After leading Team USA to victory in the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament, LeBron James added another award to his endless list of accolades. The 39-year-old was named the tournament MVP, joining Manu Ginobili and Kevin Durant in winning the coveted prize. While most fans, analysts, and former players congratulated him, Stephon Marbury claimed he didn’t deserve the honor.
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The former Knicks star posted several comments on Instagram saying James wasn’t the MVP. He argued that Stephen Curry deserved the prize over the forward for his exceptional performance in the semifinal against Serbia and the final against France. Explaining why he believed the guard should have won it over the Lakers superstar, Marbury wrote,
“They gave the MVP to the wrong player. Maybe they called out the wrong time by accident. I think we need to rewind the moment when Stephen Curry displayed himself as the best shooter who ever touched the ball. In international ball, if you can’t shoot, you can’t have the ball at the end of the game.”
Even left this comment on a reel pic.twitter.com/S5Orgszem0
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He added that James only won the award due to his reputation and not because he was the best player in the tournament. The former two-time All-Star was more impressed by Curry’s heroics in Team USA’s last two games at the Paris Olympics.
After averaging only 7.3 points in his first four outings, the guard scored 36 in the semifinal against Serbia and helped his team erase a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to advance to the final. He brought the same energy to the final against France, scoring 24 points, including 12 in the game’s last three minutes, to help his nation win the gold medal.
Curry shot an astonishing 17-of-26 from beyond the arc in his last two outings at the Paris Olympics and would’ve been a worthy recipient of the MVP award. However, James’ case was perhaps slightly better.
LeBron James’ incredible Olympic campaign
While the veteran guard was Team USA’s standout player in the semifinal and final, he hadn’t performed well in his first four outings in the tournament. On the contrary, James was exceptional from start to finish.
The forward scored at least 10 points in all six games and finished with fewer than eight assists only once. He averaged 14.2 points, 8.5 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals, dictating play and impacting proceedings every minute he was on the court.
James was more consistent than Curry in the tournament and rightfully earned the MVP award. While Marbury is right in pointing out that the Warriors superstar proved to be the difference-maker in the two biggest games, the forward was right behind him as the second-best player in both outings.
