Bill Simmons lists who Steph passed to vault into his top 10 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Steph Curry didn’t need another championship or an NBA Finals MVP award to cement his legacy.
The Warriors superstar already was an all-time player who had been a three-time champion, two-time MVP and one of the greatest players in NBA history.
But this fourth championship — one without Kevin Durant and one where he averaged 31.2 points per game for his first Finals MVP — took him into an even higher stratosphere.
Curry put the final stamp with a 34-point masterpiece in Game 6 on Thursday night at TD Garden, ending the Finals in six games with a 103-90 victory over the Boston Celtics.
So after this transcendent Finals run, where does he rank all time?
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, who has created his own “Pantheon” of best players in NBA history, now vaults Curry into the top ten — passing a number of legends along the way.
“He was 16. Last year I put him in,” Simmons said to guest Joe House about where Curry ranked before this on his Pantheon. “I think he’s in the top 10 for me now.”
Of course, in order to vault up into the top 10, you have to pass some iconic NBA legends.
Simmons lists Moses Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West … and Kevin Durant as the six players Steph has surpassed in his mind.
“Durant never did this. You can’t put Durant ahead of Curry – Durant never was decidedly the best player on a team that was built around him,” Simmons said.
“He had the chance in 2016 and didn’t deliver. He had the chance in 2021 and this year, and didn’t deliver.”
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Simmons claims the next debate is between Curry and Kobe Bryant, who he lists at No. 9 – one spot ahead of Steph.
“I think that is now a legitimate argument,” Simmons says.
Even though Simmons says he personally prefers everything Curry brings to the table over the late great Lakers star, he still puts Kobe ahead because he’s got one more championship ring.
“Kobe … back-to-back Finals MVP, he won five titles. Steph’s got four. But now Kobe’s in play – he could pass Kobe with one more [championship].”
Curry quieted all of his haters who unfairly tried to diminish any of his accomplishments with this latest championship run. But now, the debate will rage on forever about just how high he can keep reaching.
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