If you watched this years NBA Finals, you watched some of the best basketball players of the past decade face off in a fierce battle. However, is the Kevin Durant/Stephen Curry one-two punch the best duo we’ve seen in finals history?
As this year’s NBA season has come to a close, most people were disappointed with the way the NBA Finals turned out. Some would call it “lopsided” or “not competitive”, but I would say we can take much more from this Finals series than just saying how the league is unfair.
When I went back and looked at the numbers Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry put up night in and night out, I think the biggest take away from this series that those two are one of the greatest
Courtesy SFGate
NBA Finals duo’s of all time–if not THE greatest duo in NBA Finals history.
Let’s take a look at Durant’s and Curry’s numbers first before I go in and compare them to some of the greatest players to ever play in an NBA Finals series. In just 5 games, this duo scored 310 points, had 82 rebounds, and 74 assists. When you look at it, 62 PPG, 16.4 RPG, and 14.8 APG in 5 NBA Finals games is quite impressive.
But lets not forget their efficient shooting either. This duo shot 100-199 from the field in 5 games (just over 50%) and shot 37-87 from downtown (42.5%). These numbers are without a doubt respectable and definitely deserved to be compared with some of the best duo’s to ever win an NBA Finals.
Now lets compare them to last years Finals duo–LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. I chose these guys because they are more current than some of the other great duo’s, and the eye test is still fresh in everyone’s mind since it was only a year ago. This team played 7 games in the 2016 NBA Finals, so instead of using totals I would like to compare with averages and percentages–in order to keep an even playing field for both great duos.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving averaged 56.8 PPG, 15.4 RPG, and 12.7 APG. They shot 48% from the field and 39% from 3. We can see that the Durant/Curry combo beat them in all of these categories. One stat that sticks out in particular is that LeBron and Kyrie combined for a 105 Defensive Rating (DRtg) in last year’s Finals, compared to Golden State’s duo of 113.6 in this year’s finals. Defense is a big part of the game, so upper hand goes to Durant and Curry.
Courtesy Def Pen
Another notable duo that people like to bring up in duo conversation is the famous Shaq and Kobe combination. Kobe was a very young player at this time and did not reach his prime, but their best Finals as a duo came in the year 2000, when they beat the Indiana Pacers in 6 games. In 6 games, this duo scored less than Curry and Durant in 5 games! Shaq and Kobe combined for a total of 306 points, with a stat line of 51 PPG, 20.5 RPG, and 5.8 APG.
Since this duo had a low post threat, it makes more sense that these two have more rebounds per game than a duo like Durant and Curry. Even though Shaq and Kobe had a higher field goal percentage (52.2%) I still give upper hand to Golden State’s duo. More points in less games? Its almost a clear choice.
Courtesy NBA.com
The last duo I will talk about, which is probably the greatest duo the NBA has ever seen, is the duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Since they won 6 championships together, it was kind of hard to pick their best finals– that is until I found one series in which I absolutely knew they couldn’t have topped this performance. Jordan and Pippen in the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns was like no other. In 6 games, this duo averaged 62.1 PPG, 17.7 RPG, and 14 APG. Not to mention their 48% field goal percentage and their 32% 3 point percentage. As much as this was great, Durant and Curry still shot over 50% and 42.5% from behind the arc. I viewed this matchup as dead even, until I pulled out Defensive Rating as a tie breaker. Jordan and Pippen had a 111 DRtg, while Durant and Curry’s was 113.6 DRtg.
As we review what all of the great duo’s have done, these were the three I wanted to pull up, and any other Finals duo that won a ring really didn’t come close to these guys. While Curry and Durant may not be the single best duo in NBA Finals history, they definitely are a close second!
