NBA: Is Stephen Curry The Best Point Guard In The League?

Stephens Curry is having a superb start to the season, but is he the best point guard in the NBA right now?

Stephen Curry. His game is smoother than jazz music, and he’s more effortless shooting a basketball than Dwight Howard dunking on a five-foot hoop. His plethora of skills make your jaw drop. Or, if you’re like me, makes you want to pick up a basketball and practice so you can at least pretend that you can shoot like Stephen Curry.

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Not only as a scorer, but as an elite passer and highly underrated defender, Curry has led his Golden State Warriors to a 14-2 record in the early days of the 2014 NBA season. Can we start discussing whether he’s the best point guard in the NBA? It’s about time we did.

In recent years the discussion of the top-five point guards in the NBA has always been a heated one, with seemingly too many star players to fit in the conversation. In most cases though, Chris Paul has come out on top, which is indicated by the simple fact that he’s been in the All-NBA 1st team for the last three years.

November 13, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the basketball against Brooklyn Nets center

Mason Plumlee

(1) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Nets 107-99. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not just last year that Curry emerged as one of the NBA’s top players, though. In the 2012-13 season, he saw an increase in playing time (from 28 minutes the previous year to 38) and averaged 22.9 points and 6.9 assists. He shot 45 percent from three-point range and made 90 percent of his free throws, led his team to more than twice as many wins as the previous season (23 to 47) and still didn’t make the NBA All-Star game. Talk about disrespectful, as Stephen A. Smith of First Take would say.

Now back to the general consensus of the best point guard in the NBA, Chris Paul.

Paul has been the only point guard to make the All-NBA First Team lineup in each of the last three seasons. In fact, the only point guard featured in the All-NBA First team in the last seven years, other than Derrick Rose in his MVP season of 2011, is Chris Paul. That pretty much sums up Paul’s status atop the competition of elite point guards, and for good reason.

Nov 29, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) dribbles the ball around Utah Jazz guard

Trey Burke

(3) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

He’s one of the most efficient floor generals the NBA has seen, an exceptional ball handler, top scorer, and one of the best perimeter defenders in recent decades (which is shown by the fact he’s led the league leader in steals per game in six of the last seven seasons).

When it comes to scoring though, it’s undeniable that Curry is superior. Paul’s career high season scoring average is 22.8 points per game, a total he achieved in 2009 and he’s never averaged over the 20 point mark since. Curry, on the other hand, has averaged more points per game than Paul’s career high in each of the last three seasons (including the current season).

Curry is easily the best player on this very strong Warriors team, and he’s been the key to them earning the NBA’s best record. And just to put a bit more emphasis on how good they are right now; they’re currently riding a 10 game winning streak and have the best point differential in the league, of 10.0.

Nov 25, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives to the basket as Miami Heat guard

Shabazz Napier

(13) defends the play during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We don’t always think of the Warriors as an elite defensive team because the first thought that usually comes to mind is the Splash Brothers, and all their three-pointers. Last year, they ranked 4th in defense (points allowed per 100 possessions), and this year they average a league best 6.4 blocks per game and rank 5th in total rebounding.

Despite the talent throughout their squad, they are a far better team when Stephen Curry is on the floor.

There’s one statistic needed to back up this fact: the Warriors Net Rating is -9.5 when Curry is on the bench, but when he’s on the court it rockets all the way to +21.3. That margin alone explains how good this guy is.

Now back to the comparison with Chris Paul.

November 5, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the basketball against Los Angeles Clippers center

DeAndre Jordan

(6) during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Clippers 121-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Curry does certainly look a little like a shooting guard at times because of the way he can score and how good he is at playing off-ball, but he can run an offense with the best of them. It’s not just his ability to score, but it’s the ease at which he can set up teammates that puts him at the highest level of NBA stardom. Unlike Paul, who’s armed with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, Curry doesn’t have two athletic freaks near 7-feet tall on his team, so he can throw the ball a foot above the hoop to get an easy alley-oop and a quick assist on his stat line.

Instead, Curry is one of the best at penetrating inside before dishing the ball out to a teammate for an open jump shot. His insane handles allow him to draw double-teams with ease due to defenses having to respect his ability to finish around the basket with a finger-roll or floater, meaning he constantly creates opportunities for his teammates to score.

Paul may still be holding onto his reputation as the All-NBA First Team point guard, but if you gave Curry a couple of athletic weapons to play with, like Blake and Jordan, I’m sure he could create a couple more assists per game to put himself on Paul’s level.

Finally, a quick breakdown of their performance this season. Curry’s playing time has actually decreased from a year ago, and he’s now averaging a moderate 32 minutes per game. So, to make a totally fair comparison, we’ll look at their averages per 36 minutes to see what they’re capable of in an equal amount of time.

[table id=18 /]

October 29, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the basketball against Sacramento Kings center

DeMarcus Cousins

(15, left), forward

Jason Thompson

(34), and forward

Rudy Gay

(8) during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Sorry for all the numbers. Although the fact that Curry wins 4 out of 8 categories, is tied for steals per game and continues to improve defensively, and dominates in total scoring by eight points may be a surprise to some people (Curry wins the three-point category because he makes nearly twice as many per game, even if he’s a measly 1 percent less accurate at the moment).

Despite all this, I can’t quite call Stephen Curry the best point guard in the NBA yet. If he continues at the level he’s at now, and the Warriors finish multiple spots higher than the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference like they’re on pace to do, then it’s time to call Curry the best in the game. Paul is still just a little more poised and in total control all the time in terms of keeping possession, locking down his man on defense, and distributing the ball.

However, Paul hasn’t quite been vintage CP3 this season and it shows in the Clippers somewhat disappointing 11-5 record.

Curry has more 30 point, 15 assist games in the last year than the entire league combined, which neatly sums up how much he contributes to an offense.

Paul may be ahead right now because he’s been doing it for longer, but if Curry watches his turnovers and continues to prove himself as a top perimeter defender then he can finish the year as the best point guard in the NBA.

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