NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady feels Stephen Curry doesn’t belong in the same class as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Magic Johnson.
Advertisement
There is no doubt that Stephen Curry is one of the most influential players in NBA history. The Warriors superstar revolutionalized the game of basketball with his long-range shooting. Nonetheless, Curry faces one of his toughest challenges as he makes his 6th Finals appearance in the last 8-years.
Despite having three championships under his belt, the Warriors PG is yet to win a Finals MVP. Though his resume boasts of almost every major accolade, the absence of a Finals MVP has many not place him in the list of all-time greats like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Magic Johnson.
Curry is a former two-time regular-season MVP, two-time scoring champion, ASG MVP, and recently crowned Magic Johnson WCF MVP. Unfortunately, Curry has been unable to replicate this kind of success in his five Finals appearances as per his naysayers.
Recently, NBA veteran Tracy McGrady spoke about how winning the chip this year could solidify Curry’s legacy as a player. Nevertheless, T-Mac is not ready to have Curry in the same breath as MJ, Kobe, and Magic.
Tracy McGrady puts an asterisk on Stephen Curry’s 3-rings.
One of the biggest criticisms of Curry’s career has been him coming short in the Finals and lacking the clutch gene. Despite winning three championships, the Warriors guard was never the best player in that series. However, when we consider his statistics, this narrative seems outstretched.
Currently, in his 6th Finals, there is a lot of pressure on the eight-time All-Star. While Curry is a top favorite to win the Finals MVP, beating the Celtics is no easy task. The Dubs don’t have Kevin Durant anymore walking from the tunnel.
Recently, when asked where he would rank Curry all-time, McGrady had the following response.
“That’s a tough question,” said the Magic veteran.
“Because he (Curry) has his career individually and with what he’s accomplished with his team is tough. Because you’ve gotta think, he won a championship, right, against LeBron (James) that didn’t have Kyrie (Irving), that didn’t have Kevin Love. He didn’t win the (Finals) MVP, right? Then he loses a 3-1 lead to LeBron, gets KD, KD comes and wins two championships, so that gives Steph three championship but KD wins the two MVPs, right?”
“We know Steph is like the 3-point God. But when it comes to putting him with (Michael Jordan) and these guys that won that level of championships, Kobe (Bryant) and Magic Johnson, I don’t know where to rank him. I know he’s pretty high. But I think those guys are in a different class than Steph Curry based off of [all of that]. They’re on championship teams. KD came and joined the Warriors and became the best player and helped Steph win two more championships. But Steph wasn’t the best player on that team.”
Via: NBC Sports
Well, T-Mac does make some valid points. However, the chef has the perfect opportunity to silence all his critics, winning the only piece missing from his trophy cabinet, and completing his all-time resume.
