Steph Curry ahead of Kevin Durant on ESPN's all-time best NBA players list

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Warriors superstar Steph Curry is the 13th-best player of all time.

Former Warriors superstar Kevin Durant is the 14th-best player of all time.

According to who?

That would be "ESPN's NBA expert panel," which is in the midst of ranking the top 74 players in NBA history.

As Nick Friedell writes about Curry:

The greatest shooter of all time. Curry's ability to hit shots from all over the floor changed the way the game is played. He has led the Warriors to three NBA championships and earned two MVP awards, becoming the first unanimous MVP in league history in 2015-16. Curry's influence on the game is seen on every level of basketball as younger generations shoot more than ever while trying to replicate his game.

During that unanimous MVP season, the three-time NBA champion averaged 30.1 points, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals, while shooting 50.4 percent overall and 45.4 percent from deep. He made an NBA single-season record 402 3-pointers.

To nobody's surprise, certain people who live in the Houston area don't agree with Curry's place on the list.

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As Royce Young writes about KD:

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Coming off an Achilles injury, Durant's climb back into the elite of the league isn't a given, but even if he retired tomorrow, he has stacked an all-time career. His eight years in OKC featured his best individual basketball, with four scoring titles and an MVP. No matter how you view his two championships with the Warriors -- both of which included Finals MVPs -- they will forever be high on the bullet points of his overall résumé.

Another title in a less controversial fashion could vault Durant into the top 10, and if he recovers to be even close to his pre-injury self, he could challenge some massive career numbers.

The 10-time All-Star absolutely was sensational during the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals:

  • 2017 = 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks, 1.0 steals, 55.6 percent overall, 47.4 percent on 3s
  • 2018 = 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, 52.6 percent overall, 40.9 percent on 3s

[RELATED: ESPN ranks KD's Warriors seasons below three of Steph's]

Curry will turn 33 years old next March, and KD will turn 32 in late September.

Both of the future Basketball Hall of Famers should have several more elite-level seasons to add to their final resumes.

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