#2: Isiah Thomas vs. Steph Curry
Thomas: Prime from 1981/82-1993/94 (his entire career!), 19.2 PPG, 9.3 APG, 45.2 FG%, 29.0 3P%, 1 absurd snub from the Dream Team, 1 all-time great middle name (Lord), and 1 of the worst GM stints in the history of basketball with the NY Knicks.
Curry: Prime 2012/13-2014/15, 23.6 PPG, 7.7 APG, 46.9 FG%, and 43.0 3P%.
Let’s make something clear, if this were a ranking of the best all around point guards, Isiah and Curry wouldn’t be in the same class (yet); Isiah might be the greatest pure point guard of all-time. Isiah pulled the best out of a cast of characters one would expect to find in a television show, not a basketball team: guys like Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, and Rodman. Yet, offensively Isiah was consistently committed to a shot he wasn’t good at, the 3-pointer. Shooting a ghastly 29% from behind the arc, Isiah’s offensive game could be game-planned for. By no means does predictability define one’s skill, but when you’re being compared to perhaps the greatest shooter in the NBA’s history who can also get to the basket at one of the highest rates in the league, predictability matters.