How well would Stephen Curry do against 80s/90s defensive rules

[ChartFiction]

2nd best player after Jordan.

[Antinomy]

He’d probably be underrated by Lebron fans looking to attack MJs legacy by claiming Curry was an inferior player & poor competition.

[magicman1978]

It's difficult to find what someone's actual playing weight was from that time - I collected basketball cards during that time, and I have a couple that listed Ehlo at 205lbs in 88.

I think physicality has more to do with making things much more uncomfortable for you and a little harder to get a clean shot off than it does with size/strength. For example, a guy Gary Payton wasn't the biggest guy, but he could make life uncomfortable for just about any PG/SG/SF. And I think we need to differentiate a bit between 80s vs 90s physicality as well as I don't recall defenses being very physical during the 80s. Curry would be great in any era and would probably be the top PG in the 90s - he'd still be a top scorer, but I think his efficiency numbers would drop quite a bit. People say that defenders back then wouldn't know what to do with a guy like Curry, but I'm sure there smart enough to understand that if a guy is out there sinking 30ft shots then somebody might eventually want to go guard him out there.

I'm going to pick a random year (92) and compare some stats from then and now:

in 92, 6'3 and under guys scoring more than 25pts/poss and above 55% TS:
- Terry Porter - 25.9pts, 57.5%TS
- Kevin Johnson - 25.6pts, 56.1%TS
- Mark Price - 29.5pts, 61.0%TS
- Hersey Hawkins - 26.1pts, 57.8%TS
- John Starks - 27.8pts, 55.0%TS

in 2017:
- Westbrook - 44.8pts, 55.4%TS
- Stephen Curry - 36.5pts, 62.4%TS
- Isaiah Thomas - 42.4pts, 62.5%TS
- Chris Paul - 28.7pts, 61.4%TS
- Damian Lillard - 37.3pts, 58.6%TS
- Kyle Lowry - 30.4pts, 62.3%TS
- Mike Conley - 32.1pts, 60.4%TS
- Kyrie Irving - 35.9pts, 58.0%TS
- Kemba Walker - 33.5pts, 56.9%TS
- CJ McCollum - 32.6pts, 58.5%TS
- Goran Dragic - 30.4pts, 57.5%TS
- Lou Williams - 34.6pts, 59.3%TS
- Eric Bledsoe - 30.6pts, 56.3%TS

There's been an obvious shift to a more free flowing game now and I believe the massive increase in offensive output and efficiency from smaller guards show that.

[dhsilv2]

It's difficult to find what someone's actual playing weight was from that time - I collected basketball cards during that time, and I have a couple that listed Ehlo at 205lbs in 88.

I think physicality has more to do with making things much more uncomfortable for you and a little harder to get a clean shot off than it does with size/strength. For example, a guy Gary Payton wasn't the biggest guy, but he could make life uncomfortable for just about any PG/SG/SF. And I think we need to differentiate a bit between 80s vs 90s physicality as well as I don't recall defenses being very physical during the 80s. Curry would be great in any era and would probably be the top PG in the 90s - he'd still be a top scorer, but I think his efficiency numbers would drop quite a bit. People say that defenders back then wouldn't know what to do with a guy like Curry, but I'm sure there smart enough to understand that if a guy is out there sinking 30ft shots then somebody might eventually want to go guard him out there.

I'm going to pick a random year (92) and compare some stats from then and now:

in 92, 6'3 and under guys scoring more than 25pts/poss and above 55% TS:
- Terry Porter - 25.9pts, 57.5%TS
- Kevin Johnson - 25.6pts, 56.1%TS
- Mark Price - 29.5pts, 61.0%TS
- Hersey Hawkins - 26.1pts, 57.8%TS
- John Starks - 27.8pts, 55.0%TS

in 2017:
- Westbrook - 44.8pts, 55.4%TS
- Stephen Curry - 36.5pts, 62.4%TS
- Isaiah Thomas - 42.4pts, 62.5%TS
- Chris Paul - 28.7pts, 61.4%TS
- Damian Lillard - 37.3pts, 58.6%TS
- Kyle Lowry - 30.4pts, 62.3%TS
- Mike Conley - 32.1pts, 60.4%TS
- Kyrie Irving - 35.9pts, 58.0%TS
- Kemba Walker - 33.5pts, 56.9%TS
- CJ McCollum - 32.6pts, 58.5%TS
- Goran Dragic - 30.4pts, 57.5%TS
- Lou Williams - 34.6pts, 59.3%TS
- Eric Bledsoe - 30.6pts, 56.3%TS

There's been an obvious shift to a more free flowing game now and I believe the massive increase in offensive output and efficiency from smaller guards show that.

Yeah, playing weight isn't easy, though even at 205, we're talking about a guy with ~3 inches on curry and likely only 5-10 pounds.

That said you could do more hand checking in the 80's as rules were changed to give guards more freedom in the 90's.

[cpower]

Just ask Reggie Miller

[Warspite]

About as well as his dad did who had a very similar game.

Outside shooters were specialists much like the DH in baseball or FG kicker/DE pass rusher in football. There wasn't a coach or system or rules that make his position as valuable as it is today.