Shaq Ranks Steph Curry Above Himself And Thinks He’s ‘In The Conversation’ For GOAT

The Golden State Warriors have been struggling to keep pace in the West playoff race this season, but picked up a huge win on Tuesday night by beating the East’s best team, the Celtics, in overtime on TNT.

Stephen Curry, who has been one of the few bright spots for the Warriors this season, was sensational down the stretch and in overtime, finishing the game with 33 points and six assists. Curry authored the dagger in the closing seconds of overtime, burying a ridiculous three over Derrick White to put Golden State up four and effectively put the game to bed.

Even in a down year for the Warriors that’s seen Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson struggle early (although Klay has been better of late) and Draymond Green dealing with an indefinite suspension, Curry has been tremendous and continues to sustain his level of greatness well into his 30s. That, along with his four rings, prompted Shaq to wonder on Inside the NBA why Steph isn’t “in the conversation” for more people in the never-ending GOAT debate.

Kenny Smith isn’t there yet, and asks Shaq if he ranks Steph above himself, to which Shaq takes no time to say he does. Shaq has long called Curry his favorite player in the NBA, and while Kenny thinks you can argue the point guard list between Steph and Magic Johnson, Shaq thinks he belongs in the overall conversation with LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

It’s an interesting conversation to have and, just generally, I like that Shaq wants to make sure we give Curry his appropriate due as a great player and not just as a shooter, because I think that gets lost sometimes in the discussion of Steph. The difficulty with putting him in the GOAT discussion is the resume of his contemporary, LeBron, features so much and he’s had so much longevity on top of the lofty peaks. That said, you can absolutely argue that Curry has had the biggest impact on how the game is played of anyone since Jordan, which certainly should be brought up when talking about the importance he’s had on the game.

While I doubt Shaq will get too many people on his side that don’t reside in the Bay Area, Curry isn’t done writing his story and as he continues adding records, accolades, and (if the Warriors can get it together again) possible championships, Shaq might want to circle back on this convo.