Saturday Slam: Stephen Curry is the most incredible player I've seen since Michael Jordan

                                                   (Credit: Keith Allison. Click here for source)

     Stephen Curry is the most incredible basketball player I've seen since Michael Jordan. Since his royal airness, I have seen Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James have their moments as the best player in the NBA. All of those players are special players who will go down as some of the games' greatest players. But, in terms of just amazing me with their pure skill and basketball technique, all of those players pale in comparison to what Stephen Curry is doing right now.
 
      LeBron James came out of high school as a basketball prodigy, possessing the body frame of Karl Malone and the skills of John Stockton. Such a combination hasn't been seen since Magic Johnson and it may not be seen again for a very long time, if ever. So, when I say Stephen Curry is the most incredible player I've seen since Michael Jordan, I'm saying that with LeBron James in mind as the most physically gifted player I've ever seen. Michael Jordan was a better player than LeBron James in that he had a killer instinct and an ability to come up in the clutch that nobody in NBA history has ever had, but from just a pure combination of skill and physical tools, LeBron James beats out Michael Jordan.

     So, with that being the case, how can Stephen Curry, who is a 6-3, 185 lb. point guard, be even more incredible than LeBron James? The answer lies in his phenomenal shooting and ability to score in ways that we've never seen before. Stephen Curry is averaging 30.0 points per game on 63.0% shooting from the field, 45.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 90.1% shooting from the foul line.*
   
     Those numbers are alone ridiculous, but then when you factor in the fact that he does that taking some of the most difficult shots in the game, what he's doing just doesn't seem to be humanly possible. Plus, it isn't like Stephen Curry is Reggie Miller on steroids. Stephen Curry can shoot and score in so many more ways than Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller was a great catch and shoot shooter, but Stephen Curry is that plus an amazing off-the-dribble shooter and finisher in the lane.
   
     Stephen Curry can score in literally every way possible and he does it with ease. The most difficult shot in basketball is the pull up three and Stephen Curry makes that shot on a regular basis. Due to his lightning quick release, he is able to get shots off before defenders even have a chance to get a hand up and he does it while being small for his position.
   
     Lastly, Stephen Curry isn't just an incredible shooter and scorer. He is a fantastic point guard, who dishes out 6.5 assists per game and also plays superb defense, getting 2.2 steals per game. He is a complete basketball player who happens to have a laser for a jump shot. When you factor in the whole package that he has as a basketball player, namely his shooting, defending, passing, ball-handling, and on-the-court awareness, he is the most incredible player I've seen since Michael Jordan. What's even scarier is that he is making shots and plays that not even Michael Jordan was comfortable doing. So, I don't think it at all unfathomable to think that someday, Stephen Curry will go down as the greatest player in the history of basketball.

                                                (Credit: Jason H. Smith. Click here for source)

      But for now, I can't put him ahead of Michael Jordan. That would be ridiculous since Michael Jordan's collective body of work is so incredible. Michael Jordan won six NBA championships in eight seasons while taking a two-year break to play baseball. So, if he hadn't taken that break, he very well may have won eight straight championships. Those six championships are just the tip of the iceberg. Michael Jordan is a six-time NBA Finals MVP, a five-time NBA MVP, a 14-time NBA All-Star, a 10-time All-NBA First Team, the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year, a 10-time scoring champion, and a 9-time NBA All-Defensive First Team.

      Michael Jordan transcended the game, dominated his opponents, and literally did whatever he wanted on a basketball court. Stephen Curry is starting to enter that same mode; it's just that he hasn't done it for as long of a stretch of time. If Stephen Curry can keep up what he is doing and rack up more rings in the process, there's no reason to think he can't go down as the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball.
   
     Think I'm exaggerating? We have never seen a player shoot the basketball as well as Stephen Curry and do it in so many ways. If he is able to use his versatility as a shooter and scorer to dominate the NBA over the coming seasons while also playing fantastic defense and dishing out 6+ assists per game, his case for greatest of all time will be pretty compelling.

*Stats as of Thursday, March 31, 2016.