Honestly they wouldn’t have been able to win as many titles, or at all.
The problem with Curry playing in the 90s is that the era was just so much more physical than today.
The NBA changed its hand checking rules in 2005, meaning the defender can no longer have a hand in the player’s face, cannot grab them, cannot check them etc which gives guards like Curry a lot more space and room to operate, which is greatly beneficial to Curry’s game which relies on pull up and stepback 3s.
That’s not to say Curry won’t be a good player. Steph Curry offensively in the 90s would be an improved Mark Price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sua9u318wGo&t=34s
And if you think that’s an insult to Curry, it’s not. Mark Price was a damn good player in his prime. He could split a double team for a nice drive in or run the pick and roll well or just shoot from anywhere on the floor since he was a fantastic shooter just like Curry, with great handles.
So Curry compared to Price has an even bigger offensive array of moves in addition to the shooting abilities and handles. Making him quite deadly in the 90s. However since he can be guarded all the way out in the perimeter with hand checking allowed, his FG% won’t be as high as today. Nor does he have the mastery of the midrange that Jordan had. Nor does Curry have any post game to speak of like Jordan had.
Lets get another thing out of the way – Curry isn’t as clutch as Jordan is. He doesn’t have any playoff buzzer beaters, he’s not known for taking over games in the 4th quarter, he trails Jordan significantly in game winners etc and some of those Bulls games i.e 1998 Finals Game 6 – Jordan would just take over the game at times in order to will his team to a win. Not to mention stuff like the Flu game etc I’m not sure that Curry has that in him.
I’m sure that Curry could play well in the triangle given that he’s already very unselfish so I don’t think there’s a problem there.
The other problem is.. defensively. Curry isn’t in the same world as Jordan defensively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9w6DV8dHc0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JWq-kJ5hVo
In the 90s, the Bulls could and would execute a full court press (or half court press) which Jordan, Pippen and Grant would start pressing the offense as soon as they got the possession. And since its the 90s, they would get all up in their faces. This is the type of intense defense that Curry has never had to do in the modern era. Nor does Curry have the lateral quickness I think to keep up some of these offensive players. Can you imagine Curry guarding and trying to keep up with Mitch Richmond or Kevin Johnson? Those guys were way more athletic and could easily just blow him. That’s the type of athleticism Jordan and Pippen had – but not Curry. Curry would get exposed defensively in the 90s.
That’s why I think the Bulls with Curry would likely make it to the 2nd round or even ECF – of course having Pippen or Grant/Rodman would still help defensively, but Curry’s perimeter game would severely be impacted by the 90s defensive rules and not having Jordan’s defensive abilities is further going to be an issue for the team. Thats why I cannot see Curry winning many or any titles with the Bulls in the 90s.
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