John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

After the Phoenix Suns lost to the Golden State Warriors, 113-112, Kevin Durant gave Stephen Curry his flowers. Durant declared Curry is the best at his position and already in the top five all-time. However, not everyone agrees, including ESPN’s Chris Russo.

In an appearance on First Take, “Mad Dog” vehemently disagreed with the notion that the Warriors’ point guard is climbing the all-time ranks.

“Top five ever? No! How do I make him top five ever when I got Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Wilt[(Chamberlain], and [Bill] Russell, and LeBron [James], and Michael [Jordan]? That’s five right there.

I didn’t give you Magic [Johnson], I didn’t give you [Larry Bird], I didn’t give you [Tim] Duncan, I didn’t give you Shaq! I mean, how in the world can he be top five? He’s not even better than [Kevin] Durant! And I’m not gonna put Durant in the top 10.

Listen, he’s a nice shooter. Nobody’s arguing with that.“

Russo has had questionable takes before. He thought Moses Malone was better than Shaquille O’Neal, so it’s not like his opinions are the Holy Grail.

However, he made some valid points this time. The nine players he mentioned all have a claim to the top five. If you add Kobe Bryant to the list so O’Neal doesn’t get offended, there really is no room for the four-time champion.

That said, saying Durant is better than Curry and that he’s just a “nice shooter” is preposterous. After all, the 35-year-old is the NBA’s all-time three-point leader by a wide margin. In addition, Durant has never led a team to a championship as the bus driver, as Charles Barkley would say.

Do you think Russo is right about Curry? Or does the Warriors superstar deserve to be in the GOAT conversation?

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