The case for Curry and Giannis in the All-Time Top 10

[iggymcfrack]

I actually have Curry and Giannis both in my top 10, but this is a terrible case for it. For starters, Giannis ain’t as good as KG. Also if you’re going positionally the whole way, you should probably have Curry top 5 because he’s the GOAT PG. But most importantly, why you’d want to restrict yourself to strict positions as basketball becomes more positionless is just mind-boggling. You’re telling me that Duncan (who played most of his career at center) and Giannis would fit better next to Kareem than Robinson or Jokic? Why? Basketball positions are a pretty arbitrary designation.

[ReddoverKobe]

Neither is top 10. Stop it. I would pick neither in my top 5 starting lineups.

Also Jerry West is PG.

So who are your Top 2 from each position?

Magic
Jordan
Lebron
Duncan
Kareem

Big O
Bryant
Bird
Garnett
Wilt

West
Wade
Durant
Malone
Russell

Curry
Harden
Havlicek
Nowitzki
Shaq

Giannis wouldn't even make my next list. Curry just edges his peers and makes to the last list because double MVP.

Harden over Giannis lol. I've seen some bad takes but this is skip level lol

[ReddoverKobe]

I love Giannis but hes not top 10 yet, let the man finish his career. It's also damn hard to crack that top 10 because you are talking about the best of the best.

Curry I think is or in that group of players that are like 8-12.

[Vox Populi]

Harden over Giannis lol. I've seen some bad takes but this is skip level lol

I love Giannis but hes not top 10 yet, let the man finish his career. It's also damn hard to crack that top 10 because you are talking about the best of the best.

Curry I think is or in that group of players that are like 8-12.

Would you care to share your top 2 in each position? That is what this thread is asking for.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Curry should be top 10 in my view.

Greatest shooter ever. Changed the game. 4 titles.

Giannis its too early. He only has one title.

[JN61]

So who are your Top 2 from each position?

Magic
Jordan
Lebron
Duncan
Kareem

Big O
Bryant
Bird
Garnett
Wilt

West
Wade
Durant
Malone
Russell

Curry
Harden
Havlicek
Nowitzki
Shaq

Giannis wouldn't even make my next list. Curry just edges his peers and makes to the last list because double MVP.

Harden over Giannis lol. I've seen some bad takes but this is skip level lol

Giannis is shooting guard now? I've seen terrible takes on this forum but this might take the cake.

[NZB2323]

If we count Tim Duncan as a power forward because he played power forward when his team had David Robinson, then why can’t we count Hakeem as a power forward who played power forward when his team had Ralph Sampson?

PG: Magic/Curry
SG: Jordan/Kobe
SF: Lebron/Bird
PF: Duncan/Hakeem
C: Kareem/Russell

[Fencer reregistered]

Neither is top 10. Stop it. I would pick neither in my top 5 starting lineups.

Also Jerry West is PG.

Certainly West and Curry play(ed) the same position, whatever it is.

And Larry Bird can reasonably be viewed as a PF. More specifically:
-- In his absolute prime Bird was a combo forward who defensively was SF more than PF.
-- When his health slipped a bit defensively he was more PF than SF.
-- His offensive game was viewed more as SF then but would be more PF today.

[Jables]

Yeah I"m not really sold, I don't even understand what Giannis has really done to be top 10. And basketball greatness isn't about what position you play at, some people try to bring it up like, oh what great SG did Jordan play against, it doesn't matter. Teams play against teams, only position that really feels like a big positional battle is at C, and not so much anymore in the modern era.

Curry obviously has a case on anyones list, but there's nothing definitive to put him over Oscar, he was in the goat conversation and now people put Kobe above him, it is what it is.

[Whopper_Sr]

Giannis is nowhere near top 10 all time at this point of his career. He probably finishes inside the top 20 depending on how the next 5 or so years go.

[ReasonablySober]

Yeah I"m not really sold, I don't even understand what Giannis has really done to be top 10. And basketball greatness isn't about what position you play at, some people try to bring it up like, oh what great SG did Jordan play against, it doesn't matter. Teams play against teams, only position that really feels like a big positional battle is at C, and not so much anymore in the modern era.

Curry obviously has a case on anyones list, but there's nothing definitive to put him over Oscar, he was in the goat conversation and now people put Kobe above him, it is what it is.

Two time MVP, DPOY, a ring and a Finals MVP. He's got a better case than someone like Garnett.

[Lenneth]

I have Curry as the 2nd tier of Goats, along with Wilt, Russell, Magic, Bird, Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, and Hakeem. He is at 11th in my ranking, and I think he will eventually move up to the top 10 once his career is done. Giannis still has a way to go, and might need a few more rings to put his resume in the top 10. It really is a tough nut to crack.

[Vox Populi]

Yeah I"m not really sold, I don't even understand what Giannis has really done to be top 10.

Giannis is nowhere near top 10 all time at this point of his career. He probably finishes inside the top 20 depending on how the next 5 or so years go.

I am not saying he is in there now. I am saying this is a potential case that could be made when he's done, if he convinces enough people he is the best PF of all time.

[dhsilv2]

Who are your best two from each position though?

I can't answer that because players aren't positions. People call Duncan who's natural skillset is that of a center, a power forward. We call Bird a small forward when he was a natural power forward. Curry is a small guard, he doesn't run the point at all. Lebron runs the point but he's a forward. Magic who's the same height is called a point guard. A guy like MJ, Leonard, PG, Pippen....those guys could be called any of 3.

It's a meaningless term we use to teach children the game and it has no real context when watch higher level basketball.

You are not limited to keeping players in the positions listed in the opening post. Blaze your trail. Put them in the positions you feel is best, two per position.

Again doesn't work. There aren't 5 positions. There are 5 players on the floor at any given time. Generally, one takes on a role as the primary ball handler though that can be shared or not. One generally has a rim protecting role on defense, though you can play without that. The rest just play basketball and the taller they are all else equal the better. The guys who can be primary ball handlers and those who can be rim protectors are disproportionately valuable. Additionally, elite shot creators are generally seen as the most valuable and those can be done through any of these roles. But you can have two primary ball handlers on a team. You can have two rim protectors.

So I can really just take any set of the top 10 and make 2 teams, this splitting is meaningless.

Team 1

Lebron
MJ
Kareem
Russell
Duncan

Team 2
Wilt
Magic
Shaq
Hakeem
Bird

Some might claim I have too many "big men", but good luck proving that out in a game. As noted above however, the top 10 should skew towards big men who shot creators and rim protectors. And that's what a good top 10 list should show. There are less shot creators who have also been primary ball handlers, due to being shorter lends itself to ball handling but not scoring. As a result, I have on each of these hypothetical teams the two big tall primary ball handlers in Lebron and Magic.

*note - I just took the player comp board's top 10 for this.

[dhsilv2]

Giannis has absolutely zero case for this, it's ridiculous to even mention him. Even if he won another championship, he's still far away from it. The only guy that I can see as a top 10 player before hitting 30 would Lebron, but he's a truly unique case as a player.

Jordan turned 30 during his 93 season where they won their 3rd title. 3 MVP's and two runner ups through 1992, he doesn't have a case?

[duppyy]

The case for Curry is very simple.

Name the greatest NBA team. The Warriors.
Who is the greatest player on that team? Curry.

One can go into other details but the above alone should be sufficient.

Any top ten list that does not have Curry on it will be a joke. It would be like making a list of the top 10 100 meter dash sprinters in history and not having Usain Bolt on it.

The team that lost a 3-1 lead in the finals?

[Phystic]

The case for Curry is very simple.

Name the greatest NBA team. The Warriors.
Who is the greatest player on that team? Curry.

One can go into other details but the above alone should be sufficient.

Any top ten list that does not have Curry on it will be a joke. It would be like making a list of the top 10 100 meter dash sprinters in history and not having Usain Bolt on it.

Now I'm not staying Curry is or is not top 10, but your reasoning isn't very good. Being the best player on the best team doesn't exactly make you a top 10 player of all time.

Because if that's the criteria then he isn't just top 10 he's the GOAT. I mean he was the best player on the best regular season team of all time after all

[dhsilv2]

Neither is top 10. Stop it. I would pick neither in my top 5 starting lineups.

Also Jerry West is PG.

Certainly West and Curry play(ed) the same position, whatever it is.

And Larry Bird can reasonably be viewed as a PF. More specifically:
-- In his absolute prime Bird was a combo forward who defensively was SF more than PF.
-- When his health slipped a bit defensively he was more PF than SF.
-- His offensive game was viewed more as SF then but would be more PF today.

Celtics put McHale on smaller wings and put bird on bigger guys because he lacked the footspeed. If anything Bird played the 4 on defense almost exclusively for that era's definition of 4...which was really just a shorter center with teams playing a two center offense with one better at shooting if you were lucky.

[Fencer reregistered]

Neither is top 10. Stop it. I would pick neither in my top 5 starting lineups.

Also Jerry West is PG.

Certainly West and Curry play(ed) the same position, whatever it is.

And Larry Bird can reasonably be viewed as a PF. More specifically:
-- In his absolute prime Bird was a combo forward who defensively was SF more than PF.
-- When his health slipped a bit defensively he was more PF than SF.
-- His offensive game was viewed more as SF then but would be more PF today.

Celtics put McHale on smaller wings and put bird on bigger guys because he lacked the footspeed. If anything Bird played the 4 on defense almost exclusively for that era's definition of 4...which was really just a shorter center with teams playing a two center offense with one better at shooting if you were lucky.

Agreed, for the most part. But as noted, it changed over time. E.g., in the years between Robey and Walton, McHale played a lot of backup center.

[RipHamilton]

The case for Curry is very simple.

Name the greatest NBA team. The Warriors.
Who is the greatest player on that team? Curry.

Good try, but Durant won the MVP finals, he was the best player on the team, so you lost your point.

Good try, though.