Steph Curry was asked a simple question, and he gave a simple response.
“Are you the best point guard ever?” former Warriors guard Gilbert Arenas asked Curry during his recent appearance on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast.
“Yes,” Curry replied after a quick pause to think. “It’s [between] me and Magic [Johnson], that’s the conversation?”
It’s a debate that has persisted for years as Curry made his mark on the NBA, dominating the game despite his small stature and proving countless doubters wrong on the way to four championship rings with Golden State.
While comparing Curry to Johnson is difficult because of their vast differences as players and the eras during which they played, it’s clear the Warriors superstar is confident in his place in history. Curry’s teammate Draymond Green described the argument as “lazy” on his own podcast earlier this year for those two reasons.
“Steph Curry and Magic Johnson, if you watch those two play basketball, you probably wouldn’t say they’re the same position. With no understanding of positions if you just watch those two play you probably wouldn’t say they’re the same position,” Green said in February. “… It’s like, yes, both point guards as the term goes, but two totally different players that went about it two different ways. Quite frankly, there’s someone that’s going to like the way Magic went about it because they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s more of a true point guard, that’s what I know to be a true point guard.’ And then there’s others that are going to appreciate Steph more because it’s like ‘Man, look what he’s done at the position, scoring and how he affects the defense and all of that.’
“However, I think they’re both GOATs. They are both the greatest point guards of their eras.”
To the same point, Arenas told Curry that when he looks at the stat sheet, he’s inclined to choose Johnson over him. But when he considers Curry’s impact on the game of basketball, the Warrior is the clear favorite.
And despite his answer, the magic of Johnson isn’t lost on Curry.
“Obviously I have to answer that way, but I really feel like Magic’s résumé is ridiculous,” Curry told Arenas. “So the fact that we’re even having that conversation, that’s a place I never thought I’d be in. …
“That’s why we have the conversation — because it’s fun measuring eras against each other. I love it. That’s what basketball and sports is all about. That’s why people watch.”
