Paul Pierce thinks Steph Curry winning his fifth title will put him above LeBron James in GOAT conversations

Heading into the NBA playoffs, both Steph Curry and LeBron James are in pursuit of a fifth NBA championship. At this stage in their respective careers, a fifth title would put either player alongside some elite company such as Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan.

The way former NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce sees things, if Curry and the Golden State Warriors manage to bring home the Larry O'Brien Trophy, it would put the future Hall of Famer ahead of LeBron James in the greatest of all-time (GOAT) discussion.

During a Friday appearance on Fox Sports 1's 'Speak Up!', Pierce made his case, saying that it may be time for LeBron's fans to prepare themselves for what he says will be quote, "uncomfortable" conversations if Curry gets a fifth ring and wins another Finals MVP.

Doing so, as he argued, would give the two-time MVP titles with three different iterations of Warriors teams throughout his career, and a title without a top-75 player on his team.

"If Steph Curry wins the championship or one more championship—let's say this year—and wins Finals MVP, we are gonna have some very, very, very, very uncomfortable conversations."

Of course, as fans are well aware, Pierce has shown in the past that he isn't the biggest advocate for LeBron James, with fans of the mindset that Pierce is still holding on to their past rivalry.

Comparing the stats and career achievements of both LeBron James and Steph Curry

As Paul Pierce went on to say during his appearance on Fox Sports 1 on Friday morning, a fifth ring and a second NBA Finals MVP award for Steph Curry would leave him with no choice but to say that Curry was the winner of the LeBron James-Steph Curry era.

With that in mind, let's compare some of the stats and achievements of both players.

Throughout their respective careers, James and Curry have played 27 times during the regular season, with James having a one-game lead in the head-to-head battle. Despite that, it's Curry who has the edge in the playoffs, with a 17-11 record throughout 28 meetings.

When it comes to career averages for points, rebounds, assists, and blocks per game, however, it's James who has the edge in each aforementioned category.

In the case of efficiency, however, the two players are split, with James having the better field goal percentage (50.6%) and Curry having the better 3-point percentage (42.3%).

When it comes to the career achievements of both players, James has a notable advantage, with more All-NBA First Team honors, All-NBA honors, NBA All-Defensive honors, MVPs, Finals MVPs, and All-Star appearances.