Stephen Curry? Oh, as you read this, someone already has a crush on him. The baby-faced assassin doesn’t just shoot — he mesmerizes. One flick of his wrist, and it’s like watching ice turn to fire. From logo threes to no-look magic, Curry turns the hardwood into his personal stage, and we’re all just lucky to watch the show. “(Curry) is the best in history at his position and one of the five greatest of all time.” When someone like Kevin Durant says it, the words hold some value, but a former Los Angeles Lakers star is ready to dismiss all of it. Forget about the GOAT PG, the said ex-NBA athlete is not willing to even consider Steph Curry to be a point guard. So when someone criticizes, you know it invites opinion.

Well, there has been a certain set of fans and experts who, even though have no doubt in Curry’s shooting abilities, do not consider him to be a true point guard. The reason? Well, traditionally, the role of a point guard has been all about orchestrating the offense—being the floor general, setting up plays, and creating opportunities for others rather than taking the scoring lead. And that’s exactly the angle former Lakers star Gary Payton took when discussing Curry’s position.

“Everybody look at Steph Curry as a point guard, and he’s not… A point guard is not a legit point guard. What we’re talking about… If you think about it, see, Nash is a legit point guard… Jason Kid is a legit point guard. Myself is a legit point guard. Chris Paul is a legit point guard… John Stockton is a legit point guard,” Payton said.

And he’s got a point when it comes to the stats. Chris Paul and Jason Kidd consistently put up assist numbers in the double digits, even racking up five NBA Assist Champion titles each. Payton himself nabbed the crown once. But Steph Curry? While he’s grabbed two scoring titles, his assist numbers have never truly hit the elite playmaking tier. His highest average for assists in a season? 8.5. Impressive, sure—but even Michael Jordan, whose scoring greatness is undisputed, reached that same figure once. And MJ’s career assist average? Not far off from Curry’s. So, with that in mind, can we really categorize Curry as a point guard? Payton offered some insight here, attributing the shift to how the game has evolved.

According to the ex-Laker, the modern NBA has essentially redefined the point guard position, turning scoring-first guards into primary ball handlers. And who does the podcast cast blame for this transformation? Allen Iverson. Although Iverson was technically listed as a point guard for part of his career, we all know his true strength was putting the ball in the hoop. The panel on the No Vultures podcast echoed that view and pointed out that perhaps Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo were the last remaining true facilitators in the league.

However, there are some who have absolute faith in Curry as a point guard.

Draymond Green’s explanation of why Steph Curry is a true point guard

Since stepping onto the NBA hardwood in 2009, Curry has been introduced as a point guard. But let’s be honest—his supernatural shooting has often made people question that label. With the way he drains threes from another zip code, it’s no surprise that many fans and even analysts have started slotting him in the shooting guard category. So, who better to set the record straight than his teammate and longtime locker-room voice, Draymond Green?

On his podcast, Dray tackled the debate head-on and laid out exactly why Steph is every bit the Warriors’ true floor general. For starters, he pointed out something fans might overlook—ball-handling. According to Green, what separates Curry from a prototypical shooting guard is how often he controls the offense.

“Number one, shooting guards didn’t shoot off the dribble. When you talk about prototypical shooting guards, most prototypical shooting guards was one or two dribbles, get to they spot, and pulling up. One or two bounces to the cup—that was a two-guard,” Green said.

Then came Draymond’s knockout argument—Curry’s mental game when it comes to countering defense. “There is not a person in NBA history that has seen the amount of defenses and different type of coverages that Steph Curry has seen,” he stressed. Well, there is no countering that argument. Maybe some could agree that the Golden State Warriors star comes from a new generation of point guards. But for now, Gary Payton is not willing to consider Stephen Curry one in a traditional sense.