"King Curry" has a little bit different sound than "King James."
Lost in ESPN's hoopla on Ronda Rousey's first public comments since her knockout at the hands of Holly Holm was another revelation that reigning NBA MVP and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry believes he is the best player in the league, ESPN reported.
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And that includes LeBron.
When asked whether he is the best basketball player in the world, Curry told ESPN, "When I'm on the floor, I believe I am, for sure. I don't get into why I'm better than such and such. But that's my motivation when I work."
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Reporter Sam Alipour's follow-up brought up the aforementioned Mr. James, commenting that the two are "in a toss-up right now."
Responded Curry: "That motivates me. But if I took a vote of the nation and they say I finished second, I wouldn't be, like, disappointed. It's a pretty cool conversation to have."
Last season's NBA Finals seemed to prove that Curry was the best player on the best team in the league, but that LeBron's heroics were the only reason the Warriors-Cavaliers series even went six games.
Even though Curry earned his first MVP award, it was assumed that James is the best player in the NBA, much like Michael Jordan was during his career but not automatically getting the MVP award season after season.
This year, however, Curry appears to have elevated his game, currently shooting career highs of 53.2 percent from the floor and 47.2 percent from 3-point territory for a 32.4-point average -- 8.6 points above his MVP season from a year ago.
Just as important is Golden State's unblemished start to the NBA season at 22-0.
Curry also is averaging a career-high 4.9 rebounds, but his assists are down from 7.7 last year -- and his career high of 8.5 in 2013-14 -- to 5.8 this season.
But when he's shooting the way he is, does he really need to pass the ball?
James is averaging 26.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game, and he still has a defensive prowess when it comes to shot-blocking that is highly regarded. But Steph is averaging 2.2 steals to his 1.7.
Curry said his goal is to be regarded as the "Greatest Of All Time," knocking Michael Jordan off his perch. He may not be there yet, but he's now in a dead heat with LeBron, and that's progress from last year's finals.
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