Stephen Curry is in all the media headlines recently after his record-breaking 50-point performance in Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings in the first round. The point guard single-handedly destroyed the Kings in the second half, and the praise coming his way is well-deserved. Even outspoken teammate Draymond Green made some shocking comments by stating the point guard is the greatest player ever, which could spark some conversation by looking up at Michael Jordan’s legacy.
It is very hard to compare anybody to Michael Jordan, and we even saw that when taking LeBron James and matching him to the Chicago Bulls star. The comparison did not end in The King’s favor, which means the widely considered second-greatest player ever still has a long way to go to catch the GOAT. Even if Draymond and Golden State Warriors Nation want to believe it, Curry is not the greatest player of all time. In fact, the point guard has a better chance to be named the second-greatest player of all time and challenge LeBron James in that sense. Now, Curry has some ways to go to start catching LeBron James in The King’s own spot, so we still have to wait and see how his career ends.
Still, because of Curry’s greatness and the conversations being spread around at the moment, there is nothing wrong with entertaining a GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry. It is time to continue our usual format and entertain a full career comparison between Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan and Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry to see how far off the point guard really is from GOAT status.
Championships
Stephen Curry: 4 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
Michael Jordan: 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
Over the past decade, Stephen Curry has won four NBA championships. His first in 2015 was excellent, but despite being the team’s top player, the point guard did not win the Finals MVP accolade as that went to Andre Iguodala. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant also shared championship victories in 2017 and 2018, the latter of which came after the star small forward made one of the most unexpected moves in NBA history regarding his free agency. The most recent championship came last year in 2022 when the Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in six games, giving Steph his 4th ring.
Through two different 3-peats with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan won six NBA championships. That should be enough to put an end to the comparison in championships because winning six titles as the team’s greatest player is extremely uncommon. Michael went undefeated in the Finals over his career, defeating all six of his opponents in flawless fashion without ever playing in a Game 7. Defeating the likes of Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, and Gary Payton in the Finals, Jordan has the edge in championships won because he has more rings and a better Finals record.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
Finals MVP Awards
Stephen Curry: 1 (2022)
Michael Jordan: 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
After the 2022 NBA season, Stephen Curry made a breakthrough and won his first Finals MVP award. Steph finally added the Finals MVP honor to his list of career accomplishments after hearing all the noise that he never won the award. Andre Iguodala, a swingman for the Golden State Warriors, won Finals MVP in 2015 despite being the team’s top player and guarding LeBron James with an average of 16.3 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. Kevin Durant also went back-to-back for Finals MVPs in 2017 and 2018. However, Steph did it in 2022, and it was clear that he deserved it because he was the main factor for the team against the Celtics.
Michael Jordan was the star of every Chicago Bulls game, and that was on display over each of his Finals appearances. Making the Finals 6 times, Jordan went 6-0 without ever playing a Game 7 and winning Finals MVP each time. On each of the championship Bulls squads that defeated the opposition during the two separate three-peats, the star shooting guard was the team’s greatest player. As special as Scottie Pippen was as a defender, scorer, and playmaker, Jordan was the undisputed Finals MVP in every Finals series, and he has many more accolades than Steph has.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
MVP Awards
Stephen Curry: 2 (2015, 2016)
Michael Jordan: 5 (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)
As a member of the Warriors, Stephen Curry earned both the NBA championship and the MVP award in 2015. For the Warriors, he put up averages of 23.8 PPG and 7.7 APG, solidifying his status as the league’s top point guard. By averaging 30.1 PPG and 6.7 APG, Stephen Curry became the first player to win the MVP award in a unanimous fashion. As one of the greatest regular season performers ever, Steph’s back-to-back MVP trophies placed him on the map as an all-time great legend. However, two MVP trophies pale in comparison to the GOAT’s number of five MVP awards.
Even if there is still debate as to whether Michael Jordan should have received more than five MVP trophies, there is still a sizable list of accomplishments to win five. Jordan, the best guard to ever live, was a force on both sides of the court and deserved every MVP award. No player could get buckets as easily as Michael Jordan. Thus being the best scorer in the NBA and earning 10 scoring titles undoubtedly helped him receive more MVP votes each year. Michael also got it done and defense, and the Bulls were the best team in the East year after year as a result. With five MVPs, Jordan wins another category against Steph.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
All-NBA Teams
Stephen Curry: 8 (4 First Team, 3 Second Team, 1 Third Team)
Michael Jordan: 11 (10 First Team, 1 Second Team)
Stephen Curry has been named to eight All-NBA Teams, including four First Teams. He might even make another one by the end of this season, but even then, he loses this category. Luckily, even though he is 35 years old, the Golden State Warriors star is still very likely to be named to a few more All-NBA Teams. He might equal Jordan’s number of 11 All-NBA Teams eventually by the time Steph is 37 or 38 years old, but that is nothing but speculation. As of this moment, Curry does not have as many All-NBA Team selections as Michael Jordan and loses another category.
Michael Jordan has been named to 11 All-NBA Teams, including 10 First Teams. That means in a 15-year career (which includes two seasons where he played under 20 games), he missed out on four All-NBA appearances. Considering two of them do not count due to injury and retirement, Jordan missed out on the All-NBA Team only twice. We can disregard Jordan’s retirement phases and add on a few more All-NBA selections to Jordan’s career, but even if we don’t, the GOAT has a significant advantage over the greatest shooter of all time.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
All-Star Selections
Stephen Curry: 9
Michael Jordan: 14
Stephen Curry has had a total of nine All-Star appearances at the age of 35. Curry’s early injuries limited the number of All-Star Teams he might have participated in, but the reality remains that he has fewer selections than the Bulls legend. Making nine All-Star Teams is no small feat, and he still has time to make a couple more before his career is through. Seeing how Steph is playing at 35 years old means, he could have a few more years left in the tank, although getting to 14 All-Star Team appearances could be especially difficult for a player in his 40s.
Michael Jordan had a total of 14 All-Star appearances as he only missed the All-Star Team in 1995 when he came back at the end of the season from retirement to only play 17 games. Jordan’s two retirement stints limited the number of All-Star Teams he might have participated in, but he still has more All-Star Team selections than Curry. Michael was an All-Star time and time again because he was winning scoring titles and captivating audiences with superb skills and athleticism. There wasn’t a player more fitting for the title of “All-Star” than Michael Jordan.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
All-Defensive NBA Teams
Stephen Curry: 0
Michael Jordan: 9 (9 First Team)
Stephen Curry has improved defensively with experience and is always a capable player when it comes to making steals. However, he is not a great defender in a one-on-one sense. The 6’3″ point guard is frequently harassed by the best players on the other team since he lacks the innate ability and size to be a force on defense. Curry’s offensive prowess far outweighs his defensive shortcomings, but defense must also be taken into account when comparing his career to others. Over the course of their careers, it has been clear that Jordan is by far a better defender than Steph, and there actually isn’t a comparison.
As great as Michael Jordan was on offense, he might have been equally as great on defense. Many do regard Michael as the greatest defensive shooting guard of all time because he had the athleticism at 6’6” to handle multiple positions because he combined speed and explosiveness with defensive IQ. Not to mention, Jordan is one of the few guards to ever win the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988 when he posted averages of 3.2 SPG and 1.6 BPG. With nine All-Defensive Team selections to Curry’s zero, this one is a no-contest.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
Total Win Shares
Stephen Curry: 128.0
Michael Jordan: 214.0
Win Shares is a statistic that tries to allocate a team’s wins for each player on the roster. For example, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar owns the single-season record for Win Shares with 25.4 during 1971-72 on a Milwaukee Bucks team that won 63 games. In terms of contributing to a winning side and helping his side to win games consistently, it is obvious Michael Jordan has a better win shares rating than Stephen Curry.
Stephen Curry has a win shares rating of 128.0, a solid figure but clearly much less than that of Michael Jordan. The point guard, for some reason, is not as important to his team with regards to win shares when compared to His Airness. The point guard is obviously a player that impacts winning, but this particular statistic does not reflect that when comparing the Warriors star to other all-time great players. In terms of all-time rankings, Curry’s win share rating ranks 39th.
Michael Jordan has a win shares rating of 214.0, as the shooting guard was obviously a player that impacts winning because his scoring and defense were astronomically great. Whether he imposed his athleticism on games or did it through skill such as scoring, Jordan won a ton of games over his career, meaning he was extremely responsible for his team’s successes. Michael’s win shares figure ranks 5th all-time behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, and Karl Malone. Once again, Jordan takes another category over Stephen Curry.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
Career Player Efficiency Rating
Stephen Curry: 23.8
Michael Jordan: 27.9
Player Efficiency Rating, better known as PER, is a statistic created by John Hollinger, whose goal is to give each NBA player a comprehensive rating. Hollinger’s PER metric is unique because it combines a player’s positive and negative contributions on the court.
With a PER of 23.8, Stephen Curry is the 20th-best player of all time, according to the statistic. Curry has winning potential because of his incredible offensive skill set, and managed to have shooting splits of 47.5% FG, 42.7% 3-PT FG, and 91.5% FT while averaging 24.6 PPG over his career. Curry’s PER is supremely high because he is the greatest shooter ever and is automatic from the free-throw line and from deep when he has a good look. There is no doubt the Warriors star is the greatest long-distance marksman ever.
With a PER of 27.9, Michael Jordan is the best player of all time, according to this particular advanced statistic. Jordan has winning potential because of his incredible offensive skill set, and managed to have shooting splits of 49.7% FG, 32.7% 3-PT FG, and 83.5% FT while averaging 30.1 PPG over his career. Jordan was scoring the ball at an elite level and still came close to 50% shooting from the field. From the stripe, Mike also shot a very high percentage, and in everything he did, he did it with efficiency. In the final category in this comparison, Jordan edges Curry again, which should settle any potential “GOAT” debate that could arise between the two stars.
Advantage: Michael Jordan
Final Score
Michael Jordan vs. Stephen Curry 8-0
To conclude this player analysis, Michael Jordan has the edge over Stephen Curry in a landslide career comparison. Jordan won more NBA titles, more Finals MVPs, more MVPs, and has advanced statistics on his side against the legendary Warriors star. Michael’s 10 scoring titles were not even taken into consideration either, but that is yet more proof that Jordan was one-of-a-kind. Curry does not have an edge in any career category except for the fact that he is the all-time leader in 3-pointers made and also in career free-throw percentage. Being the best pure shooter ever is nothing to sniff at.
The fact that Michael Jordan has beaten out LeBron James and Kobe Bryant proves who the king of basketball is. Many argue for those two players while throwing in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as well, but Jordan is beating out all of them. A 6-0 Finals record with six rings beats out every other player’s career comparison that we have done, and once again, MJ seems to be a better player overall, considering how high his field-goal shooting and defensive stats were.
Curry does have a few more years left in the tank, so he might be able to equal Michael Jordan’s total All-Star selections to somewhat get closer in the comparison, but other areas, including Finals MVPs, MVPs, All-NBA selections, All-Defensive Selections, and win shares could be hard to come close to. Michael Jordan is simply the greatest player of all time, and this career comparison shows how far off an all-time great legend, Stephen Curry is.
