Steph Curry or Magic Johnson: Who has had the bigger impact on the NBA? First Take debates 

I'm the biggest Steph fan in the world (and a Warriors fan for three decades now) but his 4 rings, 6 finals and 2 MVPs can't be put next to Magic's 5 rings, 9 finals and 3 MVPs. You can argue that Steph changed the game forever, but to be fair, the Showtime Lakers did too. Magic is still unequivocally the greatest point guard of all time, but Steph does have another 4-5 seasons left in him so fingers crossed he surpasses!

This has to be the most civil debate ever on first take where they kinda agreed with each other and just added valid points to other’s arguments

Magic - Showtime Steph - Three point revolution Magic saved the NBA alongside with Larry, but Steph changed the entire basketball perspective worldwide

Magic because he saved the NBA. Him and Bird

2 points - Steph changed the NBA, but Magic (along with Larry and Michael) saved the NBA from bankruptcy. Without those 3 there would be no NBA for Steph to change. Second point, you can't coach height. Steph cannot affect the game in as many ways as Magic did. That's not fair, but it is real.

Before Magic noone 6'4 ot above was allowed to bring the ball in the front court. He revolutionized the way teams wanted a big Guard or playmaker to start the offense. Penny Hardaway, and even LeBron is a mirror of Magic. Without Magic, LeBron would be Karl Malone who shoots 3's. So Magic changed the game by allowing big men to control the basketball like a smaller Guard!

Steph is great, revolutionized the game. Changed the game. Then..his name is Magic. People forget his name is Earvin. He and Bird saved an entire league. That’s IMPACT.

Magic and Bird literally saved the NBA…no magic…NBA is not where it is today…meaning there’s a chance we wouldn’t even have Steph

Can tell nothing is happening in sports at the moment Steph made one comment and this same conversation is being had everywhere for a whole week

Steph changed how the game is played at every level. As soon as the kids are strong enough to shoot, they learn to play the game the way that Steph has popularized it now. I know some people hate this but it’s true.

Magic saved the game of the basketball

The one who's not called by his real name yet everybody still knows who we're talking about. The greatest PG ever.

Steph is my all time greatest pg, but i always wondered how much social media and recency bias affected my decision.

Magic has become underrated lmao that’s nuts

No one from this era is better than those guys.....

Magic definitely had the biggest impact in the league. Alongside Bird to help it be as marketable as it is. Steph’s impact is on the whole sport of basketball

The thing is, Magic's charisma on and off the court is really unmatched to this day.

Stephen curry is one if not the top god giving talented athlete ever but Earvin magic Johnson was a winner his energy and aura was contagious 💯.

That fast break post up highlight @1:18 is wild! 😂 😂 😂

Magic had a bigger impact. There's a chance there wouldn't even be a league for Curry to play in without him.

They both impacted the NBA in great ways. Magic Johnson & Larry Bird saved the NBA from pretty much possibly going out of business. Magic brought showtime to the nba that led to fans coming back to watch some nba. Even people who didn’t watch basketball. As I typed all this perk & swagoo are literally saying what I’m typing out 2 seconds later is actually scary

Even as a Bay Area native, gotta say Magic. Between Magic and Bird, it's still mostly Magic, but without these two, the world wouldn't be the same.

I think Magic was a true legend. I think the same is true of Steph. Everybody always brings up Stephen lack of height as a negative, but I honestly think it only adds to Steph's greatness. Consider for a second that he has won 4 rings in the Lebron James era and that he may be the greatest NBA player ever under 6'5

Magic and Bird saved the NBA…if it weren’t for them the country wouldn’t have been tuned into basketball. Magic no debate.

What would Magic have been without Kareem, Worthy, and Scott? Take a look at Game 6 of the 1980 Finals for a clue, in which he played without Kareem, Worthy, or Scott: 42 points, 15 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals. This is not to detract from Steph at all, who remains the best shooter all time, no question.

They both impacted the game in different ways, and their playstyles are completely different. Magic is the the best *pure* point guard, and Curry is the best *combo* guard of all time.

If magic played in this era at his position more apposing than curry cause of his height and size and curry is on 6,3 people would still say magic the best point guard

I have heard of both of these players and both are really good.

Tough one, but I'll go with Magic. Without Magic (along with Bird), there wouldn't have been an NBA **in the first place** for Steph to play in because the league was near bankruptcy....

Steph has changed the way many teams play in the NBA, but Magic is one of the main reasons that the NBA is watched and followed by a worldwide audience of over a billion. Without Magic, Bird and Jordan, the NBA is watched by 5 million people in the USA.

It’s just not easy for me to choose between Curry and Magic…they are both Living Legends;

The 3 point shot is spectacular when Steph does it, anyone else it doesn’t hold the same weight, the change that has come with teams mandating 3 point shooters admit it or not has its negative and you might disagree but has kinda taken away some of the spectacular things some players in the Game are incredible at, I feel that robs us of an opportunity to see people do amazing things in the game, the 3 point shot is only valued cause it accumulates to a wealth of points. The game is not as entertaining as it could be

Both had the impact. Steph with shooting and Magic with the performance. Nowadays today's players acting like Divas and getting injured all the time.

The rivalry between Magic and Bird. Magic saved the NBA from its darkest age in 1979

Stephen is a killer at 6'2". He has carried his team offensively multiple times because of his arsenal. Magic is mainly a facilitator and relied a lot on his teammates to score. Now imagine if Curry was 6'9. He would murder the NBA! Pop! Pop!

Steph Curry...and it's no contest. Not even close. He changed the entire game. On BOTH ends of the ball. Magic changed a position. CURRY CHANGED AN ENTIRE SPORT.

It's definitely Magic. Sure, Steph shot some threes, but you may not even be watching the NBA on TV if it weren't for Bird and Magic.

It's more impressive what Curry was able to do at 6,2 than what Magic was able to do at 6,9. Nonetheless Magic is the best old school PG and Steph is the best new school PG.

Solid take perk 😎

1980 Gm 6 20 year old rookie nuff said, my favorite NBA player all time and greatest pg of all time

Steph had the bigger impact to me. As much as Magic and Larry saved the league. I started watching basketball because I saw a clip of the smallest guy on the court taking down giants wirh his scoring and all-round heliocentric gravity. He made (shorter) people believe they could 'Be like Curry'. You can't coach Magic's height, you can't coach is flair but maybe, just maybe you can Be like Wardell.

Would Kobe want to play for LA if it wasnt for Magic and the huge showtime era period?

Slow sports day. We all know Jordan changed the marketing ability of the NBA for sure with the shoes and commercials. Before Magic and Bird the NBA was in taped delay. I believe its more Jerry Buss who changed the NBA more than Magic. Steph doesnt change much. Sure more players shoot more threes but thats about it.

The way i see it Magic was a forward playing PG and could push the ball up court with his size that was never done in the NBA but impact steph all the way cause if you notic everybody shooting 3's like crazy i remember back in the day most team would attempt at least 15 the most as a whole team but now you can have one guy take 15 by himself for the whole game

Lol, Magic literally saved the NBA from bankruptcy. I have ppl in Africa who literally idolized the man. He has a reach far beyond basketball.

This is hard for two reasons. Magic saved basketball. Steph changed how people play, as AI, MJ, Dr. J, and Wilt did.

Disagree with SA's point, Steph definitely will go down as probably #2 pg of all time. He changed the game in This Era (shooting expertise), never seen anything like him. Magic just trumps Curry in too many areas. The way guards dribble these days, refs back in the day would call you for all types of violations. Tougher league back then. Props to Mr Curry doing his best to BE the BEST...

I am a big fan of Basketball (NBA) because of Steph Curry. I never knew NBA existed before.

I’m going with Steph on this one 🙌🏿

Well they had to make Rules Against Isiah. So Isiah is the best PG ever. Isiah was the one that sort of started all that 90's Tough Guy Body Builder Basketball that had the highest Ratings all time.

i will never forget that 24-0 start to the 2015-2016 season , nobody won an mvp like steph

Back then nobody could do what Magic did nowadays there are multiple ppl that can do what Curry can do

Steph is literally the biggest views draw in the NBA, and has been for the last almost 10 years, that’s insane

curry ruined the nba with everyone jacking up 3's

The game is bigger today and Steph is at the helm of changing the game. Therefore his impact is BIGGER.

There’s no wrong answer they both paved the way for the nba we know and love today

The explanation is simple. Magic saved NBA but Curry inspired every normal human being who is not a god gifted giant. If you ask a normal human who he wants to be, they will mention Curry. Magic is all about show , Curry is about perseverance, hard work , reps and endless hours in Gym and a belief that you can be in the conversation of the best with sheer hard work and dedication.

They're trying to downplay or erase every great player that played prior to the "Jordan" era. The disrespect for Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Dr. J, Moses Malone, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Hakeem Olajuwon is INSANE!!! David Stern partnered with the media and made the air Jordan mythology a thing and to Mike's credit he performed eloquently. They spent yrs trying to recreate that(Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, Harold Miner, Kobe Bryant,Vince Carter etc...) But it's like catching lightning in a bottle. Now every past great player can be replaced or disguarded except for MJ. Now it'll take a "European" player to knock Mike off of that mythical post. Other than that everyone else is fair game. Look at how the best player of this century so far has been treated(Lebron James) because he wasn't what the media and powers that be wanted him to be. Just to be clear there's no way I'm choosing Steph Curry over Magic Johnson unless it's a 3point shooting contest and that's it.

Finally! No MJ vs Bron debate! Something different haha

Magic invented passing for championships and he made being a giant guard cool. It’s easily Magic. 😊

Curry has definied what a good shot is. Regardless of height, strength or size. Magic was an anomaly, most NBA players couldn’t replicate his attributes, much less make the league with that ability.

This is impact: KG, Dirk, Giannis, and bigs of their ilk...we have ballhandling 4s and 5s in the game now because of Magic! He showed that at 6'9, you don't HAVE TO be stuck in the paint to be productive. Because of Magic and his ability to handle the ball, he impacted the game by basically being the creator of "perimeter bigs". Not suggesting he shot the ball well. I'm suggesting that bigs are now rarely in the paint these days because Magic made it cool to do more than just post up. That is an impact that fails to ever be brought up. And that impact changed the game way more than the need for more 3s. You can't even name 3 allstar level bigs in the league who live in the paint LOL. They're all on the perimeter, wanting to shoot, wanting to facilitate, wanting to showcase handles...the answer is Magic and it's not even close.

If Curry wouldn't have broken the 3 point scoring record, we wouldn't be having this conversation. And for Curry to come out and say that he is better the Magic J....He needs to think about that a little more....100% Magic J. And Breaking the 3 point scoring record surely doesn't make him better than any other Point Guard (Kendrick) The Job of a point guard is not to break records scoring, the Job of the point guard is to run down the court and Assist his teammates in scoring....

2:41 LOL 😂

Magic hands down. This isn’t even a debate it’s almost disrespectful to say any player has had a bigger impact than Magic. College, Rookie Year, Him & Larry’s Rivalry, Putting the NBA back on the Map, Biggest Contract by a rookie, 5 Championships, 9 appearances, MVP, Greatest Passer Ever, The Greatest Leader Ever, Olympic Gold Medalist, HIV Spokesman, Greatest athlete/businessman and hands down the Greatest Smile 😊

The fact that they even have to talk about this is crazy. Without Bird and Magic, there would be no NBA today.

Wow, I agreed with Perk just now. First time for everything.

Steph all day, man is the NBA nowadays

LMFAO, did Perk just say Magic and Bird saved the game 💀💀💀....MF that was Mike, Kobe and LeBron and then Steph

Magic. He also does what a PG is supposed to do, not only spam 3s.

Everytime Perk talks and the topic is about the Warriors… you already know his side without him talking.

Now these point guards think they have to shoot before they passed the ball smh CURRY DID THAT PG IS A FLOOR GENERAL CAN BE GOOD AT SHOOTING BUT PASS THE BALL AND MAKING PLAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ON THE COURT

Literally steph made me love basketball as a whole 😊

Magic Is the better point guard all time. However on the court steph is more Influential

Magic, without him, for one, he saved the NBA along with Bird. Second, he revolutionized the PG position which created point forwards like Pippen, Grant Hill and especially Lebron. Without Magic, we wouldn't be seeing this NBA today.

The biggest impact on the league was M.J crying to commissioner Stern & the addition of the flagrant foul rule, now anybody can play the game when as before you had to be a real man to play basketball & that's the bottom line.

The question is not fair. They are from different eras. While fan basis from one side is fading, the other is still growing.

you can also add michael jordan into the mix. Nobody rock the bald head look back in the 60's n 70's But when mj came into the league all these nba dudes started to rock dem bald head swag💯

Perk has low key been giving some good takes recently

There’s really no wrong answer but I’m forever going with Stephen Curry That’s just me 🐐

Magic got it because he's still making a big impact off the court becoming a respected businessman and just a great personality/represenative of the NBA also curry hasn't really had any backlash like magic did with the Aids thing and players not wanting to play with him...yea curry ain't been around long enough to compete with magic's impact but he's definitely on the right track

finally something new

How players play and how the game itself is played? Curry for sure but the impact to basketball as an worldwide sport it's gotta be magic he put the NBA into the light it is today.

Magic is the most impactful player . Magic is what made basketball a thriving sport despite what people want to believe. He brought the entertainment factor to the the sport like no one else. T

There is a difference between the best players and influence and changed the game/the rules/way its played & officiated.....Wilt & Kareem huge impact on these......Pistol Pete had huge impact on the game. Dr J big time! Magic/Bird saving the league. MJ elevated & commercialized it. Lebron a big that moved like MJ and put the contract power in players hands & turned into a business. Curry's shooting changed the game from bigs & 5 positions to no positions and 3pt shoot league.....these guys changed the league.....Shaq is right there too.

When one guy made passing more sexy than scoring you already know the answer.

Steph's the GOAT PG

Magic Johnson along with Bird SAVED the NBA. He could dominate the game without even scoring a point. He's the greatest point guard of all time.

In every kid's mind they can really be Steph,, that's impact there.

To me Steph is amazing best shooter we ever seen in our life time so far but the position point guard that’s tuff to put him over magic idk about that 1 and ring wise magic has 5 Steph has 4 so idk man

Can't talk impact when Magic has retired for over 20 years ago, and Steph is still playing, and arguably is in his prime and is set to have a long career. Even if he'd stop playing today, you'd need 20 years to REALLY see the impact he had on the game.

When we say impact its the "impact" the game on how it played on how we perceive, Magic was a great player but he only save the game together with Larry thats less impact

I’m not talking favorites here. They changed the rules because of Curry. Magic had the biggest change via NBA “style” and “positionless” basketball.

Perk, just remember this. You won't be able to make the league and sit on this chair today if you are a few years younger because of what Curry did to the game. And I have to change my game too just to keep playing pickup. There's no shame in admitting Steph's greatness

I agree with Swagu and Perk. If you have Steph as the best PG over Magic I would acknowledge that as a legit argument. But Magic Johnson gave guys like Steph and those before him a chance by putting on a show along with Bird.

Funny how Perk’s logic about how Magic had a bigger impact than Steph is contradictory to how he thinks Bron is better than Jordan. Tbh it’s not surprising that someone on Klutch Sports payroll will always vote for the other person in debates that involve Jordan and Steph.

Why do people like to compare all the time? It diminishes some of their greatness

I marveled more at Curry than I ever did Magic. Ordinarily, you pick up the guard at the top of the key. This pick Curry up a half court.

if you Play in the 90's,00's, and half of the 10's before Golden State Wins the chips. You can see that Magic Johnson has more impact. We have a lot of Tall Guards that can Dribble and play the PG. But right now it's Steph. Especially that everyone even Center needs to have a 3 point arsenal in their game.

I’m not buying with those medias and old folks argument. As a Millenial, I saw magic as a heavyweight fighting in welterweight. I don’t saw him as a PG. I saw him as a Center.