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Dick Raphael/Getty Images

Years Played: 1980-96

Teams: Los Angeles Lakers

Career Per-Game Stats: 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.4 blocks

Career Advanced Metrics: 24.1 PER, 61.0 TS%, 155.8 WS, 0.225 WS/48, 6,179.54 TPA

What might have happened if Magic Johnson didn't need to hang up his sneakers due to HIV after the 1990-91 season?

That was only his age-31 campaign, and he averaged 19.4 points, 12.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and making 90.6 percent of his free-throw attempts. Based on basically every common-use advanced metric, he was playing above his lifetime level, showing few signs of imminent decline as he moved deeper into his 30s.

Johnson cemented an indelible legacy even before that point, leading the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers to a decade of unabashed dominance while he established himself as a wizard of a passer who played with immense effectiveness and flair. He was a show unto himself, even on the rare off nights in which he struggled to score and find passing lanes against defenses that compressed back into the paint.

As one example among myriad displays of excellence, Johnson is one of only six players to record at least 22 points and 11 assists per game during a qualified season. He and fellow Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson (three apiece) are the lone players to record multiple such campaigns.

But again: What if he hadn't needed to take a four-year hiatus before returning for 32 games in 1995-96?

He already sits at No. 10 in lifetime TPA earned during the regular season, and merely replicating his worst effort from the four healthy efforts prior to his pseudo-retirement (288.53 TPA in 1987-88) for three more go-rounds would've pushed him to No. 5. That would have been nine spots ahead of Chris Paul and all other point guards in the sport's history.

Next Up: Chris Paul, Oscar Robertson, John Stockton, Jerry West

Biggest Current Challenger: Stephen Curry

Paul is closer to surpassing Johnson than many might think, although the lack of jewelry (both of the team and individual varieties) could make the necessary legacy gains an impossibility. Stephen Curry, however, suffers from no such limitations after already earning two MVP awards and a trio of titles.

The point guard is already one of the 50 best players in the sport's history, but he has a long way to go before matching Johnson. He still sits behind 34 others in lifetime TPA and is 93rd in career win shares (Johnson is 21st).

Nonetheless, he's the top current challenger because of his enduring level of play, relative youth and potential knack for staving off Father Time. Given his deadly shooting stroke, Curry should age far more gracefully than the many floor generals dependent on physicality to generate their production.