When Steph Curry jokingly called himself the greatest point guard of all time, the prominent pushback was that he doesn’t lead the Golden State Warriors in assists. Traditionally speaking, a point guard is the creator for his team and usually leads them in assists per game. However, the NBA has evolved, and with it, the roles each position fulfills.
When speaking on a recent episode of ‘The Dan Patrick Show,’ Milwaukee Bucks wing Pat Connaughton defended Curry, noting how he is indeed a point guard for Golden State. Connaughton also noted how Curry may not register as many assists as Draymond Green, but he does have the ball more frequently, especially in clutch time.
I think at the end of the day, Steph has the ball more than Draymond [Green] when it comes to crunch time, putting the team in certain situations,” Connaughton said. “Just because Steph may not lead his team in assists, does that still not define him as a point guard if he’s able to pass the ball and be second, third on his team in assists? Because we saw point guards on our team that don’t lead the team in assists”
According to Cleaning The Glass, Curry assisted on 27.4% of his teammate’s shots last season, ranking him in the 46th percentile among point guards. However, creating scoring opportunities for others isn’t Curry’s primary remit within Golden State’s offensive structure.
Instead, Curry is tasked with being the focal point of the offense, something which he does at an elite level, ranking in the 100th percentile of guards last season with 134 points per 100 shots.
Curry may or may not be the greatest point guard in history, but the fact of the matter is that he deserves to be in the conversation.