Rearranged the five major stars in the NBA after the new century! KD lost the selection, Curry can only rank at the bottom, and the top is the most suspenseful

The reason why the NBA has become the most influential basketball league in the world is that superstars from different eras have made great contributions to this. With their games, the NBA has attracted fans from all over the world. And these superstars have such box office appeal, which is naturally based on their personal strength. For example, Magicians Johnson and Bird in the 1980s, Jordan and Olajuwon in the 1990s are all superstars who can take into account their personal strength and influence. It is precisely because of their existence that the NBA can do better and better. After entering the 21st century, many top stars in the NBA still emerged, and the strength of these players is naturally not to be underestimated. Then we will select the five greatest superstars of this century based on the personal achievements and influence achieved by these stars. After many screenings, even super giants like Durant and Jokic cannot rank among the top five at present, so let alone "mediocre" stars like Leonard, Harden and Westbrook. (The following content is purely personal opinion. If you have any other opinions, please leave a message in the comment area!)

5. Curry

In the early days, Curry was not very optimistic about his physical fitness and potential injuries. Even after he was selected by the Warriors, the outside world was full of voices questioning whether he could adapt to the NBA confrontation. However, after entering the league, Curry still played the performance he should have in the first round No. 7 pick. He averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game in the rookie season, and in terms of three-pointers he is best at, he can also average 2.1 shots with a shooting percentage of 43.7%.

Later, Curry was straightened by the Warriors, and he quickly ushered in a rise. In the 2014-2015 season, he averaged 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2 steals per game. At the same time, under his leadership, the Warriors also achieved the record of first place in the league. In the end, he also won his first MVP in his career. The Warriors successfully laughed to the end of their playoffs, but unfortunately Curry failed to win the FMVP, which is also a more regrettable thing in his career.

Later, in the 2015-2016 season, Curry led the team to win a record of 73, and he personally defended the MVP with his own personal performance of phenomenal performance. Since then, the league has completely entered the small ball era. Curry, who is so sensible in this way of playing, has helped the Warriors win three championships one after another, and finally won the FMVP in 2022. Curry has undoubtedly become an epoch-making super giant. His influence on the NBA is a standard that most super giants cannot meet, so it is reasonable for him to rank in this position.

4. O'Neal at his peak was undoubtedly one of the most dominant stars in league history, especially in the early 2000s. Under his leadership, the Lakers were able to win the NBA championship for three consecutive years. In those three-year finals, O'Neal's best performance year was in 2000 when he faced the Pacers. In that round of the series, he averaged 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, and his shooting percentage was as high as 61%. In this case, the Pacers were naturally helpless against his offense.

Because the peak O'Neal was too unsolvable on the court, other teams also developed the "shark-cutting" tactic to target his relatively weak free throws, but this still couldn't stop him. The Pacers used this move in the 2000 Finals, but in the end, he scored 40 points and 24 rebounds.

Therefore, during the three consecutive championships, O'Neal won the FMVP, and at his peak he also won various honors such as MVP and scoring champion. However, O'Neal's peak is relatively short-lived among superstars. He has experienced a significant decline since he was 30 years old, and at the age of 34, his average game data has dropped to 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. In comparison, stars like Kobe and Curry still have excellent personal performance at this age, so this undoubtedly affects O'Neal's historical status.

3. Kobe

In 1996, the Lakers came to Kobe from the Hornets' trade. Although the team only let him play as a substitute at the beginning, the executives led by West were still optimistic about him, so from the second year, Kobe's roles have increased. Kobe obviously did not disappoint the Lakers. He quickly grew into one of the best defenders in the league, and he also played a very critical role during the three consecutive championships. After 2004, Kobe still stood alone, and he performed more dominantly, including 35.4 points per game in the 2005-2006 season. Later, Kobe led the Lakers back to the peak and achieved two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010. For him, being able to win the FMVP in the past two years completely broke the outside world's doubts about him.

After 2010, Kobe was originally a top five star in the league, but the tear of the Achilles tendon in 2013 completely ruined his career. Later, he never returned to his peak, and his career was finally frozen in 20 seasons. However, looking back at Kobe's career, he is already great enough, and his influence can even be said to be second only to Jordan in NBA history.

2.Duncan

As the most low-key super giant in NBA history, Duncan led the team to win five championships in 19 years of career. During this period, he has also been elected as MVP and FMVP many times. Most of the time he is a regular at the Best Team and Best Defensive Team. However, in his career, the only regret is that he has never won DPOY..

Due to his own personality, Duncan was willing to give up the ball and concentrate on defense in the later stage of his career, which allowed him to still play a key role in the championship competition at the age of 37. And at the age of 38, Duncan is also selected for the best team and the best defensive team at the same time. Such performance is also very rare among players of the same age.

However, because of his personality, Duncan's influence is definitely not comparable to superstars such as Kobe, O'Neal, Curry, etc., but considering that the honors he has won are obviously above these three, he finally decided to rank him second in this list.

1. James

Finally, he is the first player in active service. He entered the league in 2003 and has been known as the "son of the choice" since his debut. His rookie season proved that the scouts did not misunderstand it. After that, James quickly became a top star. He quickly selected for the Best Team, led the team to break the best record in team history, and won the MVP. After all, he was only 26 years old.

Later James joined the Heat, and although this decision brought him a lot of criticism, his achievements here undoubtedly made him a greater player. In 2012 and 2013, James won MVP+FMVP for two consecutive seasons, and he is the only star to achieve this feat since Jordan. James returned to the Cavaliers in 2014. As soon as he returned, the Cavaliers, who were still playing badly, immediately became a championship team. In 2016, they also won the first championship in team history while falling behind 1-3 at one time. Since then, James has basically secured the top five in history.

Later, James came to the Lakers again. He thought he was here to "super retirement", but he won his fourth championship and fourth FMVP in 2020. He then set a record of historical total scores, etc. So now, 40-year-old James has reached the point of sitting in the middle of two. Even if he can't surpass Jordan, it is unlikely that any player can surpass him.