Stephen Curry vs. Allen Iverson: Who is Harder to Guard in Their Prime? Golden State Warriors & Philadelphia 76ers Point Guards Stat Comparison
Stephen Curry proved in the past two NBA seasons that he is among the few point guards in the league's history who has the knack for being elusive. However, before the 28-year-old star player of the Golden State Warriors became a household name for his moves and scoring ability, Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, former Philadelphia 76ers star awed the NBA community with the same set of basketball talents.
Curry vs. Iverson
The comparison between the two point guards started when Curry rose to fame two years ago. On Monday, the issue sparked again when ESPN's "SportsNation" conducted an online poll, asking viewers to pick who among Curry and Iverson is tougher to guard in their prime.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
As of press time, Iverson leads the online poll with more than 19,000 votes or 68 percent of the total number of votes. Curry, on the other hand, lagged with more than 9,000 votes.
Is Iverson Really Harder to Guard Than Curry?
John Smallwood, veteran columnist of The Inquirer Daily News, wrote that he participated on the poll and immediately picked Iverson over Curry without any second thought. He shared that covering Iverson up close in the past made him decide that the Hall of Famer is definitely tougher to guard than the reigning MVP.
Smallwood stated that there no doubt that Curry is the ultimate shot-maker and in just 495 games, the NBA star already secured the 19th ranking in the league's all-time list for three-pointers. He, however, added that Curry does not possess Iverson's physical stamina to take contact, making him to be worn down during incessant physical defense.
The columnist also stressed that Iverson was never surrounded by the type of supporting cast that Curry has. He opined that Klay Thompson and Draymond Green supplemented Curry's impressive records in the past seasons.
Stat Comparison
In terms of statistics, if Curry will stay healthy in the upcoming seasons, there is a big possibility that he can topple Iverson's records. Per ESPN, the NBA star won the NBA MVP awards in the past two seasons and achieved his all-time high average of 30.1 points per game last season. He already averaged 22.4 points, 6.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds in his seven-year NBA career.
On the other hand, Iverson only won the NBA MVP award once in 2001. He averaged 26.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds in his 14 years in the league. He recorded his most impressive record in 2006, averaging 33 points, 7.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 72 games.
