Dahntay Jones, who spent most of the last season on the Cleveland Cavaliers bench, doesn’t think Stephen Curry is a top-10 player in the NBA.
It’s Monday, and we’ve already had two interesting takes. First, Penny Hardaway said Kawhi Leonard wasn’t a superstar. Now, we have Dahntay Jones saying Stephen Curry isn’t one of the NBA’s 10 best players.
“People get mad at me because I don’t declare [Curry] a top-10 player in the NBA which is fine,” said Jones on the Mickstape Show. “I’ve got him on the outside — like 11, 12.”
I don’t know if Jones is trying to troll us or if he believes what he’s saying. He went ahead and said that LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant are the NBA’s three-best, which is spot on. The consensus is that, in any particular order, those three gentlemen belong above everyone else. (Jones then listed John Wall, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Chris Paul, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis ahead of Steph.)
Me, I have Curry fourth overall. I have a hard time naming more than three players that are better than him — let alone 10. Of course, guys like Harden and Westbrook are going to enter the debate.
If we’re talking numbers, yes, Westbrook and Harden produce more volume. However, their usage rates are astronomical. Having the ball so often allows them to stuff the stat sheet, and the Rockets and Thunder need them to make plays.
I’ll save the Westbrook-Curry-Harden debate for another time. Let me be clear, though — the gap between Curry and everyone isn’t that wide, but Steph is still ahead regardless.
Looking at this from another perspective, it makes all the sense in the world for Jones to take a dig at Curry. The Cavs and Warriors have a rivalry, and Jones is just looking to stir the pot, and pettiness between the two organizations is one of the more enjoyable parts of the offseason.
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