With his fourth NBA title, Warriors star Stephen Curry has entered a rare space. Before the 2022 Finals, he was already considered one of the top 20 players ever and had a reputation as the greatest long-distance shooter in basketball history.
Now, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins has placed Curry over one of basketball’s most beloved legends on his All-Time list.
On “First Take” Tuesday morning, big Perk dropped the bombshell and explained why he believes the 2x MVP has surpassed the late great Kobe Bryant.
Chris Russo: “You can start a season tomorrow, you want Kobe (12x All-Defense), or do you want Curry in your backcourt. Pick one or the other, which one you taking?
Perkins: “I’m taking Curry… but it’s not an easy one to answer…”
After some banter between the hosts, Perkins went on to explain why he has Curry so high on his All-Time list.
“Forget all the accolades and forget how long his resume is. We know it’s longer than a holiday weekend. Forget all that. When I speak on being a generational talent, I’m talking about a 6’2″ guard that has changed the game of basketball forever. Forever! So when I look at it, and I look at what he’s done since he got to Golden State, it’s almost been like a plug and replace. When I look at his first championship, that he won with Harrison Barnes at the wing position. All of a sudden you go 73-9 and you lose to LeBron James, I get that. All of a sudden you become, still, eye candy cause you play off the ball well. You’re efficient, Steph Curry’s efficient when he shoots the ball. e’s great moving without the basketball. He attracts Kevin Durant, then he goes along to win two championships with KD. You have two down years because Klay Thompson is hurt. He’s injured, you know they going through some rough times. All of a sudden they acquire Andrew Wiggins, who was the number one pick… and Steph Curry won a championship with him.”
Kobe Bryant retired in 2016 as an 18x All-Star, 5x champion, 12x All-Defensive player, and 2x Finals MVP. He sits fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 33,643 career points. Of course, Bryant was also valuable for his leadership and the powerful work ethic he demonstrated every season he was on the court.
While Steph isn’t nearly the defender Kobe was, and is still one championship short from tying Bryant with five rings, the impact he has made on the game itself is unmatched. As the greatest basketball shooter this world has ever seen, he inspired an entire generation of ballers to change the way they play the game.
Even now, after the peak of his powers, he’s finding success in a system that has been molded around his skillset.
Not everyone will agree on where he lands in the bigger picture, but he’s certainly in the discussion for being on the Mount Rushmore of NBA greats.
