All-time best lists don’t go unnoticed, especially if they’re on the internet for all to see. And when ESPN.com posted its top-10 all-time point guards list on Wednesday, Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson took offense with the order and placement of fellow Hall of Famer and Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas.
The list, featuring Johnson as the top-ranked point guard of all time, has the NBA’s all-time assists leader and Utah Jazz great John Stockton ranked third, and current Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry ranked fourth ahead of Thomas, who sits fifth. Johnson rattled off a series of tweets in disagreement with the list.
ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. There’s no way Stockton & Curry are better than Isiah.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
Let me remind everyone, young and old, I played against @iamisiahthomas when he was hurt & hobbling on one leg…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
…and @iamisiahthomas still scored 25 points in one quarter in the NBA Finals!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
I love John Stockton, the NBA’s All-Time Assist Leader.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
I love @StephenCurry30, the best shooter we’ve ever seen, but he’s not better than Isiah, at least not yet.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
It seems a little premature to be putting Curry up there with legends at the position, especially when he’s just 27 years old and still has a lot of basketball left in him. But the expert panel who helped create the list called Curry “the best shooter ever” and “too good for the sport’s own good.”
There’s no denying Curry will be among the best point guards some day, but it just seems odd to put him above a player that made 12 All-star teams, won two championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Curry still has some catching up to do with Thomas, but with his game and a ridiculously good Warriors team backing him, he should get there.