But when it came to picking the player of the decade, our writers’ decisions were pretty clear.
Victor Mather
Senior staff editor and reporter
Let’s see: the most points in the decade, the most field goals, the top rating in most advanced stats, the most Most Valuable Player awards (three), the most finals MVP awards (three). LeBron James even led the decade in minutes played.
Or you could be a contrarian and choose, maybe, the blocks-per-minute leader, JaVale McGee. Probably not the right pick, though.
Scott Cacciola
(Sports reporter) **********************************
Three NBA championships, including the
first for the city of Cleveland. Three more MVPs
) to go with the one he won last decade. More highlight-reel dunks and chase-down blocks and signature moments than any of his peers (no offense, Steph).
But beyond merely being the most dominant player of the decade, James was the figure around whom the rest of the league orbited. For potential title contenders, his presence – in Miami, in Cleveland, in Los Angeles – figured into every calculation other teams made. Which players could they acquire to help vanquish the King? Which picks could they package to trade for more depth, more star power, more scoring and defense?
Now in his th season, and on the cusp of a new decade, James is still going strong (*************************************, positioning the Lakers for their first deep playoff run since the days of Kobe Bryant . Staggering but true: James’s greatest feat may still be ahead of him.
Kevin Draper
Sports business reporter
LeBron James was undoubtedly the best player of the decade, but Stephen Curry defined it. Writing about the 3-point revolution has become stale and trite, but Curry really did change the game. It was not all that long ago that shooting pull-up 3s, or shooting from more than a foot or two behind the arc, was verboten. But Curry and the Warriors redefined what needed to be defended, warping and breaking defensive schemes in the process.
Oh, and he also won three championships, two MVP’s and led the Warriors to the best regular-season ever in – (********************************************************************************************. Let’s not talk about what happened next.
Shauntel Lowe
NBA editor
It feels weird not to pick LeBron James here, what with him being the best player in the world and all, but Stephen Curry was the defining player of this decade. No one changed basketball the way he did, and no one captivated the world as he did. Suddenly, here was a player for whom there was no such thing as a bad shot. That’s not true for anyone besides Curry. He’s the one.
)
Benjamin Hoffman
Senior staff editor
Try to imagine Stephen Curry playing in any other decade.
The record for 3- pointers in a season when Curry joined the NBA in the – (season was) ********************************************************** by Ray Allen, and only players had ever been topped (************************************************************************. In the seasons since, Curry has topped Allen’s record five times, setting a (potentially unbreakable record of) ************************************************************************************************* (in******************************************** – (*********************************************************************************************.
But Curry did benefit from this era – he created it. Before him, it was unheard of to ignore the shot clock and hoist 38 – footers off the dribble with ease. And even though he has his share of imitators (Damian Lillard, Trae Young, etc.), no one has mastered the art nearly as well.
Curry was at the heart of the decade’s best team, winning three titles in a five-year period of total dominance, and his size and smile helped him become the face of the NBA for a new generation of fans.
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