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

[Michael Jackson]

Both Curry and Durant are better scores imho. LeBron is easily a better basketball player with his whole skillset. Durant can be an amazing defender which Curry can't but LeBron is the best of the group but Durant is also underrated IMHO overall. Curry is not bad since his first 4 years.... LeBron has dropped off too. If LeBron ONLY focused on scoring though he was easily the best.... Already has the all time scoring record so argue that outside of Jordan's peak years and you can't.

[TheGOATRises007]

LeBron is better than both of them as a scorer.

[theforumblue]

kareem scored more but MJ is the better scorer because MJ can score in more various ways. I consider Curry/Durant/Kobe to be better scorer than Lebron because they can score in more various ways. How long did it take Lebron to get a consistent outside shot and even be able to score mid-range at a decent level? These other dudes came in the league with those skillsets.

I'm going with Kobe just because if the shot isn't falling he had other options still at elite level, including simply dunking on people. KD got some of that. Curry has less than both.

[SenZu]

Give me KD 1v1. Curry in a 5v5.

KD is far more stoppable as the #1 option. He got absolutely destroyed and embarrassed by the Celtics last year, Steph hasn't even lost a single playoff series outside of the finals in god knows how long, let alone gotten swept in such humiliating fashion. Back in his OKC days once Wesbtrook went down, KD couldn't even win a single game against the Grizzlies IIRC.

Defenses have no answer for Curry. If KD is allowed to be in his corner going 1v1 all game, then there are very few if any better pure scorers than KD.

[Dupp]

Well it’s obviously lebron but out of these two it’s very clearly curry.

People too fixated on skill set, look at the results.

Does scoring include 3 point shooting and free throw shooting? Cause Durant and Curry are both way more efficient than James in those categories.

[YamaChan]

Give me KD 1v1. Curry in a 5v5.

KD is far more stoppable as the #1 option. He got absolutely destroyed and embarrassed by the Celtics last year, Steph hasn't even lost a single playoff series outside of the finals in god knows how long, let alone gotten swept in such humiliating fashion. Back in his OKC days once Wesbtrook went down, KD couldn't even win a single game against the Grizzlies IIRC.

Defenses have no answer for Curry. If KD is allowed to be in his corner going 1v1 all game, then there are very few if any better pure scorers than KD.

First of all, KD absolutely isn't more stoppable as the #1 option. Compare 2015 and 2016 Curry's numbers to 2012 KD's. Who was more stoppable?

Surely not the guy who put up 31 PPG on 70% TS.

Second, KD has one bad series and people now try to define his entire career by it. If Curry gets a pass for the 2016 Finals, with his fans always trying to use the injury excuse for why he played so poorly down the stretch, KD gets the same excuse, as he rushed back from his knee injury to save his team from the utter free fall they were in after he got hurt. Not to mention Kyrie absolutely destroyed the chemistry of that team.

Third, KD wasn't even at his peak or in his prime in 2013, and he did not get swept by those Grizzlies, who were a stellar defensive unit. I assure you, if Curry had to play with that Thunder squad sans Westbrook, with Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins as starters, he would've actually gotten swept.

The disrespect on KD needs to stop. When he or his team hasn't been ravaged by injuries, there have only been three outcomes:

KD wins a title
KD loses to the team that wins the title
KD loses to the Conference Finalist/Finals runner-up

[DrCoach]

Who has the most 50/40/90 seasons?

[YamaChan]

Who has the most 50/40/90 seasons?

Steve Nash with four seasons.

KD and Bird are tied for second most with two.

[EmpireFalls]

Underrated mention by the way - it could very well be argued that the best scorer is 00-02 Shaq. Obviously he’s not in the discussion overall for the 00s but for a peak?

[BoatsNZones]

Underrated mention by the way - it could very well be argued that the best scorer is 00-02 Shaq. Obviously he’s not in the discussion overall for the 00s but for a peak?

That would be an uphill argument against Curry and KD. I could see the argument for him over Lebron, though.

[SenZu]

Give me KD 1v1. Curry in a 5v5.

KD is far more stoppable as the #1 option. He got absolutely destroyed and embarrassed by the Celtics last year, Steph hasn't even lost a single playoff series outside of the finals in god knows how long, let alone gotten swept in such humiliating fashion. Back in his OKC days once Wesbtrook went down, KD couldn't even win a single game against the Grizzlies IIRC.

Defenses have no answer for Curry. If KD is allowed to be in his corner going 1v1 all game, then there are very few if any better pure scorers than KD.

First of all, KD absolutely isn't more stoppable as the #1 option. Compare 2015 and 2016 Curry's numbers to 2012 KD's. Who was more stoppable?

Surely not the guy who put up 31 PPG on 70% TS.

Second, KD has one bad series and people now try to define his entire career by it. If Curry gets a pass for the 2016 Finals, with his fans always trying to use the injury excuse for why he played so poorly down the stretch, KD gets the same excuse, as he rushed back from his knee injury to save his team from the utter free fall they were in after he got hurt. Not to mention Kyrie absolutely destroyed the chemistry of that team.

Third, KD wasn't even at his peak or in his prime in 2013, and he did not get swept by those Grizzlies, who were a stellar defensive unit. I assure you, if Curry had to play with that Thunder squad sans Westbrook, with Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins as starters, he would've actually gotten swept.

The disrespect on KD needs to stop. When he or his team hasn't been ravaged by injuries, there have only been three outcomes:

KD wins a title
KD loses to the team that wins the title
KD loses to the Conference Finalist/Finals runner-up

Yea no, KD has far lower lows as the clear #1 option, and doesn't reach the heights Curry does either (no rings). Like I said, 1v1 all day every day. When defenses can lock in on him, he has folded. Steph made the Celtics look average to bad defensively, KD made them look like the greatest defense all time. He's far easier to contain and gameplan for.

[YamaChan]

Give me KD 1v1. Curry in a 5v5.

KD is far more stoppable as the #1 option. He got absolutely destroyed and embarrassed by the Celtics last year, Steph hasn't even lost a single playoff series outside of the finals in god knows how long, let alone gotten swept in such humiliating fashion. Back in his OKC days once Wesbtrook went down, KD couldn't even win a single game against the Grizzlies IIRC.

Defenses have no answer for Curry. If KD is allowed to be in his corner going 1v1 all game, then there are very few if any better pure scorers than KD.

First of all, KD absolutely isn't more stoppable as the #1 option. Compare 2015 and 2016 Curry's numbers to 2012 KD's. Who was more stoppable?

Surely not the guy who put up 31 PPG on 70% TS.

Second, KD has one bad series and people now try to define his entire career by it. If Curry gets a pass for the 2016 Finals, with his fans always trying to use the injury excuse for why he played so poorly down the stretch, KD gets the same excuse, as he rushed back from his knee injury to save his team from the utter free fall they were in after he got hurt. Not to mention Kyrie absolutely destroyed the chemistry of that team.

Third, KD wasn't even at his peak or in his prime in 2013, and he did not get swept by those Grizzlies, who were a stellar defensive unit. I assure you, if Curry had to play with that Thunder squad sans Westbrook, with Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins as starters, he would've actually gotten swept.

The disrespect on KD needs to stop. When he or his team hasn't been ravaged by injuries, there have only been three outcomes:

KD wins a title
KD loses to the team that wins the title
KD loses to the Conference Finalist/Finals runner-up

Yea no, KD has far lower lows as the clear #1 option, and doesn't reach the heights Curry does either (no rings). Like I said, 1v1 all day every day. When defenses can lock in on him, he has folded. Steph made the Celtics look average to bad defensively, KD made them look like the greatest defense all time. He's far easier to contain and gameplan for.

You can double down on your incorrect statements all you want, but the facts don't support you in the slightest. KD had a bad series. His first truly bad one since his very first year in the playoffs. He wasn't 100% healthy and that team's chemistry was in the dumpster.

We have an example of KD in the Finals, as the clear #1 option, being guarded by Shane Battier and LeBron.

He put up 31 ppg on 65% TS.

In the 2015 Finals, Curry put up 26 ppg on 58% TS.

In the 2016 Finals, he put up 22 ppg on 58% TS

If we're going to use one series to make absolute judgments on a player's scoring prowess, then I guess I have the green light to judge Curry based on these two.

What happened to KD last year was an exception to the norm. Your argument is built on erroneous data, misinformation and hyperbole.

There is no defense for KD. Outside of 2022, he has never "Folded", and if you want to hold 2013 against him, when he wasn't even at the height of his powers as a player yet, and his best teammate was Serge Ibaka, against one of the best defensive teams of the decade in the 2013 Grizzlies, that's just silly. Curry would've folded too.

KD has been in many, many playoff series. Defining his career with one bad one is just silly. Even I don't try to define LeBron's entire value as a scorer based on his 2011 Finals.

[MavsDirk41]

Well it’s obviously lebron but out of these two it’s very clearly curry.

People too fixated on skill set, look at the results.

Does scoring include 3 point shooting and free throw shooting? Cause Durant and Curry are both way more efficient than James in those categories.

Career

James 27 pts a game on 51/34/74 shooting splits
Durant 27 pts a game on 50/39/88 shooting splits
Curry 25 pts a game on 48/43/91 shooting splits

If i need someone to make a shot with a few seconds left in the game im giving the ball to Durant or Curry over anybody else.

[MrGoat]

I'd actually say prime Houston Harden. He has the highest PPG season of the 21st century. Or Kobe considering he had a 35 PPG season back in the 00s and the 2nd highest scoring game of all time.

[HeartBreakKid]

Does scoring include 3 point shooting and free throw shooting? Cause Durant and Curry are both way more efficient than James in those categories.

Career

James 27 pts a game on 51/34/74 shooting splits
Durant 27 pts a game on 50/39/88 shooting splits
Curry 25 pts a game on 48/43/91 shooting splits

If i need someone to make a shot with a few seconds left in the game im giving the ball to Durant or Curry over anybody else.

I mean...that is a really specific scenario that clearly benefits shooters. Outside of that LBJ has a much longer history of playoff dominance. His efficiency is also more impressive when considering he is creating his own shot for himself almost every time. (off ball play is important too of course, though Durant isn't nearly as good as Curry in those regards).

If I am taking a scorer of my choice I am going to think about something much larger and more important than who I want taking a shot with 2 seconds left on the clock. That isn't macro thinking.

[Brandon_Roy7]

All of the arguments in this thread are terrible. 1 of them is the 50 points and Harden has the most but doesn't mention him. Lol. The other is LeBron being number one in scoring. So Karl Malone is one of the best scorers? I legit don't know why anyone mentions anyone else when the thread is FOCUSING ON CURRY AND DURANT. Holy cow.

Durant is a freak of nature. Freak of nature plus skill will always be better than someone with pure skill. I rather have Durant in my team than curry. But curry had a more impactful basketball career than Durant for sure.

[dhsilv2]

This poll RealGM is full of prisoners of the moment

This is obviously KD. Curry is undoubtedly a better shooter. But in terms of pure scoring, getting buckets from anywhere on the court in any number of types of action? Kevin Durant. And I hate that guy, but it's the truth

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

I'm sure you have a clear explanation for these stats I laid out then, being it's so obvious? KD having multiple playoff series of scoring performances significantly worse than Curry has ever had, by the way. See: 2022 1st round, 2016 WCF, 2013 2nd round, etc. His team sent packing in each of these cases btw.

Your entire argument is basically made on TS% as if scoring efficiency which is highly skewed by three pointers is the defining source of what it means to be a great scorer. And even then your numbers above have KD and Curry basically equal. I also watch games and don't blindly use TS% stats as the end-all-be-all of determining who I think is the best scorer.

If Curry was a better scorer than KD, he would have those two Finals MVPs sitting on KDs mantle

Curry would have gone at double teams vs letting KD iso against guys like Jefferson if he were a better scorer? Really? Curry just stops playing sound ball...

[Adam Stern]

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

Correct.

[MavsDirk41]

Career

James 27 pts a game on 51/34/74 shooting splits
Durant 27 pts a game on 50/39/88 shooting splits
Curry 25 pts a game on 48/43/91 shooting splits

If i need someone to make a shot with a few seconds left in the game im giving the ball to Durant or Curry over anybody else.

I mean...that is a really specific scenario that clearly benefits shooters. Outside of that LBJ has a much longer history of playoff dominance. His efficiency is also more impressive when considering he is creating his own shot for himself almost every time. (off ball play is important too of course, though Durant isn't nearly as good as Curry in those regards).

If I am taking a scorer of my choice I am going to think about something much larger and more important than who I want taking a shot with 2 seconds left on the clock. That isn't macro thinking.

If i am thinking about who is the best scorer of the past two decades im thinking of a player who is efficient in every offensive category while creating shots for themself and others. Durant and Curry are two of the best ever in that regard. Offensively they have no weakness really. You do you tho.

[SenZu]

First of all, KD absolutely isn't more stoppable as the #1 option. Compare 2015 and 2016 Curry's numbers to 2012 KD's. Who was more stoppable?

Surely not the guy who put up 31 PPG on 70% TS.

Second, KD has one bad series and people now try to define his entire career by it. If Curry gets a pass for the 2016 Finals, with his fans always trying to use the injury excuse for why he played so poorly down the stretch, KD gets the same excuse, as he rushed back from his knee injury to save his team from the utter free fall they were in after he got hurt. Not to mention Kyrie absolutely destroyed the chemistry of that team.

Third, KD wasn't even at his peak or in his prime in 2013, and he did not get swept by those Grizzlies, who were a stellar defensive unit. I assure you, if Curry had to play with that Thunder squad sans Westbrook, with Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins as starters, he would've actually gotten swept.

The disrespect on KD needs to stop. When he or his team hasn't been ravaged by injuries, there have only been three outcomes:

KD wins a title
KD loses to the team that wins the title
KD loses to the Conference Finalist/Finals runner-up

Yea no, KD has far lower lows as the clear #1 option, and doesn't reach the heights Curry does either (no rings). Like I said, 1v1 all day every day. When defenses can lock in on him, he has folded. Steph made the Celtics look average to bad defensively, KD made them look like the greatest defense all time. He's far easier to contain and gameplan for.

You can double down on your incorrect statements all you want, but the facts don't support you in the slightest. KD had a bad series. His first truly bad one since his very first year in the playoffs. He wasn't 100% healthy and that team's chemistry was in the dumpster.

We have an example of KD in the Finals, as the clear #1 option, being guarded by Shane Battier and LeBron.

He put up 31 ppg on 65% TS.

In the 2015 Finals, Curry put up 26 ppg on 58% TS.

In the 2016 Finals, he put up 22 ppg on 58% TS

If we're going to use one series to make absolute judgments on a player's scoring prowess, then I guess I have the green light to judge Curry based on these two.

What happened to KD last year was an exception to the norm. Your argument is built on erroneous data, misinformation and hyperbole.

There is no defense for KD. Outside of 2022, he has never "Folded", and if you want to hold 2013 against him, when he wasn't even at the height of his powers as a player yet, and his best teammate was Serge Ibaka, against one of the best defensive teams of the decade in the 2013 Grizzlies, that's just silly. Curry would've folded too.

KD has been in many, many playoff series. Defining his career with one bad one is just silly. Even I don't try to define LeBron's entire value as a scorer based on his 2011 Finals.

Please, you can miss me with that Steph gravity merchant. The results speak for themselves.