The Golden State Warriors are indisputably the top team in the NBA and Stephen Curry seems like the top player.
Is anyone else from the team worthy of such superlative recognition?
Shooting guard Klay Thompson thinks he does. As Diamond Leung narrated his conversation with Thompson in Inside Bay Area. Thompson has declared himself the best shooting guard.
"Asked to name the best player at each position in the NBA, Klay Thompson picked Warriors teammate Stephen Curry as the point guard and then paused.
'I'm going to go with myself,' Thompson said of his pick for the top shooting guard, throwing up his hands. 'We're 26-1.'"
It might be difficult to argue if your team is overwhelmingly at the top but NBC disputes this notion. Feldman narrows the competition to three players: James Harden, Jimmy Butler and Thompson.
Thompson is a great shooter and he is not a bad defender, but Dan Feldman of NBC says he is not as good as Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls, who is an elite defender for his position.
To compare, "all three are good scorers - Harden best of the bunch. But Harden is also the worst defender, Butler the best. Harden and Butler both contribute in more ways than Thompson. They distribute better, rebound better and draw more fouls."
It should also be considered that Klay is not the best player in his team-he's behind Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. James Harden means so much more to the Houston Rockets than Klay Thompson is to the Golden State Warriors. While that is not Klay's fault that he was drafted by a good team, not to mention a team with Curry, he might not be able to carry a team the way Harden carries the Rockets.
This could go on forever and it will provide an interesting sidelight, but in the end, basketball is a team sport and Klay, James or Jimmy would probably be happier with a ring rather than this distinction.