Thoughtfulness | Curry and the Magic, who is the No. 1 point guard in NBA history
This summer, "Curry and Magic who is the greater point guard" suddenly became one of the hottest topics on the Internet, perhaps there is no standard answer to this question, but everyone has their own answer in their hearts. But for young people in the new era, expressing their views through arguments, flaunting their personalities, and competing for the right to speak are the signs that they have taken over the banner of the times.
Written by | Horsen
Whenever it enters the NBA offseason, the "Guan Gong vs. Qin Qiong" style of seating is designated to become a reserved program among fans, and various media are also willing to participate in it, after all, there is no game, you can stir up the heat with your mouth, why not?
However, in recent times, the topic of who is the first point guard in NBA history between Curry and "Magic" Johnson has become the hottest focus.
The cause of the incident came from a mess by General Arenas, in his own famous podcast, Arenas asked Curry in a daze: "Do you think you're the best point guard in history?" ”
Unexpectedly, Curry, who has always been modest and low-key, suddenly made a big news, and he replied without hesitation: "Yes, I am." Only me and the magician can compete for this honor. ”
Subsequently, Arenas told Curry that although he prefers Magic, and statistically, Magic is more dominant, Curry's influence on the game has surpassed that of Magic, which impressed him.
When this podcast was uploaded to the network by Arenas, the popularity of the whole thing was instantly detonated, and A-Smith, a basketball celebrity known as "American Yang Yi", publicly expressed his support for Curry, he agreed with Arenas's point of view, Curry's influence on the game is unmatched.
I thought that things were outrageous enough, but the next day, Smith broke the news again on the basketball commentary program, "When it was not yet dawn today, Jordan sent me a message, and he said that [in the point guard] must be the greatest of the magicians!" ”
Even the god of basketball was shocked to the end of the court in person, then what is there to say, this melon, must be eaten by everyone!
01 Data comparison, who is more hardcore?
Let's look at the honor comparison between the two.
There are only three hardest honors for an NBA player, championship, MVP (Regular Season MVP) and FMVP (Finals MVP).
These three statistics, almost all of them are dominated by magicians, who have 5 championships, 3 MVPs and 3 FMVPs; Curry has only 4 championships, 2 MVPs (one of which is the only all-time MVP) and 1 FMVP.
The rest of the team, the assist king, the scoring leader, and the number of All-Star selections are all scraps, not to mention - but these secondary honors are undoubtedly the Magicians' advantage.
Let's look at the data comparison between the two.
Curry played in 882 regular-season games in his career, averaging 34.4 minutes per game, 24.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 42.7 percent from three-point range and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Johnson played in 906 regular-season games in his career, averaging 36.7 minutes per game, 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists and 1.9 steals, shooting 52 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from three-point range and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line.
It can be said that in addition to the scoring ability (especially three-point ability) inferior to Curry, the Magic is almost all-round in other statistics, especially the most important "assist" for point guards, he is almost twice as much as Curry.
Whether in terms of honor or data, Curry is still some distance away from the Magicians, although the gap is not too big, but the gap is the gap.
So the great Michael Jordan said to A. Smith like this -
"Curry is just a shooter, Magic is a point guard, and more importantly, Magic has 5 championships!"
02 Self-made, is Curry a better leader?
Since Curry is at a significant disadvantage in the comparison of honor and data, there should not be any controversy on this topic - conversely, since there is a controversy, it shows that there must be a tenable view in support of Curry.
First of all, Johnson joined the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers as soon as he debuted, and his teammates were the all-time superstar Abdul-Jabbar Skyhook and LeBron James' most versatile small forward "Cobra" James "Cobra" Worthy, both of whom are not only "50" players, but also their own draft year champions.
And Curry, as we all know, the best teammate he has ever partnered with is Durant, at most only the Worthy level, it is difficult to compare with Abdul-Jabbar, and Klay Thompson and Dream Green, one is the 11th pick in the first round and the other is the 35th pick in the second round, and the talent is indeed much inferior to the "SHOWTIME" Lakers.
It can be said that even if the Lakers do not have Magic, they will still be one of the strong contenders for the championship; But if Curry is removed, the Warriors simply can't have any capital to compete for a championship.
More importantly, Curry is to the Golden State, Duncan is to San Antonio, Jordan is to Chicago, and before their arrival, their home teams were just small roles that no one cared about in the NBA, but in the end, the Warriors, Spurs and Bulls, because they achieved fame.
In every sense, the self-made Curry is clearly a better team leader than the Magic.
03 Influence PK, difficult to distinguish?
Whether on or off the court, the influence of Magic Johnson and Curry is epoch-making, and both have revolutionized the game of basketball with their extraordinary abilities.
In the 80s, Magic Johnson pioneered the tall point guard tower tactic, where he would use his height to grab rebounds, then get down, direct teammates to counterattack, and then take control by sending out smart passes.
The gorgeous "SHOWTIME" style of play is actually the predecessor of the popular "ball core" style of play in the NBA today, LeBron James, Doncic, Morant and the early Wei Shao, in a sense, they are all on the path created by the magicians.
Not to mention Curry.
Before him, no one could have imagined that a three-point shot could become a player's conventional weapon, and Barkley once mercilessly mocked the Warriors that "jumpers can't win championships."
But Curry's 3-point shooting changed everyone's mind, and his perverted fast, perverted far, perverted accuracy, so that the league's average of 3-point shots per game has soared from about 14 in the early 2000s to 34 today!
Almost every team began to practice three-pointers, three-pointers have become the most important offensive means in basketball today, the third division has changed from the edge of the court to the core of tactics, rapid rotation has become the core element of attack and defense, the space on the court has become unprecedentedly vast, the traditional era of hand-to-hand combat has come to an end, and the "small-ball era" has arrived.
And it all started when the Golden State Warriors selected Curry with the 7th pick in the first round in 2009.
It's arguably how many people used to regard Magicians as their idols, and how many people are equally crazy about Curry now. But for ordinary children, wanting to fly like Magic and Jordan may require very good physical talent, but the appearance of Curry has brought them a new possibility - as long as I shoot accurately enough, then I may also become the next Curry!
From this point of view, Curry has somewhat subverted the traditional basic basketball theory of "the closer to the basket, the easier it is to score", and created a new era of projection.
Jordan, the god of basketball, through his influence, made Nike the world's top sportswear brand, and "Air Jordan" has also become synonymous with classic trends.
And Curry?
Almost single-handedly, he has elevated UA, a small brand that was previously completely out of the trend, to one of the world's mainstream sportswear brands.
This commercial influence is a feat that magicians have never done.
04 Thick ancient and thin or thick and thin ancient?
As the saying goes, ginger is still old and spicy; But at the same time, it is also said that the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves. Under different comparison standards, it is difficult for a strong man to obtain an answer to the question of "Guan Gong vs. Qin Qiong".
Perhaps, there is no standard answer to this question, but in everyone's heart, there is their own answer.
But as Curry puts it:
"It's a fun thing to measure each other's times by that comparison, that's what basketball and sports are all about, that's why people watch games."
So this topic will always go on until the next player who is enough to challenge Magic and Curry comes along, and then gets pulled into the discussion.
However, for fans, this discussion has actually been given another special meaning to some extent, that is, inheritance - the times are changing, the aesthetics are also changing, and young people in the new era need to prove that they are enough to take over the banner of the times and forge ahead through this way of competing for the right to speak.
"I admit Jordan is great and the magicians are great."
"But I grew up watching James and Curry."
"This is our time."
That's good, isn't it?