPG/efficiency (I'll use TS+, which is a players TS% divided by the league average TS% that season) through their 10 year primes:

Curry: 27 PPG with a 115 TS+
Durant: 28 PPG with a 114 TS+

Lebron: 27.5 PPG with a 108 TS+

Kobe: 28.5 PPG with a 105 TS+

Plenty to dig into further (with those numbers and otherwise... could have used per 100 possessions for one), but that's a good base to start with. I would say it is indeed between Curry and KD as pure scorers, and it's really a matter of preference, but I've certainly seen more defensive pressure thrown at Curry over the years than the other way around, including when they were teammates. Kobe is pretty clearly the 4th of the group.

edit: for those curious on the points per game averages as per 100 possessions instead (equalizing mpg/pace), the decade primes would be:

Curry: 38.2
Durant: 38.2
Lebron: 37.6
Kobe: 37.5

Karate Diop · Post #25 » by **Karate Diop** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:26 pm

Durant or Bron. The league has pushed rules to benefit Curry while Durant and Bron have had rule changes made in an attempt to nerf them... Give either one of those two the friendly whistle Curry has historically gotten and oh boyyy watch out for those fireworks...

Impuniti · Post #26 » by **Impuniti** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:39 pm

Kobeshow wrote:I mean it's Kobe and it's not close...

- 62 in 3 quarters (outscoring the Western Conference champions)
- 81 in a game
- 9 straight 40+
- 5 straight 50+

35.4 ppg in 2006 would be 40 ppg adjusted for today's league..

That helps when you chuck like no other. Kobe has a career 55% TS. Outside of KD's rookie season, neither has ever shot that badly once in their entire career. :lol:

BoatsNZones · Post #27 » by **BoatsNZones** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:40 pm

Pelly24 wrote:All things considered, LeBron is better than both of them. His size and athleticism and stamina just give him a higher floor scoring, and even ceiling. He was averaging like 34/9/9 on 62 TS% in the playoffs with 8 40 point games in 2018. 2017 wasn't far behind. Curry and KD never had that same one-man wrecking crew inevitability. There was no stopping 2014-2020 LeBron, truly.

His playoff per 100 possession in that span are 38.8 PPG with a .602 TS. Curry's since 2014 is at 37.0 PPG with a .615 TS (6 Finals runs and 4 titles in that span). And is currently higher this season on both volume/efficiency (39.3 per 100 possessions dating back to last seasons run). There's certainly no dominance from Lebron over him here. KD's playoffs since 2014 are 37.5 points per 100 on a .607 TS fwiw.

Kobeshow · Post #28 » by **Kobeshow** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:51 pm

Impuniti wrote:
Kobeshow wrote:I mean it's Kobe and it's not close...

- 62 in 3 quarters (outscoring the Western Conference champions)
- 81 in a game
- 9 straight 40+
- 5 straight 50+

35.4 ppg in 2006 would be 40 ppg adjusted for today's league..

That helps when you chuck like no other. Kobe has a career 55% TS. Outside of KD's rookie season, neither has ever shot that badly once in their entire career.

This reminds me of the ignorant argument: "Anyone can score 50 if they shoot the ball 40 times"

Nobody did what I posted above in the 21st Century, deal with it....

NBA4Lyfe · Post #29 » by **NBA4Lyfe** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:52 pm

the guy the league has had to try and nerf in 3 seperate offseasons.. james edward harden

BoatsNZones · Post #30 » by **BoatsNZones** » Mon May 1, 2023 6:59 pm

NBA4Lyfe wrote:the guy the league has had to try and nerf in 3 seperate offseasons.. james edward harden

Players who had to lean on foul baiting techniques during the reg season that were inevitably (predictably) curtailed in the post-season as he was routinely exposed to game-planned defense need not apply.

Impuniti · Post #31 » by **Impuniti** » Mon May 1, 2023 7:42 pm

Kobeshow wrote:
Impuniti wrote:
Kobeshow wrote:I mean it's Kobe and it's not close...

- 62 in 3 quarters (outscoring the Western Conference champions)
- 81 in a game
- 9 straight 40+
- 5 straight 50+

35.4 ppg in 2006 would be 40 ppg adjusted for today's league..

That helps when you chuck like no other. Kobe has a career 55% TS. Outside of KD's rookie season, neither has ever shot that badly once in their entire career.

This reminds me of the ignorant argument: "Anyone can score 50 if they shoot the ball 40 times"

Nobody did what I posted above in the 21st Century, deal with it....

I don't have to deal with anything, Kobe has no argument considering how laughably inefficient he is. And what are you even relating to here, it sounds like a bumbling mess. I never talked about anyone can do it, I just said Kobe bricks at a legendary level. Still great scorer, just not at the top of the mountain.

CS707 · Post #32 » by **CS707** » Mon May 1, 2023 7:49 pm

I feel like Harden should be a part of this conversation. You might not like his game but he could put points up in a variety of ways in his prime.

EmpireFalls · Post #33 » by **EmpireFalls** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:07 pm

Kevin Durant, the guy who got swept last year when faced with a double team and was deemed “Mr. Unreliable” for his scoring dipping in the playoffs?

https://backpicks.com/2018/03/01/backpicks-goat-14-kobe-bryant/

Kobe (and, to be fair, LeBron) is the only elite scorer in the 2000s who maintained scoring resiliency and actually saw a jump in RTS% and ORTG in the playoffs compared to the regular season. He also did it to numerous elite defenses which KD and Curry have not replicated.

LarsV8 · Post #34 » by **LarsV8** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:09 pm

Scorer: Durant
Shooter: Curry
Offensive Player: Harden

Kobe is not really relevant to the discussion.

Pelly24 · Post #35 » by **Pelly24** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:13 pm

BoatsNZones wrote:
Pelly24 wrote:All things considered, LeBron is better than both of them. His size and athleticism and stamina just give him a higher floor scoring, and even ceiling. He was averaging like 34/9/9 on 62 TS% in the playoffs with 8 40 point games in 2018. 2017 wasn't far behind. Curry and KD never had that same one-man wrecking crew inevitability. There was no stopping 2014-2020 LeBron, truly.

His playoff per 100 possession in that span are 38.8 PPG with a .602 TS. Curry's since 2014 is at 37.0 PPG with a .615 TS (6 Finals runs and 4 titles in that span). And is currently higher this season on both volume/efficiency (39.3 per 100 possessions dating back to last seasons run). There's certainly no dominance from Lebron over him here. KD's playoffs since 2014 are 37.5 points per 100 on a .607 TS fwiw.

KD has been essentially the second option for a lot of that run, I don't give him as much credit for those GSW runs on those ridiculously stacked lineups. I also look at the amount of possessions LeBron was able to play, how many minutes, how limited his options were in 2018, large parts of 2015, etc. I give LeBron a lot of credit for the raw numbers, because he had to be in those games for his team to win. Like LeBron played 45 minutes in a bunch of those games as the distant No. 1 option. He was never stopped the way KD was in 2016 vs GSW.

But in general, it's also a feel thing. LeBron never seemed as stifled as curry or KD. Like everyone is rightfully thrilled by curry's 50 point game. LeBron dropped 51/8/8 in a finals game against the best team ever. I think his size/athleticism and all-around shotmaking make him the second best scorer ever behind MJ. Also, he's the No. 1 leading scorer in NBA history.

Kobeshow · Post #36 » by **Kobeshow** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:24 pm

LarsV8 wrote:Kobe is not really relevant to the discussion.

You would be right, if you started watching the NBA in 2014....

Too bad the thread title makes it start in 2000

Cavsfansince84 · Post #37 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:27 pm

LeBron has more 40 pt playoff games than Kobe and KD do combined and Steph is a ways back from those two.

Homer38 · Post #38 » by **Homer38** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:30 pm

Kobeshow wrote:I mean it's Kobe and it's not close...

- 62 in 3 quarters (outscoring the Western Conference champions)
- 81 in a game
- 9 straight 40+
- 5 straight 50+

35.4 ppg in 2006 would be 40 ppg adjusted for today's league..

Kobe deserve to be considered but the not close is crazy....In the 2006 season,Iverson and LBJ(21 years old) had also a career high in PPG

Post #39 » by **dakomish23** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:31 pm

Durant. Short of MJ I'm not sure I've ever seen a better offensive player. Maybe peak Kobe.

Homer38 · Post #40 » by **Homer38** » Mon May 1, 2023 8:31 pm

Cavsfansince84 wrote:LeBron has more 40 pt playoff games than Kobe and KD do combined and Steph is a ways back from those two.

As great that Curry is,it was yesterday only the 8th 40 points game for Curry in his career....In 2018,LBJ had 8 in his playoffs run!

Whom is the best scorer of the 21st Century?