Opinion: To compare or not to compare?
Travis Willmann, Sports Editor
Courtesy of Unsplash.com
The views and opinions expressed on in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Vision NGU or North Greenville University.
It seems as though every few years a player emerges from college that surprises the country and goes onto to be a superstar in the NBA. Stephen Curry, better known as Steph Curry, has been one of these players. Known for his prolific 3-point shooting ability, Curry has been the backbone to the Golden State Warriors’ Championship team. However, he has been compared to Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Curry is no doubt one of the great players and will go down in NBA history, but we need to be careful to whom we compare him.
It is easy to try and compare the best players in the NBA to former great players, but players need to be compared to other players that have played the same position. Comparing a Small Forward to a point guard is not a fair comparison to either player.
LeBron James is a small forward. This means that James is going to be concerned with cutting to the basket to make plays. Even though James is a good 3-point shooter, he is not going to be as accurate or take as many 3-point shots as a point guard like Curry.
Curry is a point guard first and a shooting guard second. Curry came into the NBA as a point guard and through his shooting ability became known as a shooting phenomenon. On the Warriors, he is the primary ball carrier and Klay Thompson is the shooting guard.
It is fairer to compare Curry to Manu Ginóbili, who played for the Spurs, according to NBA.com. Ginóbili was a shooting guard that during his career became known as one of the greatest shooters ever. This comparison is fair because Curry and Ginóbili played similar positions.
However, comparing how many turnovers Curry had to Ginóbili is not fair because Ginóbili was not the primary ball carrier during his time on the Spurs.
For the best comparison of two or more players, one must choose players in the same position and during the same time period. The comparison between Jordan and James has been happening ever since James entered the NBA, however, the comparison is not a fair one.
Jordan was primarily a shooter, even though he could play both the shooting guard and small forward positions, according to Basketball-Reference. James, even though a shooter and a small forward, plays in a different time period then Jordan.
During Jordan’s days, the 3-point shot was fairly new and was not used as much as it is today. The game was played inside out, with a focus on the inside game. Teams did not want or need a 3-point shooter, they needed a big man inside.
Curry will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history, but that is because of how the game has changed. The NBA no longer has great big men inside defending the hoop, because the game is now played outside in, with a focus on the 3-point shot.
Comparing players of this time to a time in the past is difficult because of how much the game has changed. Comparing players of different positions is also difficult because of how those positions are played. Comparing Kyrie Irving to Curry would be a great comparison because they play the same position and have played during the same period of time.
