The endless conversation about Stephen Curry's place in basketball's historic individual hierarchy began even before he broke down in tears on the Boston Celtics' home floor, overwhelmed by the prospect of winning his fourth title and first NBA Finals MVP. While his status as a peerless all-time great has been ironclad for years, Curry's latest championship triumph no doubt changed it regardless.

It's no longer worth debating where he ranks among recent point guards; the question now is if Curry's replaced Magic Johnson as the best player ever at his position. He's garnering universal consideration a top-10 player overall after the Finals, and rightfully so. But is Curry better than Kevin Durant? What about Kobe Bryant?

Those are the legacy discussions Curry's fourth ring in eight seasons have prompted, ringing endorsements of his historical greatness all by themselves. There's no use for hyperbole when assessing his career, accomplishments and overall impact on the game. Curry is truly one of one.

Does that mean he's in front of LeBron James in the game's all-time pecking order, just behind Michael Jordan? Even the vast majority of Warriors fans wouldn't cross that bold line of demarcation, but ESPN's Bobby Marks did it on Tuesday's edition of NBA Today.

“I feel that watching him during these playoffs and certainly during that Finals—LeBron is a great player, great player here—but as I said, I saw Jordan in his prime in the '90s. Curry reminds me a lot of that offensively, where he's a threat to beat you in a lot of different ways here. And as I said, I think we've got three or four more years of prime Curry leading up, but right now I'm gonna stick with it, right? Stick with it and say that he's the second-best player of all time.”

Reminder: Marks was the Brooklyn Nets' assistant GM in 2013 when they dealt three unprotected future first-round picks to the Boston Celtics in exchange for the aging Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, a trade broadly regarded as one of the most lopsided in NBA history. Marks, in Sin City for Summer League, also admitted to Las Vegas having “chewed me up and spit me out” before offering his burning-hot take on James and Curry.

Maybe the heat's getting to him?

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, obviously, and Stephen Curry's sustained dominance into his mid-thirties puts him in the most rarified historical air—where Jordan, James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar used to sit alone. He's the best offensive player in basketball right now, and it's not particularly close. Curry has a strong argument for the NBA's Mt. Rushmore even before taking his all-encompassing influence on the value of three-point shooting and floor spacing into account. He's truly a living legend.

But like Steve Kerr has noted time and again in recent years, there's an inherent limit to the total impact a guard can make on the game at its highest levels—especially defensively—that doesn't apply to the likes of James and Durant. Curry has developed into a very solid defender for his size, but there's a reason he's long been the pick-and-roll target of superstar wings in the playoffs. He imposes his will on the other end in a less inevitable way than those guys, too, especially when the jumper goes cold.

Bottom line: There's a cap to Stephen Curry's greatness many believe he can't overcome, and it's the one thing that will always keep him separate from James, let alone Jordan. Too bad he'll have to settle for being in the running as merely a top-five player ever.