A few days ago the 2015 ESPY Awards were held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and featured the best of the best in terms of physical perfection and talent. Among the winners were Ronda Rousey and Stephen Curry who tied for most awards with two apiece. Rousey, a 28-year-old mixed martial artist with a somewhat scary demeanor, even called out recent welterweight ‘Fight of the Century’ champion Floyd Mayweather, causing critics to go so far as to consider what could happen in a bout between the two. Steph Curry, a (now) widely known professional basketball player, beat out another NBA player, LeBron James, for best all-around male athlete. This has caused somewhat of a stir throughout the media sphere, due to the fact that LeBron is arguably better in terms of overall statistics and average gameplay. We will attempt to resolve why Curry beat out the ‘King,’ when perhaps he should not have.
Let us examine in depth both personal year-by-year statistics, as well as other contributing variables for both players.
Without a shred of doubt, LeBron James is the single greatest athlete of the 21st century thus far. Unlike Michael Jordan, though, James seems to catch a great deal of flak from many basketball fans, purely because he is so good. Here are some stats you can whip out and put all the haters in their places. With just under 25,000 career points averaging out to roughly 2100 per season, and both Cavaliers and Heat combined franchise career high(s) of 36 triple doubles, LeBron could be mistaken for a machine -- the basketball version of Michael Phelps if you will. Very few other players have gone to the NBA Championship Series for five consecutive years, and while he only took away two titles (which were back to back), he was also awarded MVP for both years as well. Standing at six feet eight inches while also possessing solid ball handling mechanics, the ability to drive in the paint, and to body just about anyone defending him, James can play basically any position he wants to. He is incredibly capable from beyond the arc when necessary, but is most lethal at around 20 feet. His bulk and height also allows him to hold his own against any center, even if they are taller than him.
Now let’s compare surrounding talent. While James dominated with the Cavs for the first seven years of his career, his teammates and bench were definitely sub-par. In the ’04-‘05 season and onward he played alongside Drew Gooden and Carlos Boozer, two fairly dominant power forwards, and that’s about as far as the talent spread. For nearly a decade he put the team on his back, and put a lowly Cleveland team back on the map. In 2007 he helped the Cavs win their first ever conference title which solidified his status as a playmaker and team leader. However, much to the dismay of Cleveland, he relocated to play in Miami in 2010 and left a hole in Cleveland’s offense that would not be filled until 2011 when Kyrie Irving was drafted. The city reacted in a way that was almost childish, with many of their fans cursing James’s name for abandoning them, despite all he did to help the franchise. And unlike many others who gave up prematurely at the end of the seasons before being traded, James gave it his all right down to the final minute of his final game.
While with the Heat, James did even better than the previous seven years, due to his newfound teammates. A disgusting number of superstars, including Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Mike Bibby, and later Shane Battier and Ray Allen, allowed LeBron to succeed far beyond what he could in Cleveland, going to the NBA Championship series for all four years he played for Miami. One of the most defining moments of LeBron’s career, and what I would consider to be one of the greatest displays of solid teamwork, was during the 2013 series against the San Antonio Spurs in game six of the championship. Trailing for almost the entire game, the Heat relied heavily on LeBron’s leadership and skill (and famously, the lack of his headband). King James went on a scoring rampage in the fourth quarter to bring Miami back into close quarters with the Spurs, and in the last few seconds, Chris Bosh recovered a crucial rebound and dished it out to legendary shooter Ray Allen who sent the game into overtime. A savage mastermind, LeBron saved the series for Miami and went on to win the championship in the next game.
Switching things up, let’s focus on recent superstar Steph Curry’s rise to fame and glory. Son of the retired Dell Curry, Steph was already noticed as a powerful shooter while playing college ball at Davidson. From day one of being a Golden State Warrior, he became known for his incredible dribbling and ball control skills at point guard, being able to drive through heavily guarded defenses and shoot using a flick of the wrist technique that has become one of his signature moves. Of course, since being drafted in 2009, and even before that, he has been known not just for his dribbling prowess, but his supreme, unmatched three-point shooting percentage. Even President Obama himself in an interview for TNT with Charles Barkley said he wholeheartedly believes Curry is the best shooter he’s ever seen. Similar to LeBron, his numbers speak for themselves. Over his six-season career, he has scored just under 9000 points, which is roughly 4217 less points than James had scored at the same point in his career. Now in terms of career three-point shot percentage, Curry has averaged .440 percent as opposed to James’ .342 percent. Some other comparable stats that James leads Curry in include rebounds and offensive rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers, and average points per game. Curry, on the other hand, leads James in steals and free throw percentages, and both have the same average number of assist per game.
When it comes down to it, James, overall, is a much more versatile player, with the ability to play multiple positions and pick up his teams slack when necessary. This past season was his first back with Cleveland -- ironic that he would return to the city that turned their backs on him as he was leaving. Not only is he a playmaker with this new Cavs team, but he also had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to assist him. And when both of them succumbed to season ending injuries, he still carried the team to the championship series, albeit losing to the Curry and the Warriors. Steph Curry alone is a brilliant playmaker, but with top-tier co-stars Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and yes, even Andrew Bogut, made winning the championship look easy. LeBron put up an excellent fight, leading both teams in points per game, assists per game, and total rebounds per game, absurd set of statistics for an entire series. He just could not keep up with Curry’s outside shooting.
The ESPY’s have been labeled a popularity contest by some websites and online journals, but the most controversial result was Curry beating out LeBron for best all-around male athlete. Could it be that Curry has been in the spotlight more than LeBron in recent months, or that it is because of the way the 2015 finals turned out? No one can say for certain, but the stats do not lie: LeBron did better overall in more areas of gameplay during this past season than Curry.
