Curry or Paul

[Fan from VT]

It's a good question that I wanted to think about, mainly because I have always been a huge Chris Paul supporter. Generally, I never thought there was a Chris Paul/Deron Williams debate, and I thought Paul's best PG seasons were better than Nash's MVP seasons. Additionally, I haven't bought into the playoff arguments agains Paul, because I think team success is too attributed to individuals in the NBA, and quality of teammates is not taken into enough consideration when assessing overall team success or failure in terms of wins or losses.

However, I would take Curry.

I decided to look at 5 year "peaks." for Curry, it's pretty obvious; he made a leap in his 5th year (PER jumped from 21 to 24, hasn't looked back), and the next 5 year span brings him through the current season.

For Paul, I looked at 2 peaks (it is remarkable how long and good a career he has had). The first was a consecutive 5 year stretch from his 3rd-7th seasons (PER jumped from 22 in yr 2 to 28 in yr 3), but also just took his 5 best PER seasons (07, 08, 11, 12, 15) and called that another "Prime" or "Peak."


Obviously, edge to Paul for defense. He has been great on that end. Curry fits into their scheme well, but obvious advantage for Paul there.

When I use stats below, for Curry there is 1 option, for Paul, the first option is his consecutive 5 year stretch from 07-11, and the second number is his 5 best seasons by PER.

On offense, it is clearly Curry.

Edge in Games Played for Curry (73.4 vs 68.6 or 72.4 for Paul).
MPG goes to Paul (37.26 or 35.76 vs 33.86)
Curry shoots more (18.06 vs 14.58/14.93 field goal attempts per game)
and Curry also shoots better (.54/.43/.90 splits vs either .51/.38/.86 or .52/.36/.87).
Paul does get to the line a little more (5.22/5.16 FTA's per game vs 4.77).
But when it all comes out, Curry has a fairly significant Points per field goal attempt advantage of 1.43 vs 1.35 (Paul's is the same for both "peaks").

They rebound about the same (4.33/4.25 for paul vs 4.68 for Curry).

Steals favor Paul.

Then big advantage for Paul in assists and turnovers.
Paul racks up 10.47/10.35 APG vs 7.2 for Curry, yet Paul only commits 2.46/2.51 turnovers per game vs 3.26 for Curry. Pauls assist vs TO greatness is pretty incredible.


So overall, I tend to think that scoring on Curry's level is more "elite" than CP3's overall PG game. Additionally, I can't imagine a team that Curry couldn't fit seamlessly onto and make better, whereas there are a couple of imagineable scenarios with Paul (though his success with Harden this year puts some of that to rest). So, I think Curry is currently better, and I think Curry's peak is slightly better than Paul's. However, I think it is sad that Paul will probably end up being underrated in the long run, and it's too bad he never really had a team that could put it all together around him; given just slightly different circumstances, I think he would have a couple titles.

[slamtheking]

right now, I'd say Curry.

over the course of their careers, CP3.  Skillswise - CP3 -->  Curry's the better shooter but CP3 is a better passer, defender and ballhandler.

[Ilikesports17]

Paul is doing better in this poll than I expected to be honest.

[Monkhouse]

It's a good question that I wanted to think about, mainly because I have always been a huge Chris Paul supporter. Generally, I never thought there was a Chris Paul/Deron Williams debate, and I thought Paul's best PG seasons were better than Nash's MVP seasons. Additionally, I haven't bought into the playoff arguments agains Paul, because I think team success is too attributed to individuals in the NBA, and quality of teammates is not taken into enough consideration when assessing overall team success or failure in terms of wins or losses.

However, I would take Curry.

I decided to look at 5 year "peaks." for Curry, it's pretty obvious; he made a leap in his 5th year (PER jumped from 21 to 24, hasn't looked back), and the next 5 year span brings him through the current season.

For Paul, I looked at 2 peaks (it is remarkable how long and good a career he has had). The first was a consecutive 5 year stretch from his 3rd-7th seasons (PER jumped from 22 in yr 2 to 28 in yr 3), but also just took his 5 best PER seasons (07, 08, 11, 12, 15) and called that another "Prime" or "Peak."


Obviously, edge to Paul for defense. He has been great on that end. Curry fits into their scheme well, but obvious advantage for Paul there.

When I use stats below, for Curry there is 1 option, for Paul, the first option is his consecutive 5 year stretch from 07-11, and the second number is his 5 best seasons by PER.

On offense, it is clearly Curry.

Edge in Games Played for Curry (73.4 vs 68.6 or 72.4 for Paul).
MPG goes to Paul (37.26 or 35.76 vs 33.86)
Curry shoots more (18.06 vs 14.58/14.93 field goal attempts per game)
and Curry also shoots better (.54/.43/.90 splits vs either .51/.38/.86 or .52/.36/.87).
Paul does get to the line a little more (5.22/5.16 FTA's per game vs 4.77).
But when it all comes out, Curry has a fairly significant Points per field goal attempt advantage of 1.43 vs 1.35 (Paul's is the same for both "peaks").

They rebound about the same (4.33/4.25 for paul vs 4.68 for Curry).

Steals favor Paul.

Then big advantage for Paul in assists and turnovers.
Paul racks up 10.47/10.35 APG vs 7.2 for Curry, yet Paul only commits 2.46/2.51 turnovers per game vs 3.26 for Curry. Pauls assist vs TO greatness is pretty incredible.


So overall, I tend to think that scoring on Curry's level is more "elite" than CP3's overall PG game. Additionally, I can't imagine a team that Curry couldn't fit seamlessly onto and make better, whereas there are a couple of imagineable scenarios with Paul (though his success with Harden this year puts some of that to rest). So, I think Curry is currently better, and I think Curry's peak is slightly better than Paul's. However, I think it is sad that Paul will probably end up being underrated in the long run, and it's too bad he never really had a team that could put it all together around him; given just slightly different circumstances, I think he would have a couple titles.

I see Curry as more of a SG/PG combo guard. I see CP3 as the original, 'Point God,' and if not for Curry, would probably end up as the greatest PG of all time.

TP for the hard work/stats.

[Fafnir]

The fact that Paul's numbers are right there with Curry's MVP years during similar age seasons just shows how crazy good CP3 has been.

He'll likely end up one of the more underrated players eventually since he didn't win any MVPs and might not win a title as one of a team's best players.

[CelticSince83]

Chris Paul led the NBA in Real-Plus-Minus this year.  He also had a better On-Off split than the guy he shared the backcourt with this year (in what seems like an MVP season for Harden).  Pretty crazy stuff.  Gun to my head I take Curry right now, but that's a 33 year old CP vs. a 30 year old Curry. 

[gouki88]

It's a good question that I wanted to think about, mainly because I have always been a huge Chris Paul supporter. Generally, I never thought there was a Chris Paul/Deron Williams debate, and I thought Paul's best PG seasons were better than Nash's MVP seasons. Additionally, I haven't bought into the playoff arguments agains Paul, because I think team success is too attributed to individuals in the NBA, and quality of teammates is not taken into enough consideration when assessing overall team success or failure in terms of wins or losses.

However, I would take Curry.

I decided to look at 5 year "peaks." for Curry, it's pretty obvious; he made a leap in his 5th year (PER jumped from 21 to 24, hasn't looked back), and the next 5 year span brings him through the current season.

For Paul, I looked at 2 peaks (it is remarkable how long and good a career he has had). The first was a consecutive 5 year stretch from his 3rd-7th seasons (PER jumped from 22 in yr 2 to 28 in yr 3), but also just took his 5 best PER seasons (07, 08, 11, 12, 15) and called that another "Prime" or "Peak."


Obviously, edge to Paul for defense. He has been great on that end. Curry fits into their scheme well, but obvious advantage for Paul there.

When I use stats below, for Curry there is 1 option, for Paul, the first option is his consecutive 5 year stretch from 07-11, and the second number is his 5 best seasons by PER.

On offense, it is clearly Curry.

Edge in Games Played for Curry (73.4 vs 68.6 or 72.4 for Paul).
MPG goes to Paul (37.26 or 35.76 vs 33.86)
Curry shoots more (18.06 vs 14.58/14.93 field goal attempts per game)
and Curry also shoots better (.54/.43/.90 splits vs either .51/.38/.86 or .52/.36/.87).
Paul does get to the line a little more (5.22/5.16 FTA's per game vs 4.77).
But when it all comes out, Curry has a fairly significant Points per field goal attempt advantage of 1.43 vs 1.35 (Paul's is the same for both "peaks").

They rebound about the same (4.33/4.25 for paul vs 4.68 for Curry).

Steals favor Paul.

Then big advantage for Paul in assists and turnovers.
Paul racks up 10.47/10.35 APG vs 7.2 for Curry, yet Paul only commits 2.46/2.51 turnovers per game vs 3.26 for Curry. Pauls assist vs TO greatness is pretty incredible.


So overall, I tend to think that scoring on Curry's level is more "elite" than CP3's overall PG game. Additionally, I can't imagine a team that Curry couldn't fit seamlessly onto and make better, whereas there are a couple of imagineable scenarios with Paul (though his success with Harden this year puts some of that to rest). So, I think Curry is currently better, and I think Curry's peak is slightly better than Paul's. However, I think it is sad that Paul will probably end up being underrated in the long run, and it's too bad he never really had a team that could put it all together around him; given just slightly different circumstances, I think he would have a couple titles.

I see Curry as more of a SG/PG combo guard. I see CP3 as the original, 'Point God,' and if not for Curry, would probably end up as the greatest PG of all time.

TP for the hard work/stats.

Lol, what? Greatest PG of all time? Seriously?? That’s nuts

[Monkhouse]

It's a good question that I wanted to think about, mainly because I have always been a huge Chris Paul supporter. Generally, I never thought there was a Chris Paul/Deron Williams debate, and I thought Paul's best PG seasons were better than Nash's MVP seasons. Additionally, I haven't bought into the playoff arguments agains Paul, because I think team success is too attributed to individuals in the NBA, and quality of teammates is not taken into enough consideration when assessing overall team success or failure in terms of wins or losses.

However, I would take Curry.

I decided to look at 5 year "peaks." for Curry, it's pretty obvious; he made a leap in his 5th year (PER jumped from 21 to 24, hasn't looked back), and the next 5 year span brings him through the current season.

For Paul, I looked at 2 peaks (it is remarkable how long and good a career he has had). The first was a consecutive 5 year stretch from his 3rd-7th seasons (PER jumped from 22 in yr 2 to 28 in yr 3), but also just took his 5 best PER seasons (07, 08, 11, 12, 15) and called that another "Prime" or "Peak."


Obviously, edge to Paul for defense. He has been great on that end. Curry fits into their scheme well, but obvious advantage for Paul there.

When I use stats below, for Curry there is 1 option, for Paul, the first option is his consecutive 5 year stretch from 07-11, and the second number is his 5 best seasons by PER.

On offense, it is clearly Curry.

Edge in Games Played for Curry (73.4 vs 68.6 or 72.4 for Paul).
MPG goes to Paul (37.26 or 35.76 vs 33.86)
Curry shoots more (18.06 vs 14.58/14.93 field goal attempts per game)
and Curry also shoots better (.54/.43/.90 splits vs either .51/.38/.86 or .52/.36/.87).
Paul does get to the line a little more (5.22/5.16 FTA's per game vs 4.77).
But when it all comes out, Curry has a fairly significant Points per field goal attempt advantage of 1.43 vs 1.35 (Paul's is the same for both "peaks").

They rebound about the same (4.33/4.25 for paul vs 4.68 for Curry).

Steals favor Paul.

Then big advantage for Paul in assists and turnovers.
Paul racks up 10.47/10.35 APG vs 7.2 for Curry, yet Paul only commits 2.46/2.51 turnovers per game vs 3.26 for Curry. Pauls assist vs TO greatness is pretty incredible.


So overall, I tend to think that scoring on Curry's level is more "elite" than CP3's overall PG game. Additionally, I can't imagine a team that Curry couldn't fit seamlessly onto and make better, whereas there are a couple of imagineable scenarios with Paul (though his success with Harden this year puts some of that to rest). So, I think Curry is currently better, and I think Curry's peak is slightly better than Paul's. However, I think it is sad that Paul will probably end up being underrated in the long run, and it's too bad he never really had a team that could put it all together around him; given just slightly different circumstances, I think he would have a couple titles.

I see Curry as more of a SG/PG combo guard. I see CP3 as the original, 'Point God,' and if not for Curry, would probably end up as the greatest PG of all time.

TP for the hard work/stats.

Lol, what? Greatest PG of all time? Seriously?? That’s nuts

Hard typing on a phone lol. It didn't type or register my 'one.'

I put CP3 in my top 7 for sure. Although I think John Stockton has always been criminally underrated. Jerry West and Steph Curry are both players that are interchangeable. West has been ranked as  PG, but I consider the both of them as SG honestly.

[gouki88]

It's a good question that I wanted to think about, mainly because I have always been a huge Chris Paul supporter. Generally, I never thought there was a Chris Paul/Deron Williams debate, and I thought Paul's best PG seasons were better than Nash's MVP seasons. Additionally, I haven't bought into the playoff arguments agains Paul, because I think team success is too attributed to individuals in the NBA, and quality of teammates is not taken into enough consideration when assessing overall team success or failure in terms of wins or losses.

However, I would take Curry.

I decided to look at 5 year "peaks." for Curry, it's pretty obvious; he made a leap in his 5th year (PER jumped from 21 to 24, hasn't looked back), and the next 5 year span brings him through the current season.

For Paul, I looked at 2 peaks (it is remarkable how long and good a career he has had). The first was a consecutive 5 year stretch from his 3rd-7th seasons (PER jumped from 22 in yr 2 to 28 in yr 3), but also just took his 5 best PER seasons (07, 08, 11, 12, 15) and called that another "Prime" or "Peak."


Obviously, edge to Paul for defense. He has been great on that end. Curry fits into their scheme well, but obvious advantage for Paul there.

When I use stats below, for Curry there is 1 option, for Paul, the first option is his consecutive 5 year stretch from 07-11, and the second number is his 5 best seasons by PER.

On offense, it is clearly Curry.

Edge in Games Played for Curry (73.4 vs 68.6 or 72.4 for Paul).
MPG goes to Paul (37.26 or 35.76 vs 33.86)
Curry shoots more (18.06 vs 14.58/14.93 field goal attempts per game)
and Curry also shoots better (.54/.43/.90 splits vs either .51/.38/.86 or .52/.36/.87).
Paul does get to the line a little more (5.22/5.16 FTA's per game vs 4.77).
But when it all comes out, Curry has a fairly significant Points per field goal attempt advantage of 1.43 vs 1.35 (Paul's is the same for both "peaks").

They rebound about the same (4.33/4.25 for paul vs 4.68 for Curry).

Steals favor Paul.

Then big advantage for Paul in assists and turnovers.
Paul racks up 10.47/10.35 APG vs 7.2 for Curry, yet Paul only commits 2.46/2.51 turnovers per game vs 3.26 for Curry. Pauls assist vs TO greatness is pretty incredible.


So overall, I tend to think that scoring on Curry's level is more "elite" than CP3's overall PG game. Additionally, I can't imagine a team that Curry couldn't fit seamlessly onto and make better, whereas there are a couple of imagineable scenarios with Paul (though his success with Harden this year puts some of that to rest). So, I think Curry is currently better, and I think Curry's peak is slightly better than Paul's. However, I think it is sad that Paul will probably end up being underrated in the long run, and it's too bad he never really had a team that could put it all together around him; given just slightly different circumstances, I think he would have a couple titles.

I see Curry as more of a SG/PG combo guard. I see CP3 as the original, 'Point God,' and if not for Curry, would probably end up as the greatest PG of all time.

TP for the hard work/stats.

Lol, what? Greatest PG of all time? Seriously?? That’s nuts

Hard typing on a phone lol. It didn't type or register my 'one.'

I put CP3 in my top 7 for sure. Although I think John Stockton has always been criminally underrated. Jerry West and Steph Curry are both players that are interchangeable. West has been ranked as  PG, but I consider the both of them as SG honestly.

Ahhh, gotcha. I know the perils of using this site on mobile all too well.

Agree about Stockton being underrated. His longevity, playmaking and defence was amazing. Him and Malone were so much fun, even though they had only really Hornacek (and maybe Byron Russell) as a supporting cast. I remember freakin Ostertag starting a year and they still won 64 games

[Tr1boy]

Chris Paul led the NBA in Real-Plus-Minus this year.  He also had a better On-Off split than the guy he shared the backcourt with this year (in what seems like an MVP season for Harden).  Pretty crazy stuff. 

Its funny how many choose Curry (gun to their head) yet most of the stats +  all around best +  the guy you would want to bring up the ball and take the last shot  all favour Paul

[gouki88]

Chris Paul led the NBA in Real-Plus-Minus this year.  He also had a better On-Off split than the guy he shared the backcourt with this year (in what seems like an MVP season for Harden).  Pretty crazy stuff. 

Its funny how many choose Curry (gun to their head) yet most of the stats +  all around best +  the guy you would want to bring up the ball and take the last shot  all favour Paul

You’re just making things up now

[rondofan1255]

Curry's better IMO

this is a bit like the Wall vs. Irving debate though where either player has a case

[Ilikesports17]

Chris Paul led the NBA in Real-Plus-Minus this year.  He also had a better On-Off split than the guy he shared the backcourt with this year (in what seems like an MVP season for Harden).  Pretty crazy stuff. 

Its funny how many choose Curry (gun to their head) yet most of the stats +  all around best +  the guy you would want to bring up the ball and take the last shot  all favour Paul

I think Steph is better in all 3 of those categories ****

Edit: laughing my but off

[gouki88]

Chris Paul led the NBA in Real-Plus-Minus this year.  He also had a better On-Off split than the guy he shared the backcourt with this year (in what seems like an MVP season for Harden).  Pretty crazy stuff. 

Its funny how many choose Curry (gun to their head) yet most of the stats +  all around best +  the guy you would want to bring up the ball and take the last shot  all favour Paul

I think Steph is better in all 3 of those categories ****

Edit: laughing my but off

As do 80% of voters seemingly

[KGs Knee]

Curry is the better player currently, but I'd take prime CP3 over prime Curry.

Paul could have easily scored as much as Curry had he wanted to, but he was always a more complete and cerebral player.  Curry was just blessed with better teammates and an optimal system to complement his talents.