Michael Jordan has entered the chat.
Earlier this week, Steph Curry reignited the debate about who’s the “best point guard of all time” by declaring on Gilbert Arenas’ ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast that he should be ranked ahead of Magic Johnson.
Basketball fans love a good GOAT debate and that includes MJ.
On Wednesday morning’s edition of ESPN First Take, Stephen A. Smith said that Jordan texted him before 6 a.m. with a lengthy opinion about Magic and Curry. Here’s the full text, via Stephen A.:
“Good morning, sir. Although greatest of anything is always a debate, I beg to differ on greatest point guard of all-time and what you said.
Magic Johnson is easily the best point guard of all-time. Steph Curry is very close but not in front of Magic. You must define point guard to really have a serious debate. Steph Curry is by far the best shooter of all time.
Yes, his movement has created many shots for his teammates, he’s a career 43 percent 3-point shooter, but Magic Johnson invented the triple-double. Not true invented, but makes it more noticeable in terms of the impact on the game. It’s a point guard stat to be honest. Magic is the best.
We could go on, but I don’t wanna take up too much of your time. I know you get the point. By the way, Magic has five NBA championships.”
At this point it’s probably a semantics argument.
There’s a strong argument to be made about Curry being a combo guard, as he often plays off the ball as a shooter. Steph starts in the backcourt with Klay Thompson, who is a no-doubt shooting guard, but the Warriors’ offense is unique in that Draymond Green can play a point forward role and let Curry wear down the defense with his off-ball movement.
In terms of pure passing ability, Magic (11.2 assists per game) is on another level compared to Steph (6.5 assists per game). Magic also had 138 career triple-doubles, third all-time, compared to Steph’s 13.
What’s undeniable is that both players changed the game. Magic re-imagined the point guard position with 6-foot-9 frame while Curry shifted an entire generation towards the 3-point line.
As Curry said on the podcast, all this healthy debate is the fun part of sports. One thing he has going in his favor? Steph is 35, about to enter Year 15 and he still has plenty in the tank. He told Arenas that he’d like to play out the next three years of his contract and see how he feels in 2027.
With another ring or two, Steph could change the conversation for doubters like Jordan. Let’s check back in when Curry hangs ‘em up.
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