Maverick Carter has been a familiar face in the NBA fraternity through his long-time friend and business partner – LeBron James. Carter grew up in LeBron’s hometown Akron, Ohio and his partnership with the King has resulted in many fruitful business ventures, including the companies SpringHill Entertainment and LRMR. The 43-year-old has also regularly appeared in many interviews and podcasts to discuss various topics in the NBA over the years. In 2021, Carter stirred the pot of controversy when he criticized Stephen Curry‘s defense in a ‘disrespectful’ manner. His comments recently resurfaced on social media after a post by ‘dre‘ started gaining traction.
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Recently, Curry sparked a nationwide debate when he claimed to be the best point guard in the game, over Magic Johnson. Sports analysts and podcasters had a field day assessing the two legends’ careers and defending their pick for the PG GOAT. With Steph in conversation to be the greatest Point Guard ever, the video of Maverick Carter criticizing his defense has found the worst possible time to surface.
Via @GilsArenaShow pic.twitter.com/Xivs1JpYi5
— Automatic (@automaticnba) September 4, 2023
Meanwhile, Rich Paul also claimed on the Gil’s Arena podcast recently that Stephen Curry wouldn’t be discredited like LeBron James if he had won in the bubble. All these comments from LeBron’s friends gaining traction all of a sudden might set the ground for a Curry-Bron showdown next season.
Maverick Carter claimed that Stephen Curry wouldn’t be able to guard him
In 2021, Maverick Carter blatantly took apart Curry’s defensive abilities in an interview, which has again found its way back on social media. According to Carter, he hasn’t played basketball for 18 years, but Steph still wouldn’t be able to guard him. Even though Curry’s defense has been his weak link, these comments were very disrespectful to make regarding a two-time league MVP.
Here is what Carter said, during a 2021 podcast with Draymond Green in attendance:
“Steph can’t guard…I am 38 and haven’t played a decent game of basketball in probably 18 years, since I was 20. Steph would have trouble guarding me.”
Maverick Carter, longtime friend and business partner of LeBron, in April 2021 …
The disrespect from LeBron’s camp has been going on for yearspic.twitter.com/4oqerbcv76
— dre (@OnBallSteph) September 4, 2023
Carter has played some high school basketball for LeBron’s school St. Vincent-St. Mary and some college ball for Western Michigan. But there’s no way he can score freely over any NBA player nearing his 40s, leave alone Steph Curry. Even if his remarks were hyperbolic, they were still very disrespectful.
Curry’s offensive game is so prolific that it tends to often overshadow his defensive abilities. When he entered the league, his defense was not up to the mark. But over the years, there has been a massive improvement from Curry on the Defensive end of the floor. Apart from working on his defensive skills, Steph has also gained a lot of muscle that allows him to hold his own against bigger players.
Curry’s response to Maverick Carter
By now, it is well-documented that Steph Curry keeps his receipts. He hears everything being said about him and chooses to respond through his game. Maverick Carter’s comments were no exception. In a webcast hosted by Chris ‘Coseezy’ Strachan, Steph responded to Carter’s comments on his defense. Here is what the four-time champion said:
I love how Steph responded and now we have Rich Paul talking about him…
I couldn’t embed the video but shoutout to @gswchris https://t.co/g12REIaTgc pic.twitter.com/Gr78sEsIzQ
— ;p; 🇸🇴 (@FoeN3m) September 4, 2023
According to Steph, he is so secure about who he is and what he can do on the basketball court that everything else is just noise. Steph believes with the amount of success he has achieved, the hate is bound to come. Unfortunately, in the times we live in, the hate is louder than the praise. The response from Steph showcases why he is one of the greatest to ever do it.
