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There's no debate that LeBron James of the LA Lakers is a better basketball player than Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. However, Bill Simmons of the The Ringer believes that James does not have the same impact on basketball as Curry had.
In the most recent episode of his podcast on The Ringer, Simmons discussed with Seerat Sohi the legacy of both LeBron and Steph. The longtime sports analyst mentioned that James is better than Curry, but the Golden State Warriors superstar changed the game and that is what's missing from "The King."
"If you're just talking about career and when we start adding things up, Curry's impact on basketball and being at the forefront of just changing how it's played, right? Literally changing how the sport was played and how young people play it. And how he resonates with young people. It's the one thing LeBron doesn't have," Simmons said.
However, Simmons still praised LeBron James for being the best player in the world in the past 15 years. He recognized that James had one of the greatest careers in NBA history, but did not change the game of basketball the way Steph Curry did.
Curry is the main reason why the NBA has become a three-point shooting league. He's the reason why kids these days are emulating his game and pulling up from beyond the arc. Coaches in the league used to hate three-point shots, but it's now the premium skill they need to win games.
LeBron James and Steph Curry met in the NBA Finals four times in the 2010s
The legacies of LeBron James and Steph Curry will always be intangled as they share one of the biggest rivalries of the past decade. James and Curry met in the NBA Finals four times between 2015 and 2018. Steph and the Golden State Warriors were victorious three times in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
As far as impact, Steph Curry really did change the game of basketball because of his shooting ability. There's no denying that Curry is the greatest shooter ever and he has influenced everyone from professional basketball players to teenagers and kids on the playground.
However, LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers have the biggest win of the rivalry when they came back from a 3-1 deficit and won the 2016 NBA championship. It was where "The Block" happened, and winning the series is the single greatest achievement in the career of "The King."
Meanwhile, LeBron James has a much larger impact on players for what he did when he joined the Miami Heat in 2010. James gave players the power to make their own decisions regarding their futures. Him speaking out on non-basketball issues is also seen as a change in how players interact with the world.
Nevertheless, both LeBron James' and Steph Curry's impact on the game of basketball will be felt for decades. James is still going strong at age 37, while Curry has several more years to play and possibly make his three-point record unbreakable.
Guess the Lakers players!
