For a long time now, there has been no debate about the greatest point guard of all-time. Almost unanimously the choice has been Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson who, despite having his career cut short, is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history period. But recently, Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has risen up the ranks and sparked, at least, a conversation.
Outside of current Lakers superstar LeBron James, Curry has been the premier player of this era. He has won four NBA Championships and a pair of MVPs, including becoming the first ever unanimous MVP in league history. And he recently added fuel to the debate when he claimed that he feels he is the greatest point guard ever, even above Magic.
Curry showed nothing but respect towards Johnson, but he simply feels he has surpassed him. But the Lakers legend recently responded with nothing but facts to make his case. Magic recently spoke with Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio and put an end to all debate of who is the greatest point guard ever:
“If he got more than five championships. If he got more than three Finals MVPs and three league MVPs, then he’s the greatest. If he’s got more number one in assists all-time in the Finals, number two in double-doubles, number one in triple-doubles all-time in the NBA playoffs, number four in steals all-time in the playoffs. If he’s got more than those numbers, he’s the best […] I’m just saying if he’s got more than all those things then he’s the best, but the last time I checked, he doesn’t. But everyone has to decide for themselves who the best it.”
It is hard to argue with the facts that Magic laid out here. Curry is undoubtedly an all-time great, but with him having yet to eclipse Johnson in so many of those statistics, not to mention the all-important championships number, it seems pretty clear that the Lakers legend has the edge.
Of course Curry’s career is not yet over and in time he could make the debate even more difficult, but for the time being, Magic Johnson still holds down that top spot.
Magic Johnson discusses how Lakers loss to Celtics in 1984 motivated him
Magic certainly had his high points and low points during his Lakers career and the lowest was undoubtedly the 1984 NBA Finals when the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in large part due to his own mistakes.
He recently opened up about that saying that he felt terrible about costing the Lakers the championship, but it motivated him to work extremely hard that summer to come back better the next season. And the Lakers would ultimately get their revenge and take down Boston in 1985.
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