For the better part of the last decade, LeBron James has been the best player in the NBA. It’s a truth so self-evident and indisputable that we rarely even talk about it. LeBron’s dominance is so familiar that at this point, it’s unremarkable. See also Duncan, Tim.

Enter Stephen Curry, the reigning MVP, white-hot leader of the (at this typing) 27-1 Golden State Warriors, and the must-watch darling of even the most casual basketball fan. When the Warriors and Cavaliers meet on Christmas Day, it won’t just be a rematch of the 2015 Finals or a possible preview of 2016’s title bout. It’s seen, however fallaciously, as a chance for Curry to dethrone LeBron James.

This match-up is, of course, purely symbolic. The two won’t be guarding each other; both are likely to have outsized games no matter what the outcome; and both Golden State and Cleveland have other weapons who could seize the narrative. But the fact remains that if the Warriors get the win and Curry puts on a show, there will be chatter that Curry has eclipsed James.

The concept of "best player" is only slightly less murky than the ever-vexing Most Valuable Player. It seems, though, that it’s a qualitative judgment about how likely an athlete is to take over a game, whether through setting a tone, dictating the complexion of play, shaping the way actions unfold, or simply willing his team to victory.

Curry does all of these things. A scrawny combo guard whose stock-in-trade is outrageous threes that would get lesser players benched, he’s an unlikely superstar who, by this point, has been thoroughly legitimated. As a playmaker and ball-handler, Curry is the consummate no-look trickster. Anyone who has watched the Warriors can tell you that their offense is a system that depends on a truly coordinated effort. That system is only possible, though, because of Steph’s catalytic presence. The way he opens up the floor for the rest of the Warriors is what’s allowed them to become a world-historic juggernaut.

In any other year, though, Curry—as non-traditional a candidate as he may be—would be unanimously hailed as the league’s best player. He’s a singular athlete and may very well end up with another MVP and more importantly, another NBA title. Yet as integral as Curry is to the Warriors and their on-court identity, he’s never going to match LeBron James, who can make a reasonable case for being the greatest player of all time.

James may not have Curry’s shooter’s touch or dribbling skills. But he’s still LeBron James: An athletic wing in the body of a power forward, a walking mismatch who can make plays from nearly any spot on the floor. You can imagine the kind of player who could check Curry; we just haven’t found him yet. The only guys who bother LeBron are apositional anomalies like Curry’s teammate Draymond Green or the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard. Curry is a fully-realized amalgamation of a lot that’s come before. LeBron James remains unprecedented.

LeBron’s versatility has long been his calling card. But what sets James apart isn’t just that he can guard multiple positions or rack up triple-doubles whenever the mood strikes him. It’s that, as with Steph, his command over a game often seems absolute. James is also insidiously adaptive, flexing whatever skills best exploit an opponent’s weakness. The phrase “Basketball IQ” is too often conflated with decision-making but James’s ability to tailor his game to an opponent is mind-boggling. It’s all the more impressive for being so matter of fact.

That’s the main difference between Curry and James, and why Curry will never be able to close the gap. Curry impacts games with his flare for the dramatic and the unexpected. Teams simply don’t know what they’re getting when Curry has the ball in his hands. That element of surprise is what gives him the upper hand and allows him to leave such a distinct mark on the Warriors’ big wins.

James, by contrast, is utterly predictable. At this point, we all know what LeBron James can do and when he’ll do it. That’s not to say that his days of breathtaking highlights are over, but James no longer possesses the same visionary quality as Steph Curry. Yet what sets James apart is his thoroughness. No one else in the league—and few in the history of the game—can make an opposing team miserable in as many different ways as LeBron James.

Of course, none of this necessarily means that James is the more entertaining player to watch, or the more charismatic, or even the more compelling. Watching Steph Curry this season is a nearly transcendent experience; it feels like a light bulb exploding atop our collective basketball imagination. For sheer viewing pleasure, Curry may have scaled heights that even the younger LeBron James never attained. That’s why a lot of people would love to see James cede this distinction, especially to a player as effervescent as Curry.

Yet if James has gotten less dynamic, he’s only gotten better and better as a pure basketball player. He isn’t about moments anymore. He’s playing the long game. And at the end of the day, that’s how "best player" is determined—whether we’re talking four quarters, a single season, or the long march of history.