David Thompson should be considered the greatest ever by the standards of you and Sp33dy. 2 phenomenal seasons are all that matter, right? Well, Thompson had more than 2 phenomenal seasons and he was the "best in the league" his first 2-4 seasons or so. It didn't take him 6 seasons to get above-average. (Fair Consideration going to 'Nique and Kareem, of course)--but Thompson was the first "should never have gone to college" type of phenom, as the Lakers were trying to get him to de-commit and flee the JV team at NC State his freshman year (JV was a freshman requirement in those days)
How about Pistol Pete? certainly the greatest ever by the same small window within a career.
Steph is playing lights out right now and certainly no one in the league can compare; but you guys have tunnel vision. You also ignore the fact that it took Steph some 6-7? seasons to get to these last 2 seasons. Why wasn't he GOAT then? Was it because Lebron was GOAT? I thought Lebron was the obvious GOAT now?
Steph certainly can be if he has another 5-9 years in his tank and continues to perform at this level. But that's a huge if. Thompson was taken out by his knees (....oh and the coke, too). Pistol was taken out, literally, by an undiagnosed hypertrophy. Steph's already-substantial injury history doesn't bode well for him, but I do like seeing phenomenal talents continue to be phenomenal so I'm pulling for that, but history leaves me skeptical.
If Steph falls off a plateau due to injury or fatigue, no one will ever remember him as GOAT because of these 2 seasons. No one. The discussion will continue to be if Lebron legitimately challenges Jordan for that honor.
TBH, I'd never heard of David Thompson.
Steph was slow to develop for a few reasons. Firstly, he went to Davidson, a hole in the wall school, wasn't a lottery pick with huge expectations. He had bad injury issues early in his NBA career, plus he had to at best share the spotlight with Monte Ellis, a spotlight hog who wasn't amenable to sharing the spotlight with Curry. To Joe Lacob's credit, he traded Ellis, got roundly booed by the fans for doing so.
Since Ellis was traded, Steph has come into his own, and how. Chris Weber said recently that as a repeating MVP Steph stands alone in the degree to which he improved.
I can't say Steph is the best ever. Yes I did. I'll rephrase that: he impresses me as the best I've ever seen. I didn't really pick up on Kobe in his day, I did see Jordan at his best. Personally, I think Steph at his best is better than Jordan was at his best. Their styles aren't the same at all, though.
Lebron, he's great and dominating, the GOAT? If he and Steph make it to the finals this year and there are no major surprises in terms of injuries, it will be interesting. Lebron will face Iguodala (like last year), Green and Bogut in the paint, so he's not just going to have his way inside.
To me, GOAT isn't a career thing, it's how well did the player play at his best. I've never been as impressed by any basketball player as much as Steph Curry this season.