How do you remember Stephen Curry? Three-point scoring magician, then the Warriors’ savior, the baby-face assassin, and many more. And on top of these, he is also widely known as one of the quickest point guards in NBA history! But when his name recently came up during a conversation with former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, it didn’t go well. Known for speed and explosiveness during his early career, Rose was asked to weigh in on guards, and his answers did not reflect well for Curry fans.

In a recent interview before the preseason game between the Knicks and the 76ers at Abu Dhabi, Rose was asked to “Stay silent till you hear someone quicker than you,” before the interviewer rattled off a series of future Hall-of-Famers. Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, Tony Parker, Dame Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, De’Aaron Fox, and Russell Westbrook. Through all this, Rose stayed quiet, hesitating slightly at the mention of Parker and Kidd, before breaking his silence at the next name.

The last name taken by the interviewer was John Wall, and Rose broke his silence to say, “Yeah, John. I think John.” Leaving Curry and CP3 off the list might be a silent rejection, but that shows how much of a mark Wall’s speed left on Rose. Numbers too leave a similar picture to Rose’s response.

According to the NBA, during the 2015-16 season, Wall averaged 4.43 miles* per hour on offense, ranking among the top guards in average offensive speed, and scored 5.6 points in transition, behind just Curry (5.07*) but ahead of LeBron James (4.07*). Rose in that season was around 4.65 miles/hour. Wall was also near the league’s top in distance run, sitting around 2.4 miles better than LeBron and Derrick’s 2.3 miles.

Washington head coach Randy Whitman often ran offensive sets focused on Wall’s ability to pressure defenses before they were set, which he did at a level greater than most of his peers. So, Curry might be an usual pick for most fields, but Rose’s perspective highlights a lesser-discussed part of point-guard play: pure speed.

While players like Paul and Curry might be quick and excel with handles and shooting, the immediate impact of a guard like Wall or Westbrook, who can consistently outrun defenders in live play, can’t be undervalued. In the 2015-16 season, Wall had around 20 points to his name playing 77 games. Wall’s combination of a quick first step, acceleration, and raw speed made him a matchup nightmare, something that clearly left an impression on Rose.

John Wall has long admired Derrick Rose’s speed, previously highlighting on a podcast that when he faced MVP Rose in a preseason game, he admitted to himself that it was, “The first time I seen somebody who’s quicker than me.” The sentiment Wall shared then and Rose now reflects the mutual respect for each other based on their speed and quickness.

Speed metrics support Derrick Rose and his eye test

The choice might be surprising for fans, but it shows a simple truth. In basketball, speed also reflects how a player can control tempo and force the defense into uncomfortable positioning. Rose, recognizing Wall as the fastest he’s faced, sends an unmistakable message, especially to the others named, like Curry, who is still chasing his fifth ring.

The 2011 Skills Challenge during All-Star weekend showed a glimpse into the world of agility and quickness. Rose, in his prime, navigated the course with speed and precision, and John Wall, then a rookie, posted a final time better than veteran Chris Paul. Both ended up losing out to Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook due to timely shots from both of them, but the gap between Wall, Rose, Paul, and Curry in round 1, being just 8 seconds, showed how important the speed and quickness were to each of their games.

Draft combine stats from each of them further provide some context. Rose in 2009, recorded a lane agility time of 11.69 seconds and a 3/4th sprint of 3.05 seconds. He narrowly beat Wall in the 3/4th sprint (3.14 seconds for Wall) but lost in lane agility (10.84 seconds for Wall).

Meanwhile, Paul and Curry were worse than Wall at both lane agility (11.09 and 11.07 seconds) and 3/4th sprint (3.22 and 3.28 seconds), showing that there remains a gap between their raw speed and why Rose was most impressed by Wall’s speed and why he deferred to Wall in the recent ranking.