Stephen Curry said something this summer that was very un-Steph like. It was bold, braggy even; a rare glimpse into a confidence often shielded from public view. On "The Dan Patrick Show," Curry was asked who the better offensive player is, him or LeBron James.

“Me,” he decisively responded after noting that it was the first time he’d ever been asked the question.

The responses to his verdict were mostly unkind. LeBron James is LeBron James, after all. He was the consensus best player and led Curry in most individual offensive categories last season. Curry was guilty of basketball blasphemy, hoops heresy, an affront to an established order we’d all agreed upon. There was a reason he’d never before been asked the question.

Or, Curry was prophetic. Right now he leads James in PER, Win Shares, offensive rating, pretty much any individual stat you’d want to cite. A lot of that is James' drop-off in a new situation in Cleveland, but don’t overlook how Curry has progressed.

Golden State’s point guard leads the league in Offensive Real Plus-Minus. He also leads the league in total RPM, but let's focus on the offense, because that’s his main advantage over his opponents. It’s an advantage so overwhelming that Curry has to do very little to leverage it. The threat of Steph bends defenses till they break, even if Curry is having an off night.

That’s a credit to his “gravity,” the term used to convey how much a player pulls defenses toward him. Curry leads all in “respect rating,” a stat that tracks how much defenders stick to individual scorers.

It’s no surprise that the league’s best shooter commands the most respect, but it isn’t merely that his defender pays extra attention. Curry’s respect is so different in degree from his peers that it’s a difference in kind. It’s not merely that one defender tracks Steph assiduously. It’s often two defenders, occasionally three defenders, and sometimes four.

When Curry is on the floor this season, the Warriors have an offensive rating of 113.1, which would rank as the best in the league. When he sits, it plummets to 95.6, second-worst in the league.

He’s the guy who must be defended differently on high pick-and-rolls because he shoots guarded off the dribble like other great shooters do wide open off the catch. Opposing centers must rush out to the 3-point line, even if they move like Zambonis on gravel. Many teams have resorted to trapping Curry far from the hoop, getting the ball out of his hands. That’s one solution, but it creates massive gaps in a defense, more easily exploited by a Warriors team that actually moves the ball this season.

Of course, the attention attracted would matter a lot less if Curry weren't a great passer and ball handler. The latter skill has allowed Curry to shoot 70 percent in the restricted area this season, more than offsetting a career low in three point percentage so far.

That’s perhaps the most interesting quirk about Curry’s season. He’s a shooter whose game is more defined by the respect his shot commands than how often it goes in. A stretch of struggle in Curry’s elite skill does little to diminish his production. That’s because the fear of his shot is an every-game reality. Curry will have off nights, but defenses will never have an off night from adjusting for the threat of Curry’s on nights.

LeBron James and Chris Paul might beat Curry as game managers, players who calculate the most efficient option in every situation. They can’t boast an ability to warp defenses this dramatically, though. Curry doesn’t have to calculate to add to an offense. He can help an offense while doing very little. For that reason, there’s little he needs to do to justify his claim as a superior offensive player.