Curry has dominated this era, but would get crushed in the 90's

[WarriorGM]

Swap Curry for Stockton straight up in the 90s and have the game be played and called the same as it was, I don't think UTAH gets a chip still. They'd be worse probably without the superstar calls and the way defense was allowed to be played. 90's had a very strong pool of perimiter defenders we haven't had since Kahwi had his run for a few years.

Reggie Miller got as far as Stockton without a multiple MVP teammate. Drop 2015 Curry in and he would do better.

I get the feeling many people don't understand Stockton was never considered a serious MVP candidate and his individual play never indicated he should have been.

That strong pool of perimeter defenders wouldn't look so tough if they were run ragged by the plays that today's spacing allows.

Maybe but we're talking about how Curry would do in the 90s not today. Would love to see how he do against prime MJ and Pippen taking turns on him. You think he'd be a better PG than Stockton was on that UTAH team?

And Reggie made the finals once, end of 90s when MJ and Pippen were done. Are we bringing him up beacause of the 3PT shooting? Bit random, to me

Reggie Miller faced Jordan and Pippen in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. It was only the second series in their 6 championship runs in which the Bulls were pushed to 7 games. Reggie did this at age 32 with Rik Smits as his main support.

Why would bringing Miller up be random? Miller running around the 3-point line gave Jordan and Pippen fits. Constant defensive vigilance that far out was unusual at the time. Curry can do the same from a couple steps further back.

[D.Brasco]

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Steven should name who this hall of famer was who said that.

[whatisacenter]

of course he would have got crushed….Steph would have been like 11 years old in the 90’s.

[Dubnation]

If Steph got mugged more than he gets now, he'd be dead.

[og15]

They still had screens and a three point line in the 90s. Reggie Miller played for the entire decade.

It's easier to set screens now due to freedom of movement. Offensive players can't be touched so it's a lot easier to move your guys around to get screens in the right place at the right time.

Regardless of all that, 3's and off ball movement were extremely effective in the past too. You can go and rewatch multiple different series and track this yourself on guys who did a lot of off ball action.

I don't really understand trying to in a way imply that it would not work or something. Many of the great defenders hated having to guard the guys using and running around screens vs guys who did more on ball attack.

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That's some major, major dumbassery. Nobody hurt Mike in his entire career. Nobody hurt anybody back then, except for Mailman taking out Isiah Thomas. I mean, my God, stars averaged 80 games per year. How the bleep could do they do that if all the good players were targeted?

Sheesh.

Yea, there's no real list of guys who were taken out as that suggests. We're seeing that running around the court more is what causes more of the long lasting injuries, not being Andrew Bynumed like JJ Barea.

It's correct to say he would face more potential cheap shots and there would be more goonery, but the conclusion that, therefore he will basically collapse in injuries isn't the reality of what actually happened to the players.

I'm also kind of embarassed at a guy saying they would be going after a guys injured ankles to end / shorten the players career as if that's a thing to be proud of.

While there are a lot of past players who will say the physicality would be too much, etc, many of the same guys when asked in a different context say that not allowing as much non basketball type physicality (eg: elbowing a guy coming in the lane and getting a flagrant 1 vs 2) is actually better for the game. Many of them agree with rules that prevent that type of stuff.

[Ainosterhaspie]

If Curry has a guy chasing him and bigs trying to knock him to the floor, that means he's occupying 2-3 defenders and that means he has teammates who are getting open looks and good scoring opportunities.

Contrary to popular myth, most 80s and 90s basketball was focused on playing the game, not trying to hit guys with bone crushing fouls every play.

Also, Curry is slippery. You're not just going to land a clean hit every time you try. He's barely instead that stuff mostly unscathed.

[warriorschamps]

Could you imagine if someone is a basketball player saying I can't outplay the guy at basketball so I will become a cheap shot artist. Whoever that was they should keep that to themselves. That's a bad, bad look. This is basketball not the UFC.

Someone saying that is basically saying I don't have any basketball ability.

[LockoutSeason]

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[FuShengTHEGreat]

The softened defensive rules, outlawing handchecking or touching an offensive player in any way, removing physicality and promoting freedom of movement have allowed players to run amok on the offensive end.

This is best exemplified by Curry. A relatively unimpressive 6-3(if that) physical specimen.

How much is Curry dominating in a game like this:

Watch on YouTube

String beanpole Reggie didnt get crushed and gave all the top teams and superstars of the 90s problems but Steph with a better handle more range and superior passing ability wouldn't?

[Heat3]

A midget like Mugsy Bogues played for the entire 90's decade. Steph will be great in that weak era.

30 years later and people still remember Mugsy Bogues. If Curry played played in the 90s you'd only remember him if his kid was balling out today!

[playoffs]

So many old men in this thread. So many clouds. So much yelling.

[DB23]

Many dumb things in this thread but probably the biggest misnomer is that curry is soft. He’s spent his whole career getting hounded and wrestled. He still does all the dirty work setting screens and playing off ball.

Honestly if you dropped prime curry in the 90s we might just be having a real conversation whether mj is the goat cause curry would be dropping 40+ on the regular.

People forget how quick and skilled peak curry was outside of the shooting. If prime jrue holiday, Marcus smart and all the other athletes and double teams of this era can’t slow him down, neither can the 90s finest.

[Diop]

Reggie Miller is probably a great example of Curry being absolutely fine in the 90's.

great shooting works in every era

[doogie_hauser]

The softened defensive rules, outlawing handchecking or touching an offensive player in any way, removing physicality and promoting freedom of movement have allowed players to run amok on the offensive end.

This is best exemplified by Curry. A relatively unimpressive 6-3(if that) physical specimen.

How much is Curry dominating in a game like this:

Watch on YouTube

This my friends is why Lakers fans are hated generally. So much arrogance and disrespect for a team that has not produced a home grown/drafted star player champion since Magic Johnson. Parasites throwing their chequebook around to win titles. Muppet Franchise with Muppet fans

[FarBeyondDriven]

Reggie Miller is probably a great example of Curry being absolutely fine in the 90's.

great shooting works in every era

Reggie Miller was 6'8". Coaches were far more apt to put up with defensive liabilities on the wing than they were with guards. Steph would either have been Steve Kerr if he was playing off-ball or if he was allowed to play PG maybe Mark Price. That's the best case scenario. Mark Price was a damn good basketball player but that's a far cry from the potential top 10-15 player Steph ended up because he played in this era.

[WarriorGM]

This thread is a prime example of the tendency around here of calling white black and calling up down. The premise of this thread is that Curry wouldn't have been successful in the 90s. My takeaway is the exact opposite. If anything this thread reinforces the belief that Curry would have absolutely dominated the 90s even more thoroughly than he did the 2010s.

Look at all that 90s basketball footage! Nary a defender at the 3-point line! One can debate if LeBron can get to the rim more effectively than Jordan given the dense packing in the paint but one can hardly argue that Curry wouldn't have a field day unleashing bombs from what is layup distance for him for his threes. There is no modern player who would expose the weaknesses of 90s basketball as thoroughly as Curry. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel for him.

No wonder old heads are so insecure when it comes to Curry and so determined to suggest he couldn't wing it during that time. If anything the utter failure of the arguments in this thread to disprove Curry could just have his way shooting from three point land buttress the argument that Curry would be the greatest player ever playing in the 90s and if he has an argument of being the greatest player while Jordan is playing it would support the contention he may actually be the greatest player ever.

[michaelm]

Reggie Miller is probably a great example of Curry being absolutely fine in the 90's.

great shooting works in every era

Reggie Miller was 6'8". Coaches were far more apt to put up with defensive liabilities on the wing than they were with guards. Steph would either have been Steve Kerr if he was playing off-ball or if he was allowed to play PG maybe Mark Price. That's the best case scenario. Mark Price was a damn good basketball player but that's a far cry from the potential top 10-15 player Steph ended up because he played in this era.

John Stockton wasn’t 6’8”. Nor was Steve Nash. Curry probably lifts rather more than they did as well.

[SpreeS]

Reggie Miller is probably a great example of Curry being absolutely fine in the 90's.

great shooting works in every era

Reggie Miller was 6'8". Coaches were far more apt to put up with defensive liabilities on the wing than they were with guards. Steph would either have been Steve Kerr if he was playing off-ball or if he was allowed to play PG maybe Mark Price. That's the best case scenario. Mark Price was a damn good basketball player but that's a far cry from the potential top 10-15 player Steph ended up because he played in this era.

the best case scenario...What do you know?

M. Adams 5-10 26.5pts 8.3 3PA 10.5 ast
T.Hardaway 6-0 23.4pts 4.6 3PA 10.0 ast
D.Barros 5-11 20.6pts 5.2 3PA 7.5 ast

No one is close to Curry's combination of skills from 90ies era. If you think that Curry is only shooter...maybe you are right, but he isnt only shooter.

[yellowknifer]

He’d be fine. To be perfectly honest he might even be better, the league was so 3 point averse that he’d have a huge advantage on everyone else as a shooter.

You think he’s gonna forget how to hit threes?

Hit insane deep threes. He plays so unlike anyone from that era that it would only exaggerate the huge impact he had in adjusting how the game is fundamentally played.

[yellowknifer]

Reggie Miller is probably a great example of Curry being absolutely fine in the 90's.

great shooting works in every era

Reggie Miller was 6'8". Coaches were far more apt to put up with defensive liabilities on the wing than they were with guards. Steph would either have been Steve Kerr if he was playing off-ball or if he was allowed to play PG maybe Mark Price. That's the best case scenario. Mark Price was a damn good basketball player but that's a far cry from the potential top 10-15 player Steph ended up because he played in this era.

Curry was the biggest force in changing how the game was played in this era. Coaches see practice. The guy hit percentages from 3 that would be considered a good number from a guard in that era. Why would any coach not give him the green light? Moving off ball so effectively. Finding open looks consistently. He fits on any team that has ever played because of his style.