Skip Bayless experienced a whirlwind of emotions following Team USA’s gold medal victory against France. The seasoned media personality joined the nation in celebrating the triumph, but soon after, he shifted his focus to a deeper analysis. Bayless devoted considerable effort to determining who deserved the title of Olympics MVP.
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Bayless heaped praise on Stephen Curry for being the anchor of the team and taking Team USA to victory in the last two games. In the gold medal game, Steph had 24 points, shooting 8 of 13 from the three-point line. His three-point shooting helped them stay in the game in the early quarters, and once he took off towards the end, the gap became too much for the French side to cover.
Bayless said that if the Warriors superstar shot the same way in the 2016 Finals, the results could’ve been different. Taking to X, he expressed his opinion.
“If only Steph could’ve shot like that AGAINST LeBron in the 4th quarters of Games 5, 6 and 7 of the 2016 Finals. Look ’em up, tell me I’m wrong. Then, Steph went colder from 3 than the French women’s team Sunday vs Team USA in the 4th.”
The slump that he talked about ended in the Warriors losing three games in a row and the NBA title to the Cavs.
If only Steph could've shot like that AGAINST LeBron in the 4th quarters of Games 5, 6 and 7 of the 2016 Finals. Look 'em up, tell me I'm wrong. Then, Steph went colder from 3 than the French women's team Sunday vs Team USA in the 4th.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 12, 2024
In games 5,6 and 7, Steph had 25, 30 and 17 points while shooting 33.3%, 46.2%, and 28.6% from the three-point line, respectively. The comparison with the French team seems a bit unfair since they only made 7 of 36 (19.4%) three pointers in the entire game, missing every single attempt in the fourth quarter.
This can be seen as Bayless’ idea of rehashing old stories that even the most hardcore fans have moved on from. Additionally, it also gives him an opportunity to tie with LeBron James, his arch nemesis, to another post. Because it was only days ago when he was giving the highest of praise to Steph, even declaring him the MVP.
Immediately after the gold medal win, he posted a clip on X saying, “Man, poor LeBron James. Steph Curry just shot him right in the heart. Just stole the MVP right out from under poor LeBron. He was right there, he was heavy favorite, and Steph made 17 of 26 threes in the final two games, in semifinal and the gold medal game.”
Some fans, in response to his post about the 2016 Finals, asked Bayless to let it go since it’s been almost eight years and they have moved on from that loss and the Steph slump.
