Ranking the five best backcourts in the NBA for 2015-2016
By Brad Rowland
1) Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson
The debate is over, at least for now.
Golden State’s march to the NBA title greatly improved the stock of both Curry and Thompson, but each player has ascended on their own merit. Curry is now firmly in the mix with Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook for top point guard honors on the heels of an MVP season, and at the very least, he is the best shooter in the NBA. Curry’s 49/44/91 shooting line from a year ago is just silly, and when you throw in 7.7 assists per game and reasonable defense, he’s the full package of a superstar.
As for Thompson, it is fair to say that he is a bit overrated in some circles, but that doesn’t stop the 25-year-old from being a legitimate All-Star. Thompson made a sizable improvement in his ability to create off the dribble in 2014-2015, and that resulted in increased efficiency (career-high 59% true shooting) and overall impact. His defense is above-average and, well, he’s also an elite shooter after a career-high 43.9% mark from long range.
At the moment, the Warriors are the only team in the league that boasts legitimate All-Stars at both guard positions, and when one of those players is the reigning league MVP, the case is simple.