- LeBron James has won the most NBA championships among these players with four
- All three of these players rank in the top 20 in NBA history in PER
- Stephen Curry is the only unanimous MVP in NBA history
Any modern-day NBA fan will tell you that the three best players in the game over the last 10 seasons have been LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. The comparisons and discussions about their greatest have been endless, with the three constantly stacked up against each other in various contrasting debates. They have never been put through our perfect formula, however, making this debate an incomplete one for now.
That changes today with the career comparison of these three players reaching its boiling point. You have seen us use this formula in previous ways such as the neverending GOAT debate as well as positional rankings from point guard to small forward. Now, it is time to take the three most polarizing players of the last decade-plus and put their careers under the proverbial microscope.
The results of this most accurate formula have come to shock some people, while others always knew the orders in which players would be revealed using this highly scientific method. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating, but you get the picture. Without any further distractions, let’s get into it.
This is the comparison of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant using our famous most accurate formula.
Best Stats
1. LeBron James – 27.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG (3 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 27.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.1 BPG (2 Points)
3. Stephen Curry – 24.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG (1 Point)
When it comes to overall stats between these three players, it is a glaringly obvious win for LeBron James. Other than averaging over 27.0 points per game in his career, James also averages more rebounds, assists, and steals than either Curry or Durant. Then, there is the title of being the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in his favor as well as the numerous NBA playoff and Finals records he holds. There aren’t many players in NBA history that can match up stats for stats with LeBron James. Curry and Durant happen to fall into the majority.
Of course, these two players are still all-time NBA greatest in terms of numbers. Kevin Durant averages quite possibly the most efficient 27.3 points per game for a career in NBA history. Durant is a four-time scoring champion as well who has numerous seasons averaging over 30.0 points per game. If numbers were just scoring, he would be my first selection as well but he does provide underrated defensive statistics that help him take second place in this category and secure two points.
Stephen Curry has also had some of the greatest statistics by any player in NBA history. He has shattered nearly every three-point record that exists and completely changed the game as a whole during his reign with the Golden State Warriors. With two scoring titles and a steals title under his belt, Stephen Curry has underrated stats for an all-time great player. When compared to the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, however, they just do not measure up.
Most NBA Championships
T1. LeBron James – 4 NBA Championships (3 Points)
T1. Stephen Curry – 4 NBA Championships (3 Points)
3. Kevin Durant – 2 NBA Championships (1 Point)
Both LeBron James and Stephen Curry have equaled each other in the amount of NBA championships they have won in their career with four. Coincidentally enough, Curry earned three of his four championships in wins over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with the Warriors from 2015 through 2018. The other would be earned in 2022 when he led Golden State to a victory in the NBA Finals over the Boston Celtics.
LeBron James also earned one of his four NBA championships against Curry in 2016. It was the greatest upset in playoff history as James led Cleveland to their first franchise title in a 3-1 comeback over the Warriors. It was also the same season that Golden State happened to win an NBA-record 73 games, making it that much sweeter for James. LeBron has also earned three titles with two other franchises including in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat and in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Overall, LeBron James is 4-6 in the NBA Finals series and advanced to eight straight between 2011 and 2018.
Kevin Durant won both his championships as a teammate of Curry from 2017 through 2019 with the Warriors. Durant would be named Finals MVP on both occasions as they defeated the LeBron James-led Cavaliers in 2017 4-1, and again in 2018 4-0. Durant has been to just one other NBA Finals series in his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012. That series ended in five games as Lebron James led Miami to victory in five games.
Most MVP Awards
1. LeBron James – 4 MVP Awards (3 Points)
2. Stephen Curry – 2 MVP Awards (2 Points)
3. Kevin Durant – 1 MVP Award (1 Point)
Each one of these NBA legends has taken home at least one MVP award in their careers. LeBron James is the leader once again, with four in total in 20 seasons in the NBA. James won his first two awards in back-to-back seasons with the Cavaliers in 2009 and 2010. He would capture two more as a member of the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, giving him four MVPs in the span of five seasons overall. During that five-year stretch, he would average 27.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game.
Stephen Curry is the only other player to win multiple MVP awards. He won back-to-back awards in 2015 and 2016 with the Warriors with one season ending in a NBA championship. In 2015, Curry captured his first MVP averaging 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. In 2016, he would be named the NBA’s first and only unanimous MVP averaging 30.1 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game on 48.7% shooting and 44.3% shooting from three. The Warriors would win an NBA-record 73 games in 2016 as a result.
Kevin Durant has won four NBA scoring titles in his career but only one MVP to show for it. Durant would capture his MVP back in 2014 when he was still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2014, he would average a league-leading 32.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 50.3% overall from the field. Durant would lead the Thunder to 59 wins and a division title that season.
Most Finals MVP Awards
1. LeBron James – 4 Finals MVP Awards (3 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 2 Finals MVP Awards (2 Points)
3. Stephen Curry – 1 Finals MVP Award (1 Point)
LeBron James completes his trifecta of category wins with four Finals MVP awards in all four of his NBA championship victories. He claimed his first two Finals MVP awards in Miami, leading the Heat to back-to-back championship victories over the Thunder and Spurs. In 2016, he would win his third Finals MVP over Stephen Curry and the Warriors averaging 29.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game. His fourth Finals MVP would come in 2020 with the Lakers when he led them to an NBA championship during the bubble. He averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in a six-game series win over the Heat.
Kevin Durant won both of his Finals MVP awards while sharing the court with Stephen Curry on the Warriors in 2017 and 2018. In a five-game series win over LeBron James and the Cavaliers in 2018, he averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game to win the award. In a sweep of James and the Cavaliers in 2018, he would win his second Finals MVP with 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game.
Although he should have won in 2015, Stephen Curry would not win his first Finals MVP until 2022. As many had claimed the Warriors dynasty to be dead, Curry put the team on his back to lead them to their fourth championship in eight seasons. Curry would win Finals MVP honors in a six-game series victory over the Boston Celtics averaging 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 43.7% shooting from three-point land.
Most Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
T1. LeBron James – 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
T1. Kevin Durant – 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
T1. Stephen Curry – 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
Unfortunately, for us and our formula, no player of these three has ever won a Defensive Player of the Year award. LeBron James was the closest during his prime with the Miami Heat in 2013. James finished runner-up to Marc Gasol for the award that season. As for Durant and Curry, neither player has ever been named to an All-Defensive Team, let alone been in contention for a Defensive Player of the Year award. This category is a wash and, therefore will be awarded zero value when being considered in our formula.
Most All-NBA Team Selections
1. LeBron James – 19 All-NBA Team Selections (3 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 10 All-NBA Team Selections (2 Points)
3. Stephen Curry – 9 All-NBA Team Selections (1 Point)
When it comes to All-NBA Team selections, Lebron James takes another category easily after spending almost his entire career on an All-NBA Team. James has been selected to an All-NBA Team in 19 of his 20 professional seasons with the exception being his rookie season back in 2003. James’ breakdown of selections to the All-NBA are 13 First Team selections, three Second Team selections, and three Third Team Selections.
Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are neck and neck when it comes to All-NBA Team selections. Durant holds a slight edge over Curry with 10 selections to his nine. Of Durant’s 10 selections, six of them have been to the All-NBA First Team, while the other four selections have been to the Second Team. As for Curry, he has earned just four First Team selections while earning four Second Team selections and one Third Team selection in 2018.
Most All-Defensive Team Selections
1. LeBron James – 6 All-Defensive Team Selections (3 Points)
T2. Stephen Curry – 0 All-Defensive Team Selections (2 Points)
T2. Kevin Durant – 0 All-Defensive Team Selections (2 Points)
Only one of these three players has ever been selected to an All-Defensive Team in their careers, and to no surprise, it is LeBron James. With the Cavaliers and Miami Heat, James was an All-Defensive First Team selection five years in a row from 2009 through 2013. It is no coincidence that this was the time he started winning championships and won all four of his MVP awards in his career as well.
As for Curry and Durant, their All-Defensive days just never came to fruition and never really needed to, if we are being honest. Curry and Durant are such elite options that defense became secondary to them. This isn’t to say that they aren’t both completely underrated as defenders because they are. However, once again, they do not measure up to the greatness of LeBron James in this category.
Most All-Star Selections
1. LeBron James – 19 All-Star Selections (3 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 13 All-Star Selections (2 Points)
3. Stephen Curry – 9 All-Star Selections (1 Point)
The results for this category are much like the results for the All-NBA Team selections category we saw earlier. LeBron James has been an All-Star foremost of his career, 19 seasons to be exact with the lone exception coming his rookie year. James has been immensely popular his entire career and with the All-Star voting being a popularity contest as well as James being one of the best players in the world, it is pretty much an invitational for the generational superstar at this point.
This is a big reason why Kevin Durant has earned more All-Star selections than Curry at this point. Simply, Durant was more popular and stood out as an NBA prospect earlier than Curry did in their careers. Durant was a star pretty much right away while it took a few years for Curry to develop into the player that would change the game entirely. It remains unknown if Curry can catch Durant in this department, but it remains far more likely he will catch him in All-NBA Team selections before All-Star selections.
Total Win Shares
1. LeBron James – 255.1 Win Shares (3 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 161.9 Win Shares (2 Points)
3. Stephen Curry – 128.0 Win Shares (1 Point)
With just one category left before we tally up our total, we could be looking at the first clean sweep since the introduction of our most accurate formula. Over the last 20 seasons, LeBron James is the only player of these three to accumulate over 200.0 total win shares in their careers. James has tallied nearly double the amount of win shares as Curry in their careers as well, showing just how dominant and for how long James has been in the NBA.
As far as Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are concerned, their total win shares are not bad totals by any stretch. James’ 255.1 rank second in NBA history while Durant’s 161.9 rank 23rd and Stephen Curry’s rank 43rd. For all three to be in the 50 in total win shares is a testament to their greatness on the court. With a few more years under their belts, they could close the gap between them and LeBron James, but catching or passing him is not likely to happen.
PER
1. LeBron James – 27.2 PER (3 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 25.3 PER (2 Points)
3. Stephen Curry – 23.8 PER (1 Point)
When it comes to efficiency, there are no other players who define the word better when it comes to the modern era of basketball. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are two of the most efficient overall scorers in league history. LeBron James is an all-time elite scorer as well but accelerates past both of his opponents today with a hyper-efficient all-around game.
James’ 27.2 PER is the third-highest rating in NBA history, trailing only Michael Jordan and Nikola Jokic. Kevin Durant’s 25.3 rating is ninth in NBA history as well and Stephen Curry’s 23.8 rating ranks 20th. As you can see, they are three of the most efficient players in NBA history and the right to be compared is more than well-deserved.
Which Player Is Best When Comparing LeBron James, Stephen Curry, And Kevin Durant?
1. LeBron James – 27 Points (9 Categories Won)
2. Kevin Durant – 16 Points (0 Categories Won)
3. Stephen Curry – 13 Points (1 Category Won)
If we are being 100 percent truthful with ourselves, this comparison was over before it started. With the presence of LeBron James, the only real race was for second place between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. With Curry only making up ground due to his four NBA championships, there is no other standard by which we measure in which he or Kevin Durant surpasses LeBron James on the basketball court. There is a reason why he is in the GOAT conversation.
With our formula, The slight edge that Durant has over Curry can be attributed to Durant’s experience being 16 years to Curry’s 14. Even still, winning two Finals MVPs while sharing the court together is going to give one player a significant edge in any debate against the other. On the contrary, Stephen Curry has shown that he can win NBA championships without Durant on the court on more than one occasion. Durant has yet to sniff an NBA Finals without Curry by his side.
Whatever the case, let the debate continue to rage on between Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry and who you think is the greatest player all-time. However, for everybody’s sake, let’s leave LeBron James’ name out of it. It’s not even a conversation at this point.
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