Warriors Wilt Chamberlain vs. Warriors Stephen Curry Career Comparison

When it comes to the Golden State Warriors, there are two players that come to mind when you are thinking of the best. Chamberlain left his Warriors tenure as the team’s all-time leading scorer. It wasn’t until recently that Curry moved past Chamberlain on that list, one of many accomplishments that Curry owns while playing for Golden State. With Chamberlain, it made the move from Philadelphia to California a lot easier. For Curry, he elevated the franchise from the middle of the pack to one of the greatest dynasties ever.

While Chamberlain spent less time with the Warriors, his numbers were stellar. As for Curry, his numbers are even better. There is only one player that can push Curry to the edge when it comes to being considered the greatest Warriors player ever. The question is if Chamberlain did enough during his time to do that. We are going to take a look at that right now.

Here is the full comparison between the Warriors Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry.

Seasons

Wilt Chamberlain: 6 (1959-1964)

Stephen Curry: 13 (2009-Present)

Chamberlain went from being a Harlem Globetrotter to the most coveted player on the market in 1959. The Philadelphia Warriors were able to get him to the NBA, and he made an immediate impact that included leading the league in scoring every season that he played with the Warriors. That features his 50.4 points per game during the 1961-62 season where he set an NBA record for a season total. Chamberlain started with the Warriors when the team was in Philly, but went to San Francisco when the team moved. He was then traded to Philadelphia, who was now the 76ers, during the 1964-65 season.

Curry was drafted with the No. 7 overall pick during the 2009 NBA Draft. It took about four years for him to be named to the All-Star team, but he has not looked back since then. Curry has remained loyal to the team that drafted him. There have never been rumors about him being angry enough to want to leave. That is why he has resigned from the team at every chance he has received.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

Championships

Wilt Chamberlain: 0

Stephen Curry: 4 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)

Winning championships during the 60s were rather difficult for Chamberlain. The decade featured Bill Russell and the Celtics conquering the league. The Celtics won 11 championships during their peak run, which included winning consecutive titles between 1959 to 1966. Chamberlain won a title in 1967 but was a member of the 76ers by this time. While Chamberlain was great, Russell was legendary.

With the Warriors, Curry has been fortunate enough to win four championships with his core members Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala. The run began in 2015 when the Warriors surprised the world with a new head coach in Steve Kerr to win their first title. The team went back to back in 2017 and 2018 with Kevin Durant winning two straight Finals MVP Awards. After watching Thompson suffer an injury in 2019 that derailed his career and then suffering an injury of his own the following season, the Warriors rebuilt the team two years later. With everyone healthy, the Warriors made it back to the championship in 2022 to claim their fourth ring.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

NBA Finals

Wilt Chamberlain: 1 (1964)

Stephen Curry: 6 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)

Chamberlain made one NBA Finals appearance but was ousted by the legendary Russell and his Celtics. Russell eliminated Chamberlain two other times as well. That included a seven-game series in 1962 and a six-game series in 1960. In the Finals, the Celtics were flat-out better by winning the series in five games.

The script was flipped with Curry. There was a five-year period where the Warriors came out of the Western Conference. The team lost the Finals in 2016 despite setting a regular season record for wins but was defeated by the Cavaliers in seven games. The team lost in 2019 to the Raptors, a series that saw Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson suffer major injuries.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

Finals MVP Awards

Wilt Chamberlain: 0

Stephen Curry: 1 (2022)

Chamberlain never won a Finals MVP Award because he never won a championship with the Warriors. Frequently, he was defeated by the Celtics. Chamberlain would win a Finals MVP Award in 1972, but he was a member of the Warriors. Despite having the individual stats to be good enough to win, his team could never get over the hump.

Curry won his first Finals MVP Award this year. He led the team in scoring during the 2015 Finals, but Iguodala won after he was cited for his defense of LeBron James. Curry averaged 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steal in the 2022 Finals to win his first Finals MVP.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

MVP Awards

Wilt Chamberlain: 1 (1960)

Stephen Curry: 2 (2015, 2016)

Chamberlain averaged more than 50 points per game in 1961-62 but did not win the MVP Award. That went to Bill Russell, who triumphed over Chamberlain once again. Chamberlain won an MVP Award when he also won the Rookie of the Year Award. During the 1959-60 season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds. He also averaged 46.4 minutes per game as all three categories led the league.

Curry’s first MVP Award came in 2015 when he averaged 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 2.0 steals. He led the league in free-throw percentage with 91.4%. The following year, he became the first-ever unanimous MVP selection when he led the Warriors to 73 regular season wins. Curry led the league in scoring (30.1) steals (2.1), and free-throw percentage (90.8%).

Advantage: Stephen Curry

All-NBA Teams

Wilt Chamberlain: 5 (4 All-NBA First Team, 1 All-NBA Second Team)

Stephen Curry: 7 (4 All-NBA First Team, 3 All-NBA Second Team)

Chamberlain made the All-NBA Team 10 times in his career. Five of those came with the Warriors. That included All-NBA First Team appearances in 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1964. He also made a Second Team in 1963. Chamberlain would make the Second Team in 1965 but finished the year with the 76ers.

Curry owns seven appearances. He made the First Team in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021. He made the Second Team in 2014, 2017, and 2022. The only years that he did not make the All-NBA Team featured years that he sustained injuries. That included 2017-18 when he missed significant time, as well as 2019-2020 when he nearly missed all of the year.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

All-Star Selections

Wilt Chamberlain: 5

Stephen Curry: 8

Chamberlain was an All-Star every year that he played for the Warriors. He was the league’s best scorer and rebounder during that time. He led the league in scoring each season with the Warriors and won the rebounding title each season between 1960 to 1963. Altogether, Chamberlain was an easy All-Star vote.

Curry took a few years before he made the All-Star Game. The first of six consecutive nods came in 2013. He was voted in each season up to 2019. He missed nearly all of the 2019-20 season, but he returned to All-Star form in 2021 and 2022. When it is all said and done, he should become the first Warriors player in team history to make double-digit All-Star appearances.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

All-Defensive Selections

Wilt Chamberlain: 0

Stephen Curry: 0

As mentioned, Chamberlain was the league’s top rebounder for a stretch with the Warriors. The issue with Chamberlain never winning an All-Defensive nod was that the award was not started until the 1968-69 season. By this time, Chamberlain was older in his career, but even so, it would have been hard to push players like Bill Russell and Willis Reed off of the list.

Curry led the league in steals in 2016, but that didn’t mean that he was an excellent defender. Curry has been spoiled by playing with a former Defensive Player of the Year in Draymond Green. Some of his other teammates, such as Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut, and Iguodala, have also been solid defenders. Curry has been a product of the system when it comes to defense.

Advantage: Tie

Win Shares

Wilt Chamberlain: 112.4

Stephen Curry: 120.2

Chamberlain led the league in win shares every season he played for the Warriors. That included leading the league in offensive win shares three times. The highest count he had was 25.0 total win shares during the 1963-64 season. He also led the league in win shares per 48 minutes. 

Curry owns the advantage thanks to having a longer tenure. Chamberlain owns just eight fewer win shares compared to Curry but played less than half of the time. Curry led the league in winning shares once. That was during his second MVP season as he finished with a career-high 17.9. Curry led the league in win shares per 48 minutes in both of his MVP seasons.

Advantage: Stephen Curry

Player Efficiency Rating

Wilt Chamberlain: 30.3

Stephen Curry: 23.8

Chamberlain led the league in PER all but one time. He had a stretch of a PER over 30 in three consecutive seasons. That included a career-high 32.1 rating during the 1961-62 season. Chamberlain also led the league in PER during the season he was traded. After his five wins, he would lead the league just three more times outside of his Warriors tenure.

The one category that Chamberlain won belongs here. Curry’s career PER is less than Chamberlain, but he does own one PER over 30 in his tenure. His 31.5 PER during the 2015-16 season led the league. There were two other times that his PER was over 28, with one coming in 2015 and the other in 2018.

Advantage: Wilt Chamberlain

Final Score

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Stephen Curry 1-8

When we list the greatest Warriors players in history, it should be a narrow list. Chamberlain, Curry, and Rick Barry deserve some recognition. All three players are some of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. Curry was the most underrated player out of them all. He was a lottery pick out of Davidson, while Chamberlain and Barry were seen as stars right from the start. It took time and hard work for Curry to get where he is today.

Chamberlain enjoyed his most successful scoring campaigns while playing with the Warriors. That included setting the single-season scoring record. While all of this is impressive, it’s already been said that Chamberlain’s efforts were monumental, but it was never enough to get the team to a title. The Celtics owned Chamberlain’s teams during the 60s. Curry had a rival of his own but won more than he lost.

Curry and LeBron James met each other in the Finals four consecutive seasons between 2015 to 2018. Curry won three of those four matchups. With James, we are talking about the second-greatest player of all time. Curry managed to win three championships against that player. While some would want to point out that Durant was the best player on those teams, Curry cemented his spot among the greats by winning a Finals MVP Award this year and leading a team to their fourth title.

Chamberlain was never a champion with the Warriors. Curry was. It’s a pretty black-and-white conversation, but it is cemented when you dig deep into the numbers. We didn’t even talk about how Curry is the greatest three-point shooter of all time. Both players had their talents. Chamberlain could not be stopped inside. Curry is hard to stop outside. That helped him accumulate over 20,000 points as his 20.064 career points are better than Chamberlain’s 17,783.

In the end, Curry is the greatest Warriors player of all time. He has all of the numbers to back it up. When he retires, he is going to have a massive lead in three-point field goals. He could win two more championships with this core and make a bid toward being amongst the top 10 greatest players of all time. That is a spot where Chamberlain resides in some all-time player rankings. Curry is right there as well, but one more championship could push him past some of the legends and put him among the top-5 best players ever. 

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