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Steph Curry or Magic Johnson: Which NBA Point Guard Great Would You Take?

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We here at The Crossover at SI were asked to select our all-time NBA starting lineups and four of the six of us surveyed had Steph Curry starting at point guard.

So that begs the question, if you're picking an all-time five, who's your point guard? Is it Steph? Or is it Magic Johnson? I asked our Ben Pickman and "The Fantasy Exec" Corey Parson for their takes.

Pickman for Magic: I took Magic for his superior playmaking and his ability to push the basketball in transition. In my all-time starting five, I'm looking to build an incredibly exciting team that gets up and down the floor and I wanted someone who was selfless and could make other people better at the point guard position. Stephen Curry does some of that but I thought Magic's electrifying and beautiful passing would bring to life LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and some of the other components of my all-time team. Now, one of the critiques of my personal team is that I don't have enough shooting. And so to be fair, I do have Steph Curry coming off the bench. But I'll take Magic Johnson, the person who led the league in assists four times and made nine first team All NBA appearances to be my starting point guard.

Parson for Magic: I'm a big fan of Magic Johnson. He's definitely one of the cultural icons of the game of basketball. But LeBron James does a lot of what he did. What Magic couldn't do is score the basketball the way Steph Curry can. Now we can get to the accolades. Curry is a three time champion and I don't think that run is completely over yet. He has two MVPs, including a unanimous one. But really, he revolutionized the game. And he's kind of culturally iconic also. Kids who used to be want to be like Mike and Magic, now they want to be Steph. So I think Steph Curry would be my point guard. He's going to have the three point record and he's going to be up there in scoring. I love Magic Johnson and Steph is not the passer he was, but he has a unique skill set that can win basketball games and championships. And we've seen him do that.

Verdict: Magic Johnson is still greater. But there's at least an argument Steph Curry is better. And there's certainly an argument that Curry is a better fit alongside the all-time greats, especially if any starting lineup also features LeBron James, who brings much of what Magic did to the table. I simply couldn't leave Curry off my all-time five because he can play on the ball or off and unlocks so much for everyone else with his shooting.