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

[Dupp]

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.

Another vintage big game scoring performance by KD. People really need to seperate those seasons he joined a 73 win team and look how he’s done in big spots in the playoffs. It’s good, but a tier below.

[Harry Garris]

Lmao. It sure as hell isn't LeBron. These takes are delusional. He's still an incredibly streaky shooter, can't be counted on to close out a game at the free throw line and is a very mediocre jump shooter compared to KD and Curry.

Why do his fanboys pretend like the 2011 Finals didn't happen? Or 2012? Where he shot a blistering 18% from 3-point range. Or 2013, when the Spurs guarded him by leaving him wide open for jumpshots, which actually worked for half the series. Or 2015, where he was forced to become a volume shooter and transformed into Russell Westbrook with his horrid efficiency.

LeBron isn't even in the discussion.

Durant is the answer.

Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals perfectly encapsulates the difference between Steph and KD's scoring.

Speaking of, KD hasn't had a single letdown on that stage. By the numbers, he's the greatest Finals scorer in the history of the sport.

Yeah he was really good in the select few finals games he played in when the other team was focusing their defensive attention on Steph Curry. Durant’s playoff track record apart from the Warriors though hasn’t been anywhere near as good.

With every other teammate Steph has ever had, he’s elevated what they can do offensively. Playing with Steph makes your life easy especially for guys who are excellent shooters off of the catch. What reason do we have to believe that this doesn’t also apply to Durant?

[Pelly24]

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

KD is mid sometimes man, face it. Curry doesn't have one series as bad as KD's last year. KD's never beaten the odds or done anymore than what he was supposed to do.

Kyrie didn't destroy the chemistry lol the role players played great against Boston, but KD came up *far* short. KD, if anything, always gets a pass. He gets discussed as one of the game'[s great winners, but he's won nothing since leaving Curry. Barely been available. Got swept. Is about to get sent home in 5 games by Denver, a team that doesn't even have an actual all-star other than Jokic.

[kieferli]

Curry proof they can win without KD, but KD proof he can’t win without curry lol

[CIN-C-STAR]

Curry > KD, and....
It's Not Even Close!!

[YamaChan]

Easy to chirp when you can front run after an uncharacteristically poor game.

Curry and LeBron didn't have any trash games in their first round series? Curry wasn't just down 0-2?

Like, the recency bias and over reactionary hot takes after a game are amusing to me.

And the take that KD has never had good playoff games, other than when he played with Curry, is laughably absurd. It's a waste of time to even bother refuting that honestly. Anyone who thinks that will refuse to listen to reason and give up on their KD hate agenda regardless.

[DrCoach]

I think everyone is taking a 7ft SG who can 50/40/90

[Peregrine01]

KD in a 1 on 1 game. But basketball is played 5 on 5.

[Homer38]

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.

Give me a break....LBJ has been the best ever in playoffs history in clutch buckets with a few seconds left to tied or to win(it can be 5 seconds,2 seconds,buzzer beater)...I mean just look at last week in game 4 vs Memphis,it was nothing new for him.Look at the result!

[Freighttrain]

Well, LeBron is number one, as he can't be stopped when driving to the rim. But out of both players, KD can just shoot over people without any effort it almost seems. We've also seen Curry struggle more so than Durant which makes sense since he's small. It's not that hard to figure out.

Lebron james is not the best scorer out of these 3 so just stop. You have lebron james rose colored glasses on man. Durant and Curry can both shoot from mid range, the 3, and both are excellent free throw shooters. Both hover around 50/40/90. James shot around 31% from 3 this year and career wise he is about 34%. He shoots in the low to mid 70s from the free throw line. If he isnt scoring from inside, he is unreliable offensively. Some of the things you guys post on here are hilarious.

You're making the argument about who is the most diverse scorer. This is about who is the best. Kareem had one unstoppable move, but according to your logic, he's nowhere near Curry because he didn't shoot 3s as well. LeBron is the most unstoppable player ever driving to the rim. Ur logic is faulty

[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.

Give me a break....LBJ has been the best ever in playoffs history in clutch buckets with a few seconds left to tied or to win(it can be 5 seconds,2 seconds,buzzer beater)...I mean just look at last week in game 4 vs Memphis,it was nothing new for him.Look at the result!

If you honestly think this i dont think you have been watching the nba all that long. James isnt the best ever in playoff history in clutch buckets. Cause what? He scored a layup on Dillion Brooks? Jordan is way more clutch than James could ever be in the playoffs and its not even close my man. James would much rather pass the ball than shoot or get fouled and have to go to the free throw line in a key situation.

[MavsDirk41]

Well, LeBron is number one, as he can't be stopped when driving to the rim. But out of both players, KD can just shoot over people without any effort it almost seems. We've also seen Curry struggle more so than Durant which makes sense since he's small. It's not that hard to figure out.

Lebron james is not the best scorer out of these 3 so just stop. You have lebron james rose colored glasses on man. Durant and Curry can both shoot from mid range, the 3, and both are excellent free throw shooters. Both hover around 50/40/90. James shot around 31% from 3 this year and career wise he is about 34%. He shoots in the low to mid 70s from the free throw line. If he isnt scoring from inside, he is unreliable offensively. Some of the things you guys post on here are hilarious.

You're making the argument about who is the most diverse scorer. This is about who is the best. Kareem had one unstoppable move, but according to your logic, he's nowhere near Curry because he didn't shoot 3s as well. LeBron is the most unstoppable player ever driving to the rim. Ur logic is faulty

Just more praise for your favorite player but its not the truth. If James is so great and unstoppable why did he choke agsinst my Mavs in the 2011 finals? Why didnt he “will” the Heat to a championship? I thought he was unstoppable? He scored 8 points in the close out game. What happened?

[DOT]

I think this is a poorly worded question. People are interpreting it in a multitude of ways because "best" is kind of vague

If we're limiting it to Curry and KD, then KD is the best scorer. He puts up more points per game, more points total, and more points per minute on slightly worse efficiency

If we expand the question to all players and define "best" as "scores the most consistently in the most variety of ways", then it's probably Kobe. If we interpret "best" as "most dominant at their peak", then the answer is either Shaq or Curry, if we define "best" as "scored the most points", then it's LeBron

And if we define "best" as "guy I want taking the last shot in the clutch", then it's personal preference.

[Homer38]

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.

Give me a break....LBJ has been the best ever in playoffs history in clutch buckets with a few seconds left to tied or to win(it can be 5 seconds,2 seconds,buzzer beater)...I mean just look at last week in game 4 vs Memphis,it was nothing new for him.Look at the result!

If you honestly think this i dont think you have been watching the nba all that long. James isnt the best ever in playoff history in clutch buckets. Cause what? He scored a layup on Dillion Brooks? Jordan is way more clutch than James could ever be in the playoffs and its not even close my man. James would much rather pass the ball than shoot or get fouled and have to go to the free throw line in a key situation.

such a huge myth...Only MJ has a case over LBJ in clutch situation if we look at the numbers come playoffs time

Btw I was talking about this buckets last week in case you forgot...it was not an easy score

Watch on YouTube

[Homer38]

Lebron james is not the best scorer out of these 3 so just stop. You have lebron james rose colored glasses on man. Durant and Curry can both shoot from mid range, the 3, and both are excellent free throw shooters. Both hover around 50/40/90. James shot around 31% from 3 this year and career wise he is about 34%. He shoots in the low to mid 70s from the free throw line. If he isnt scoring from inside, he is unreliable offensively. Some of the things you guys post on here are hilarious.

You're making the argument about who is the most diverse scorer. This is about who is the best. Kareem had one unstoppable move, but according to your logic, he's nowhere near Curry because he didn't shoot 3s as well. LeBron is the most unstoppable player ever driving to the rim. Ur logic is faulty

Just more praise for your favorite player but its not the truth. If James is so great and unstoppable why did he choke agsinst my Mavs in the 2011 finals? Why didnt he “will” the Heat to a championship? I thought he was unstoppable? He scored 8 points in the close out game. What happened?

Another thinking we are still in 2011 and that nothing has happened since then ...It's as if we were still living in 2007 in the case of Dirk

[UcanUwill]

Durant between the two. I still take LeBron over Curry, in his prime, man was the craziest missmatch, when it really needed, would you take Curry at perimeter taking a final shot, or prime LeBron driving to the paint? LeBron if really wanted it could lead the league in scoring every year, he was simply unstoppable.

[Johnny Bball]

When Curry said he was a better offensive player or scorer than Lebron James in about 2012 (?) when everyone just laughed...the answer is Curry and he was right.

[moderndarwin]

The difference is simply this:

Prime KD gets you 30 in isolation mercenary ball where the ball stops moving and others stand around.

Prime Lebron gets you 30 with high usage ball where he handles the rock most of the time. He passes a lot but it’s more from a direct line pass 1 to 1. No matter how good the other players are they become reduced simply by him needing the ball so much.

Prime Steph gets you 30 within the flow of the most pass heavy and player involved offense we may have ever seen. Every single player is involved and multiple players usually within a possession. There is a level of energy and connectedness this brings when everyone feels like they have a chance to touch the ball and to be a scoring option.

All 3 of them work. Curry ball is the best at the NBA level because the talent is so incredibly high. Having an offensive style where others get to showcase their talents usually will result in a better offense. For any one individual game Lebron or KD might be better because they more directly control the offensive output. That said, like we just saw with Steph dropping 50 he’s capable of doing it in a more virtuoso solo style but he knows that’s not good or sustainable over the course of a series or playoffs if you want repeat success.

[MavsDirk41]

Give me a break....LBJ has been the best ever in playoffs history in clutch buckets with a few seconds left to tied or to win(it can be 5 seconds,2 seconds,buzzer beater)...I mean just look at last week in game 4 vs Memphis,it was nothing new for him.Look at the result!

If you honestly think this i dont think you have been watching the nba all that long. James isnt the best ever in playoff history in clutch buckets. Cause what? He scored a layup on Dillion Brooks? Jordan is way more clutch than James could ever be in the playoffs and its not even close my man. James would much rather pass the ball than shoot or get fouled and have to go to the free throw line in a key situation.

such a huge myth...Only MJ has a case over LBJ in clutch situation if we look at the numbers come playoffs time

Btw I was talking about this buckets last week in case you forgot...it was not an easy score

Watch on YouTube

Last time James was in the western conference finals against Denver who took and made the game winning 3 to beat Denver?

He made a layup…he doest have a reliable mid range shot. I didnt forget, just wasnt overly impressed. Make him make a 17 foot jump shot to win the game.

[MavsDirk41]

You're making the argument about who is the most diverse scorer. This is about who is the best. Kareem had one unstoppable move, but according to your logic, he's nowhere near Curry because he didn't shoot 3s as well. LeBron is the most unstoppable player ever driving to the rim. Ur logic is faulty

Just more praise for your favorite player but its not the truth. If James is so great and unstoppable why did he choke agsinst my Mavs in the 2011 finals? Why didnt he “will” the Heat to a championship? I thought he was unstoppable? He scored 8 points in the close out game. What happened?

Another thinking we are still in 2011 and that nothing has happened since then ...It's as if we were still living in 2007 in the case of Dirk

Cause he failed on the biggest stage in his prime. Also Irving and Davis were monsters in 16 and the bubble.

My goat Dirk redeemed himself in 2011 when he beat James’s superteam. If i remember correctly Dirk outplayed him. Maybe you missed that finals. Not your fault.