Are Lebron James and Stephen Curry, USA Olympic Gold teammates, also greatest rivalry in NBA history?

The USA Olympic basketball dream team defeated France Saturday to take the gold medal and to stake a claim as arguably the most talented team ever assembled, rivalled or surpassed only by the 1992 dream team, led by Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

This year’s edition was anchored by Lebron James and Stephen Curry, two of the greatest players, and perhaps the greatest rivalry, in the history of the NBA.

When I say “greatest” I am wading into the seemingly nonstop debate about who is the Greatest of All Time (GOAT)’, who is on the NBA Mt. Rushmore, etc and why.? As I have written before , I approach the topic not with any gifted insight other than a straightforward metric, which leads, in my score, to an indisputable all-time top five and top nine; an even greater appreciation of the James-Curry rivalry; and who among current players will be the next ‘generational’ players after Lebron and Steph.

Getting to nine GOATs. Let’s start with the all-time top nine, and why there are just nine. In my score, it’s an easy cut. There are 238 players in the NBA Hall of Fame .? Of those 238, as well those who are still active in the league, only nine players, ever, in the history of the NBA, have two or more championships and two or more MVPs.? MVP’s and championships are undebatable.? You have them or you don’t.? If you have two or more rings and two or more MVP, you can claim to be the best player on the best teams over multiple years.?? There is no need to dissect and reach for obscure statistics, or to speculate on who may be the most gifted athlete or best ‘finisher’ when setting this bar. ?And the list below ends up making a lot of sense.? No flukes or controversies here:

The all-time starting five.? If you set the bar at 4 championships and 3 MVP’s, only five players ever make the cut. ?Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics (11 rings/5 MVP), Kareem Abdul Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers (6 rings/6 MVP), Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls (6 rings/5 MVP), Magic Johnson of the Lakers (5 rings/3 MVP), and Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Lakers (4 rings/4 MVP).? ?That’s your Springfield starting five.?

The next four.? There are only four additional players who have at least two rings and two MVP’s: ??Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs (5 rings/2 MVP’s), Larry Bird of the Celtics (3 rings/3 MVP), and Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors and Lakers (2 rings/4 MVP’s), and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (3 rings/2 MVP).

Lebron-Curry rivalry in context.? The list, and the present Olympic team, sparks an appreciation for the Lebron-Curry rivalry, which defined a good part of the last decade.? It is one of the greatest Finals rivalries of all time.? Only 14 times since 1947 have those on the all-time nine list met in the finals – that’s once every 5-6 years on average. Curry and the Warriors and James and the Cavaliers have met in the finals more than any of the others list – 4 years in a row between 2015-2018.? That’s more than Russell vs. Chamberlain (3), and Magic vs. Bird (3).? Curry’s Warriors won in 2015, 2017, 2018; Lebron and the Cavaliers took it in 2016, in one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history.

The other all-time great match ups among the nine include:

-Russell (Celtics) vs. Chamberlain (Warriors/Lakers). Russell and Chamberlain met in the finals three times (1964, 1968, 1969), and Russell’s Celtics won all three meetings.

-Magic/Kareem (Lakers) vs. Bird (Celtics). The Magic/Kareem-led Lakers played?Bird and the Celtics three times in the Finals (1984, 1985, and 1987), with the Lakers winning twice (1985 and 1987).?

-Jordan (Bulls) vs. Magic (Lakers).?Jordan’s Bulls beat Magic’s Lakers for their first NBA title in 1991.

- Duncan (Spurs) vs. James (Cavaliers/Heat).?Before Curry and Lebron, there was Duncan and Lebron.? Duncan is 2-1 vs. James in the finals. The Spurs beat Lebron’s Cavaliers in 2007, and then split two contests with the LeBron-led Heat (the Heat won in 2013; the Spurs in 2014).

Next circle: ‘ 3+1’: There is also a circle beyond the 2/2 or better, that deserves a shout out. Let’s call it ‘three +1,’ which includes Kobe Bryant ?of the Lakers (5 rings, 1 MVP),?Shaquille O’Neal ?with the Orlando Magic, Lakers and Heat (4 rings, 1 MVP),?Bob Cousy ?of the Celtics (6 rings, 1 MVP), Moses Malone ?of the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers (1 ring, 3 MVP), and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets (1 ring/3 MVP).

Next up:? So who are the active players who are best placed to increase the all-time GOAT 9 to the GOAT 10?? In addition to Jokic, the only players today who are close to the ‘multiples’ circle are Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns (2 rings/1 MVP) and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (1 ring/2 MVP’s).? In other words, if Jokic or Giannis get another ring, or Durant gets another MVP, the all-time nine becomes an all-time ten.? And if Durant gets another ring, and Giannis gets another MVP, they will join Jokic in the outer ‘three and one” circle.? These three are that good and that close, and best placed to begin to define the next generation of GOAT discussions.

Andrew Parasiliti is president of Al-Monitor and a Boston Celtics fan.? This article is an updated version of ?Stephen Curry showing why he is part of NBA all-time elite inner circle | LinkedIn ? @ATParasiliti

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